UPS Named Kettering University West Michigan Co-op Employer of the Year

FLINT, Mich.--The UPS Michigan district headquarters in Grand Rapids, Mich., will receive the 2006 Kettering University West Michigan Co-op Employer of the Year Award during ceremonies Thursday, Oct. 12, at a reception in Grand Rapids. Kettering President Stan Liberty will present the award in recognition and appreciation of the company’s continued support of professional co-op students.

Kettering selected UPS (http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/about/index.html) from a list of 39 cooperative education partners in West Michigan. Kettering and UPS have been partners in cooperative education relationship since 1989. The company currently employs 67 Kettering students in 31 locations nationwide, with seven students assigned to the Grand Rapids facility.

Bob Nichols, vice president of Corporate Relations and Enrollment Services, praised UPS for the dedication to students for the past 17 years. “UPS and Kettering are in many ways a ‘perfect fit,’” he said. “UPS- Grand Rapids has continued its long standing commitment to Kettering through good times and bad and the Grand Rapids facility has had the longest UPS relationship of all 31 company facilities,” he added.

The commitment by UPS extends beyond co-op education. Albert Wright, vice president of Engineering at UPS, is an active member of Kettering’s Board of Trustees. Additionally, Brad Fitzgerald, director of Supply Chain Solutions, is a member of the institution’s Business School Advisory Board.

Past winners of the West Michigan Co-op Employer of the Year Award include Steelcase of Grand Rapids in 2005, Gill Industries in 2004, Cascade Engineering in 2003 and Siemens Dematic (formerly Rapistan) in 2002.

Founded in 1907 as a messenger company in the United States, UPS has grown into a $42.6 billion corporation by clearly focusing on the goal of enabling commerce around the globe. Today UPS is a global company with one of the most recognized and admired brands in the world.

Located in Flint, Michigan, Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute) is one of the country’s premier co-op institutions and is ranked among the nation’s finest specialty schools by U.S. News and World Report. For further information, visit www.kettering.edu.