Contact Us
Rick Schuhmann
Program Director
213E Hammond Building
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 863-9074
rxs34@psu.edu
Industry Partners
Minor director Dr. Rick Schuhmann shakes hands with the president of Eagle Construction of Virginia. ELDM students worked with Eagle Construction and students at Corvinus University in Hungary to draft a proposal to import Hungarian hot tubs at a reduced rate.
The Engineering Leadership Development Minor (ELDM) is one of a few technically oriented leadership programs in the nation. Since enrolling in the minor is voluntary, our classes contain goal-oriented innovators and leaders with a strong drive to succeed.
We encourage industry partnerships within our program. Interested businesses can draw from the ELDM talent pool in many ways.
- Financial Sponsorship: By providing a donation, endowment, or grant, you can enhance the ELDM curriculum. An investment in ELDM returns stronger leaders who will use their skills immediately upon entering the corporate arena. Your sponsorship may enhance the curriculum, fund student leadership projects, or underwrite travel expenses for worthy students.
- Sponsored Projects: Does your company have a technically or organizationally oriented project that needs a fresh eye and new ideas? ELDM students are available to work on both short- and long-term projects. Short-term projects most often involve a whole class brainstorming or prototyping, and presenting their solutions within a week or two of receiving the project. Long-term projects are typically posed to a student or group of students, who devote an entire term to the solution.
- Interns and Full-Time Employees: ELDM students know how to adapt quickly to their environments. During the course of the internship, your business will benefit from both the technical skills and innovative abilities of your ELDM intern. Additionally, many businesses use internships as an extended job interview. By investing a few months in an ELDM intern, you may find an excellent lifelong employee.
If you are interested in hiring an ELDM student for an internship, contact the engineering coop and internship office. If you’re looking for full-time employees, contact Penn State Career Services.
We are always interested in forming partnerships with businesses and organizations interested in leadership and innovation. To learn more, contact Rick Schuhmann, ELDM Director.
Our Partners
The Engineering Leadership Development Minor is proud to have the friendship and support of Dr. Walter L. Robb, a graduate of Penn State and member of the Leonhard Center Advisory Board. In 2009, Dr. Robb established a $1-million endowment to support the director of the Engineering Leadership Development Minor. Dr. Robb’s generosity has enhanced the Engineering Leadership Development curriculum and provided rich opportunities for students within the program to become world-class engineering leaders.
The Engineering Leadership Development Minor is also funded thanks to the generous support of the Carolyn and Joseph Silvestri Endowment in Engineering Leadership, as well as grants by the Roberts Filter Group and Dow Chemical.
Roberts Filter Group: Since their creation in 1889, the Roberts Filter Group of companies has been a leader in the water and wastewater industry. Each year the Roberts Filter Group generously supports the Engineering Leadership Development capstone in Morocco (Leadership Innovation and Global Challenges) both financially and through the active participation by Mr. Matt Roberts in lectures delivered on site in Morocco on potable water engineering.
Dow Chemical Company: Through the generous support by the Dow Chemical Company, Engineering Leadership Development students are able to engage in real world hands on projects that address the challenge of providing safe water to communities in the developing world.