The Charles F. Kettering Award

Description:

This award was instituted in 1978. The Cooperative Education and Internship Association makes this award to an employer from industry, business or government who provides outstanding resources and service to the cooperative education field.

This award is named after Charles F. Kettering.  Kettering was a trustee and benefactor of Antioch College and Research Director of the General Motors Corporation, as well as Chairman of the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation.  Long an admirer the values of co-op, he was disappointed with the lack of national attention to co-op's 50ˆ¢Th anniversary celebration and decided to do something about it.  From his influential position he was able to charge the Edison Foundation with the responsibility to focus appropriate attention on co-op.  This resulted in a national study of co-op's values. This study ultimately resulted in the formation of the National Commission for Cooperative Education with the purpose to promote the expansion of cooperative education.  Up until Kettering's involvement, any professional group in the field was not really promoting co-op expansion. So, in a significant way, Kettering's intervention set into motion a new era in co-op, an era in which major efforts would be undertaken to expand co-op to institutions throughout the country.  Eventually these endeavors resulted in Title Vlll federal funding. 

Current Recipient: Kent Phillips, Walt Disney World

Nominations Deadline: November 15

Criteria/ Eligibility:

• Evidence of success in the practice of cooperative education, such as time in field, management and growth of home organizationˆ¢s program.
• Distinguished service, leadership and advancement to the field at the national, state, and/or regional level.
• Evidence of successful efforts to expand the practice and/or philosophy of cooperative education on an employer level, such as serving as a mentor, role model or providing guidance to others in the field.
• Examples of how a nominee may meet these criteria could include, but are not limited to:
  • Years in the field, years of service to a program(s), institution/employer organization(s)
  • Management and growth of employer program(s), program size, life span, and quality compared to the total size
  • State and regional activities
  • Professional organization service as an officer, in committee work, organizing workshops or conferences
  • Mentoring, coaching, serving as an active role model
  • Nominations should clearly describe the outstanding contributions of the nominee including specifically how the nominee meets the above criteria.

Application Process: Please EMAIL all nominations and supporting materials to the Charles F. Kettering Award to the Vice President for Employer Networks

Past Recipients: Click here to view a list of past recipients.