Kettering University

Kettering University
Established	1919
Type:	Private
Endowment:	$55,881,261 [1]
President:	Stanley R. Liberty
Provost:	Michael Harris
Faculty:	145
Students:	3000+
Undergraduates:	2400
Postgraduates:	600+
Location	Flint, Michigan, USA
Campus:	Urban
Colors:	Yellow and Blue
Website:	www.kettering.edu

Kettering University (formerly "General Motors Institute") is a university in Flint, Michigan, offering degrees in engineering, the applied sciences, and management. The campus is located along the scenic Flint River on property that used to be the main manufacturing location for General Motors. It is named after inventor and former head of research for General Motors Charles Kettering^[1]. The university boasts that the majority of its' seniors are employed or accepted to graduate schools before graduation and that one out of 15 alumni either own their own business or are high-level managers in leading companies (see Notable Alumni). Although the school's undergraduate class is small with approximately 2,400 students^[2], it graduates one of the largest mechanical engineering graduating classes in the United States annually and is consistently ranked by US News and World Report as one of the best schools in the country for an undergraduate engineering education without PhD programs.

History

The history of Kettering University is deeply tied to the development of the American automotive industry. The school was originally founded as The School of Automotive Trades in 1919 by Albert Sobey under the direction of the Industrial Fellowship of Flint as a night school, training individuals for careers in industry. In 1923 the school became known as the Flint Institute of Technology. General Motors acquired the school in 1926, renaming it General Motors Institute. GMI focused on creating leaders for business and industry (sometimes called the West Point of Industry^[3]) and pioneered many educational firsts including the co-op program (following the development of this program at the University of Cincinnati in 1907), freshmen level manufacturing courses (Production Processes I & II), and automotive degree specialties. A fifth-year thesis requirement was added in 1945, along with the ability to grant degrees. In addition to being admitted to the school academically, the co-op program required applicants to find a GM division to be a sponsor. Work and school were mixed in six-week rotations, dividing the student body into A-section and B-section. At any given time, when A-section was in school, B-section was at work. After six weeks, B-section would go back to school and so on. This resulted in students moving eight times per year and a 48-week school/work year. Because General Motors used the school to train its engineers, tuition was partially subsidized. In June of 1980, with the entry of the Graduating Class of 1985, co-op rotations were expanded to twelve weeks. After General Motors reduced its operations in Flint, the company and the University became separate entities in 1982, although General Motors continued to hire co-ops from GMI. The name of the institution at that time became GMI Engineering & Management Institute. The letters GMI were retained to allow easy identification with the old General Motors Institute, although officially GMI didn't stand for General Motors anymore. As part of this change new co-op employers began participating with the institution, one of the first non-GM sponsors being Magna International of Canada, and the University began charging a full tuition fee. On January 1 1998, the school's name was formally changed to Kettering University. Various reasons for the name change have been offered, including:

• The desire to create an identity separate from General Motors and the auto industry, especially with corporate partners and funding agencies who naturally assumed that GMI was still a part of General Motors
• The desire to avoid confusion with General Motors University, a General Motors training center created in 1997^[4].
• A desire to honor Charles F. Kettering, an early 20th century inventor, a proponent of cooperative education, and an early benefactor of the school. ^[5]

Admissions

id:color1 value:rgb(1,0.851,0)
id:color2 value:rgb(0.055,0.2,0.576)

 bar:Leaders width:25 mark:(line,black) align:left fontsize:7px
 from:1919 till:1950 shift:($dx,-3) color:color1 text:Albert J. Sobey
 from:1950 till:1960 shift:($dx,-3) color:color2 text:Guy R. Cowing
 from:1960 till:1976 shift:($dx,-3) color:color1 text:Harold P. Rodes
 from:1976 till:1991 shift:($dx,-3) color:color2 text:William B. Cottingham
 from:1991 till:2005 shift:($dx,-3) color:color1 text:James E.A. John
 from:2005 till:end shift:($dx,-3) color:color2 text:Stanley R. Liberty

The freshman class of 2006 was selected from 2,157 applicants where 1,534 were admitted and 398 enrolled. On average, 86% of freshman scored higher than 600 on the math section of the SAT and 84% scored over 500 on the verbal section^[6]. On top of this, students averaged a 3.54 GPA from high school and an average ACT score of 26^[7].

Academic Programs

Kettering University offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Applied Mathematics, Applied Physics, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Chemistry, Industrial Engineering, Management, and Mechanical Engineering. The University also offers several minors and has recently developed a Master's Program. Although courses differ with major, on average, completion of 160 credit hours is needed for graduation. Kettering is one of the few engineering schools that prepares students for the workplace through 100% participation in a co-op program. In addition to classwork, students spend half the year acquiring full-time professional work experience. This is broken into four rotations of 11 week terms. The student body is separated into two sections, A and B. A-Section attends classes from July to September and then from January to March, while B-Section attends classes from October to December and April to June. During the three-month periods between class terms, students work full-time with one of 700 co-op employer partners^[8]. As a requirement to graduate, each student must complete five work terms and a major project for their employer in the form of a thesis. On average a student earns between $40,000 and $65,000 throughout their co-op experience^[9]. The curriculum is designed to be completed in four and one-half years, although it is possible to complete it in four years.

Campus

The C.S. Mott Engineering and Science Center.

Thompson Hall Residence Hall

Kettering University consists of six buildings and nearly ninety acres of land. In 1995, Kettering built a park spanning over much of this land. In addition to this, the Connie and Jim John Recreation Center was built to offer students a larger selection of activities. With over 75,000 cubic feet, some of the more notable aspects are its Olympic sized pool, indoor track and numerous tennis, basketball and racquetball courts^[10]. These enhancements totaled over $7 million dollars to construct^[11].

Kettering offers two of these six buildings for student housing, which are discussed below in student life. The school's Campus Center is the location of the Admissions and Public Relations offices as well as the student cafeteria. The C.S. Mott Engineering and Science Center was constructed in 2003 and contains an entire fuel cell systems and powertrain integration labs^[12]. This $43 million dollar facility also contains several other laboratories such as; emissions, bioengineering and various others that make the core science courses for most students. Kettering is also one of the few schools in the nation to have a crash safety center, in which students are able to experience crash testing and develop effective safety equipment^[10]. Also located in the Academic Building, Kettering offers a variety of other engineering labs such as machining, welding, polymer processing and injection molding^[13].

Student life

48 percent of students live "on campus" in either the 445 student resident's hall or at the apartment complex adjacent to campus, Campus Village Apartments, capable of housing 211. Kettering students stay active with their involvement in over 15 Greek organizations, student government and recreational activities^[14].

Clubs

Kettering Student Government sponsors many student clubs to promote an atmosphere conducive to social interaction. Most clubs receive money from the University to operate. However, some clubs are self financing, either because they wish to avoid the restrictions placed on the Kettering Student Government (KSG) sponsored clubs or because they are unaware that funding is available. For a full list of clubs, see the list of student organizations at the bottom of the page.

Greek life

The university has a very active Greek system, which is recognized as an excellent source of service opportunities and leadership training. Over one-third of the student body is currently involved in a Fraternity or sorority. Historically membership has been as high as 80%. Many North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) fraternities have chapters at Kettering as do several National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sororities. The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) has several local chapters that are also affiliated with Kettering. Each group has a school-wide council that its members participate in. These councils are designed to keep communication lines open between the different groups, and to facilitate relations with the University on matters such as school-wide events and membership. In addition to the recognized organizations there are several unrecognized organizations including a local Christian fraternity and a local Christian sorority. For a full list of the Greek letter organizations on campus, see the list of Greek Letter Organizations. During the first few weeks of school, freshmen are "rushed", a period of intense recruitment where all of the IFC Fraternities host events and attempt to recruit new members. Fraternities promote their events with signs, calendars, personal visits, and by painting the bull dog, a campus tradition.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Kettering University people

Although Kettering University is a small school, with only 28,000 alumni, a high percentage have experienced extremely successful careers. Some examples of notable alumni include:

Notable honorary degrees

Main article: List of Kettering University people

External links

List of student organizations

List of Greek Letter organizations at Kettering

North-American Interfraternity Conference fraternities

National Panhellenic Sororities

National Pan-Hellenic Organizations

• Delta Sigma Theta
• Alpha Phi Alpha
• Kappa Alpha Psi known as "The Kappas"

References

1. ^1 endowment  America's Best Colleges 2008. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.

1. ^ Inventor of the week, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. ^ U.S. News and World Report
3. ^ Kettering Fast Facts
4. ^ General Motors Training and Education
5. ^ Charles Kettering biography
6. ^ Yahoo College Facts
7. ^ Princeton Review
8. ^ Kettering Employer Partners
9. ^ Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation
10. ^ ^{a b} Peterson's College Close-Up
11. ^ Whatsupdowntown
12. ^ fuelcellworks
13. ^ Kettering Facts
14. ^ College Data