James Hresko ’87, Vice President Global Powertrain Engineering for General Motors, was on campus recently to deliver a gift from the GM Foundation to support FIRST Robotics, SAE competition teams, women and minority scholarships, the AIM and LITE programs, the annual Ability Scholarship, and scholarships for Hispanic students.

Hresko is Kettering's Key Executive for GM.

He, and other members of GM and the GM Foundation, met with Kettering President Stan Liberty to deliver the $120,000 donation that will support multiple scholarships and programs. “The economy has a little momentum and our company is doing better,” said Hresko, “which enables us to help Kettering a little more this year.”

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a national effort to showcase science and engineering as fun, especially to elementary, middle school and high school students.  FIRST Robotics is particularly focused on high school students in grades 9-12. Kettering hosts the FIRST Rookie regional every year and Kettering students and young alumni sponsor a local team - Metal Muscle. According to Robert Nichols, director of External Affairs, Kettering’s student population is made up of approximately 16 to 17 percent FIRST participants, the highest percentage of any college in the U.S.

Kettering has four SAE Collegiate Design Competition teams including: Formula, Mini Baja, Clean Snowmobile and Aero Design. SAE teams go beyond textbook theory to design, build and test the performance of a real vehicle and compete in regional, national and international competitions.

Academically Interested Minds (AIM) is a five-week residential summer program designed to help students of color make a successful transition from high school to college. Students from across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean attend freshman level courses the summer before their senior year in high school.

LITE is a two-week residential program created by Kettering University to introduce 11th grade girls to what engineers do and how they significantly improve people’s lives by applying math, science and technology to human problems.