Kettering University Receives $1 Million Gift from Windrose Technology to Advance Sustainability and Clean Energy Innovation
Gift Supports Scholarships and Endowment Focused on Sustainability, Green Manufacturing, and Mobility Technologies
Flint, MI - Kettering University proudly announces it has received a $1 million gift from Windrose Technology, a Silicon Valley-based leader in heavy-duty electric vehicle innovation. This gift, led by Windrose Technology founder and CEO Wen Han and Kettering alumnus Jason Roycht ’96, underscores the University’s commitment to incorporating sustainability and clean energy education into the curriculum.
“Kettering University is pleased to partner with Windrose Technology in preparing the next generation of engineers and innovators to tackle the pressing challenges of sustainable manufacturing and materials as well as clean energy,” said Jennifer Patterson, Kettering University Vice President of Advancement and External Relations. “This generous gift not only enhances our ability to provide students with hands-on experience in renewable energy and green manufacturing technologies but also represents the critical connection between education and industry.”
The gift includes a Sustainability Endowment that will empower Kettering’s College of Engineering to expand its sustainability initiatives, including hosting guest speakers, organizing faculty and student participation in conferences, and fostering industry partnerships. In addition to the endowment, the Windrose Technology Scholarship will benefit students with interests in sustainability, green manufacturing, and mobility technologies.
Windrose Technology’s gift aligns with Kettering University’s commitment to advancing sustainability and clean energy. Wen Han sees this partnership as an opportunity to inspire future engineers to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.
“Sustainability is the key mission of my career, and automotive is the key area that drives much of the pollution today,” Han said. “Everyone starts in school before they go into the workforce and they should be entitled to study sustainability before they make a career choice.”
Jason Roycht, a strategic advisor at Windrose Technology and a former executive at Nikola Motors, played a pivotal role in developing the gift with Han. Together, they identified Kettering as an ideal partner for advancing education in clean energy and sustainability.
“Wen Han is extremely forward-focused to support and inspire students to pursue studies for sustainability,” Roycht said. “When I decided to join his company, I requested his support to extend these activities to Kettering. Wen had little understanding of the University but quickly became impressed with the program and the key alumni, especially the strong connections to the automotive industry and Detroit.”
For Jason Roycht, the gift is personal. “My father-in-law, Ray Reske, attended and grew out of the General Motors Institute [now Kettering University] in the mid-’60s, firmly in the apex of Detroit and cars,” Roycht said. “Ray was a fantastic example of the technical leaders born out of this time and had a fabulous career at General Motors… We all would like to continue this spirit by supporting and helping more students pursue learning and embracing problems and practical solutions.”
In that vein, the Windrose gift also includes the Reske Legacy Scholarship, named after Raymond D. Reske ’66. This scholarship honors Reske’s legacy of inspiring multiple generations of engineers. His daughters, Laura (Reske) Roycht ’95 and Darlene (Reske) Sypitkowski ’98, earned their degrees from the University. During their studies, they also met their future husbands, Jason Roycht and Greg Sypitkowski ’98. Continuing the family legacy is Mike Roycht, Jason and Laura’s son, who is currently a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering, and Madeline Sypitkowski, Greg and Darlene’s daughter, who is currently a first-year student majoring in Computer Engineering.
The donation also underscores the value of Kettering’s unique “hands-on, minds-on” Co-op education model. “The Kettering experience did a stellar job in pushing me into the ‘deep end of the pool’ and forcing me to swim,” Roycht said. “I have to say that the speed, challenges, and mindset required to be successful in the EV world pulls more from my life experiences at Kettering than the textbooks.”
This gift builds on Kettering University’s long-standing reputation as a leader in innovation and engineering education. Reinforcing the collaboration between academia and industry highlights the University’s ongoing commitment to advancing sustainability and clean energy solutions.
Wen Han shares more about Kettering's commitment to sustainability in this video.
