Ford Motor Company is turning to Arizona State University to turbocharge its ranks of engineers and business minds. This week, the legendary automaker named ASU a premier school and a top-tier Ford recruiting and hiring institution.
The new designation puts ASU alongside MIT, Notre Dame, UC Berkeley, Purdue and a crew of other prestigious schools in Ford’s premier status.
Ford joins nearly 40 major corporations that have elevated ASU to an elite designation in recruiting: Internet pioneers like Yelp and GoDaddy, financial powerhouses Vanguard and Charles Schwab, insurance leaders Geico and State Farm, as well as Mayo Clinic and American Airlines are among those who have increased the flow in their pipeline of talent from ASU.
Ford, with a history spanning the Model T to modern hybrids, taps into the career centers at ASU’s nationally ranked Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and W. P. Carey School of Business. Cindy Parnell, executive director of ASU Career Services, anticipates an increase in students recruited and hired by Ford in the coming academic year.
“ASU’s national rankings, graduation rates and research enterprise have been rising for a decade,” Parnell said. “The companies and organizations shaping the future economy have noticed.”
Premier schools meet criteria set by Ford such as school quality, top externally ranked curriculums, talent pool size and diversity. ASU is focused on expanding access to a quality education, a principle that has helped build a diverse student population across its five metropolitan Phoenix campus locations.
Ford has recruited Sun Devils for many years. Steve Papanikolas, Ford’s lead recruiter at ASU, said ASU recruits are some of the best.
“Elevating ASU to a premier school will allow us to deepen our connection with the Sun Devil community and enable Ford to continue to attract the best and brightest ASU has to offer,” Papanikolas said.
“ASU’s national rankings, graduation rates and research enterprise have been rising for a decade. The companies and organizations shaping the future economy have noticed.”
— Cindy Parnell, executive director of ASU Career Services
Expanded access has elevated the quality of the programs at ASU, producing master learners who are prepared to adapt to economic and global change. W. P. Carey School of Business fields world-renowned faculty representing six continents, and partner corporations at the top of the NYSE and NASDAQ help keep the curriculum sharp and up to date. The school develops problem-solving business leaders geared toward positive change, qualities that are highly sought by major corporations.
The National Science Foundation recently made the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering one of only two universities in the nation to be awarded a second, prestigious Engineering Research Center. And team of students is building a Formula-style race car for a competition that will be eyed by Tesla, Chrysler and Ford. They are among the robot-builders and rocket scientists, the doers and creators at the Fulton Schools who annually draw inquiries from top recruiters.
Top photo: Mike Conard grinds down intake supports for the Formula-style race car he and other students built for a national competition taking place this week. Conard recently graduated and will head to Michigan for a job with Ford later this summer. Read the latest installment about Conard and his teammates' efforts to design and build their car here.
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