Back to the Future – Back to College for Corporate Leaders
Lockheed Martin Corporation and Drexel University launch unique educational initiative
Philadelphia, PA – March 31, 2006 – Starting on April 3rd, hundreds of Lockheed Martin employees will be going back to college, but this time on a virtual campus, thanks to a multi-year educational partnership between Lockheed Martin Corporation and Drexel University.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMC) selected Drexel University from hundreds of colleges which applied for the rights to be the exclusive curriculum provider to LMC’s Operations Leadership Development Program (OLDP). OLDP curriculum is designed to expose selected LMC employees to the leadership and technical knowledge necessary to become future leaders within LMC. The curriculum consists of five Drexel University graduate-level courses, leading to a Drexel Leadership Certificate, and transferable into Drexel’s MBA or Master’s Degree in Engineering Management.
“This academic collaboration runs counter to a growing trend of corporations creating their own ‘universities’ to meet their business objectives,” explained Dr. Kenneth Hartman, Academic Director of Drexel e-Learning. “Drexel, on the other hand, offers the quality and accountability sought after by corporations, like Lockheed Martin.”
All OLDP courses will be delivered completely online by Drexel University professors, with no on-campus requirement to pose an inconvenience to LMC employees working in locations around the globe. “LMC employees will be able to complete their course assignments at anytime and anywhere,” states Hartman.
“This partnership is further evidence of Drexel’s cutting edge curriculum and state of the art delivery system,” said Dr. Stephen V. Smith, Director of Drexel’s Master’s in Engineering Management program in the College of Engineering. “To have a company like Lockheed Martin select our university to educate their future leaders is a testament to the high rigor and practicality we have established in our academic program.”
“In the past, we’ve attempted to develop and facilitate several initiatives similar to this ourselves by outsourcing various consulting companies and through trying to establish our own type of in-house training system. They all lacked the accountability and credibility that we wanted in a leadership development program and is the main reason we chose Drexel,” said David Yenowine of Lockheed Martin.
If you would like more information about forming an educational partnership with Drexel University, please visit
www.drexel.com
, call (215) 895-0510, or e-mail
corporate@drexelelearning.com
.
About Drexel e-Learning:
Drexel e-Learning, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Drexel University and is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of “America's Best Colleges” for 2006. It specializes in innovative, Internet-based distance education programs for working professionals and corporations in the U.S. and abroad. A pioneer in online education, Drexel University has offered programs online since 1997.
About Lockheed Martin Corporation:
Lockheed Martin Corporation, an advanced technology company, was formed in March 1995 with the merger of two of the world's premier technology companies, Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta Corporation.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. As a lead systems integrator and information technology company, nearly 80% of Lockheed Martin's business is with the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. federal government agencies.
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News Contact:
Dr. Kenneth Hartman
Drexel eLearning
(215) 895-0501
kenhartman
@drexel.edu
