SAN FRANCISCO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Boeing and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) on Friday announced a new 8-million-U.S.-dollar, multi-year partnership to support the development of future technical talent.
The Boeing | TMCF partnership renewal will support campus recruitment initiatives, career immersion activities, TMCF Leadership Institute programming and student scholarships at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through 2026, the announcement said.
"Strategic partnerships, like those with HBCUs and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, help create a space where students can flourish - and they establish a talent pipeline that is vital to future innovation across the aerospace industry and here at Boeing," said Ted Colbert, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Building on a previous 6-million-dollar strategic investment made in 2018, the partnership will expand to include a new fast-track hiring program that will supply technical talent for open positions at Boeing locations in close geographic proximity to HBCUs.
"We are thrilled to continue our ground-breaking partnership with Boeing," said Harry Williams, president & CEO of the TMCF. "Through this partnership, Boeing has made a deep and long-term commitment to HBCUs and the talented students that attend them. We're excited about the continued success of the collaboration."
Since establishing the Boeing | TMCF partnership, Boeing has quadrupled intern hiring through priority partner HBCUs and extended the company's reach to more than 6,800 HBCU students. The partnership has been key to addressing Boeing's racial equity commitments and improving the representation of Black talent at the company, Boeing said.
To date, TMCF has awarded more than 500 million dollars in assistance to HBCUs. In addition to scholarships, TMCF provides programmatic, capacity building, public policy and advocacy support for the 47 TMCF member schools and the nearly 300,000 students who attend them, according to the announcement. ■