GE Foundation Makes $500,000 Grant to North Carolina State University
To Help Diverse Students Realize Math Potential

NC State and Wake County Schools Launch New Program To Increase Number of Middle and High School Students Prepared for and Pursuing Engineering Careers

RALEIGH, NC, Jan. 12, 2004 –With the help of a $500,000 grant from the GE Foundation, North Carolina State University today launched a joint effort with Wake County Public Schools to strengthen the math skills of middle and high school students and increase their opportunities to pursue careers like engineering.

The grant, which is payable over five years, will help fund a new program called Recognizing Accelerated Math Potential in Under-Represented People (RAMP-UP). By increasing the number of under-represented students in higher level math classes, the program seeks to raise interest and performance in math by the targeted groups, giving them the educational foundation necessary to study engineering or other math-based fields in college.

“The GE Foundation is committed to increasing educational opportunity from pre-college through higher education,” said John McCarter, retired President of GE Power Systems Sales Europe and a member of the NC State University Engineering Foundation Board. “The RAMP-UP program is an excellent example of its Math Excellence initiative, which focuses on strengthening math skills of K-16 students from under–represented backgrounds, leading to greater participation in engineering, information technology, and quantitative business careers. This collaboration will make a significant and sustainable difference in the schools and for these students.”

Local GE employees who are part of GE Elfun Volunteers, a global organization of GE employees and retirees dedicated to improving local communities, also will play a part in the effort. Volunteers from Raleigh-based GE Mortgage Insurance and other GE companies will participate in semi-annual “GE Gee Whiz” nights to be held at seven Wake County schools. The family-oriented events will feature group activities, demonstrations highlighting math skills and sessions to help parents learn to help students with math homework.

"We're grateful for the GE Foundation's generosity and gratified by their recognition of mathematics and the sciences as key elements of a complete education," said NC State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. "This grant helps support the vital outreach missions of NC State's colleges of Engineering and Education, and strengthens our important work with
Wake County schools to provide all students an exciting opportunity for life and work in this new century."

The new RAMP-UP program is designed to promote rigorous mathematics taught using inquiry techniques and curriculum integration with other subjects. It will align the teaching of math across all participating grade levels and will include university students working alongside teachers. Two partner high schools will work with NC State's College of Engineering and College of Education to offer an "introduction to engineering course" that will transfer to NC State.

The RAMP-UP program expands an existing outreach effort by the colleges of Engineering and Education that has reached an average of 5,000 students per year since it began six years ago. Efforts have been directed toward teaching students and teachers about engineering, improving science teaching in schools across North Carolina, and placing NC State students into K-12 classrooms as math, science and technology
resources for teachers.

A nationally recognized leader in science and technology with historic strengths in agriculture, textiles and engineering, NC State has evolved into a comprehensive community of scholars, with outstanding degree programs in the humanities and social sciences, design, education, natural resources, business and veterinary medicine.

The GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the General Electric Company, invests in initiatives to improve educational opportunity and strengthen community organizations in GE communities around the world. All told, GE, the GE Foundation and GE employees and retirees contributed over $120 million to community and educational institutions last year.

###

CONTACT: Terry Souers, Vice President, Public Relations of GE Mortgage Insurance, 919-846-4459 or Tim Lucas, director, NC State University News Services, 919/515-3470 or 515-7159.