Sponsors

Corporate Partnership Opportunities

In the wake of the bold, unprecedented vision of North Carolina’s previous generation of leaders, since the 1950s North Carolina has attracted national and international corporations to do business and locate large facilities within the state. These corporations have come in part because of a steady supply of highly trained employees produced by our educational system. As the Kenan Fellows Program moves forward into the ever more highly technical, highly specialized future, our schools must continue to expose all students to higher levels of science, mathematics, and technology. To do that, we must enlist and retain exceptional teachers who understand our global challenges and are equipped to lead students into that future. The future direction of our corporations also depends in part on how well our schools can respond to the challenge of retaining inspired teachers who in turn inspire the students. The Kenan Fellows program offers an innovative approach to this problem by engaging corporations in activities that meet not only corporate goals but also the social needs in the K-12 public school arena. We connect master teachers in science, technology, engineering, and math with world-renowned researchers to develop a strong curriculum for students while also providing these exemplary teachers with leadership opportunities. We give corporations the opportunity to make an investment in elite educators that ultimately leads to increased teacher retention and high student achievement. This in turn creates economically stronger and more viable communities. Corporations across America have come to recognize the need to invest in their local communities both monetarily and socially. Responsible corporations make decisions based not only on financial factors such as profits or dividends, but also on the immediate and long-term social and environmental consequences of their activities. Responsible employers care about their communities. Because public education contributes to the solid economic foundation within a community, public/private partnerships that include business, government, and academia are critical to the economic success of a community. The Kenan Fellows Program works to synergize the collaboration among these groups, which in turn results in students who are prepared to meet the demands of an internationally competitive workforce.

IBM And The Kenan Fellows Program: A Corporate Partnership

IBM has been an active and important corporate partner of the Kenan Fellows Program since its inception. Representatives of IBM served on the original planning committee that developed the Kenan Fellows model, and the IBM RTP site was the host for the first Kenan Fellows award ceremony. IBM has also donated laptop computers to enable our teachers to meet the demands of developing web-based curriculum products for use in their classrooms. This partnership has continued to grow over the years. For example, IBM hosted a recent Fireside Chat with IBM Senior State Executive Rusine Mitchell-Sinclair and NC State University Chancellor James Oblinger on the topic: Globalization — Preparing Our Students to Compete in the Global Economy. IBM has awarded the Kenan Fellows Program an Innovation Grant to expand on this partnership. Together we are exploring the possibility of linking IBM’s TryScience web site and curriculum into the classrooms we serve. As part of this effort to introduce TryScience and Grid Computing to our Kenan Fellows, Kenan Fellows alumni will participate in a training session. A summer workshop will also be developed for our new Fellows. "IBM’s partnership with the Kenan Fellows Program is a great example of how our company can make an impact and help improve education in North Carolina," said Tina Wilson, Corporate Community Relations Manager for IBM. "The Kenan Fellows are some of the leading teachers in North Carolina. We want to equip these leading teachers with innovative programs like TryScience, World Community Grid and IBM’s Reading Companion programs to show how technology can have a positive impact on the classroom and make learning fun and exciting for every student," said Ms. Wilson. For more information on IBM Community Relations programs visit www.ibm.com/ibm/ibmgives