Texas Instruments (TI) announced that the company will join US2020 to help mobilize 1 million STEM mentors annually by the year 2020.
The partnership with US2020 will enable TI to provide its employees and retirees more opportunities to impact science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education as mentors, with an emphasis on reaching female and minority students who are underrepresented today in STEM careers. The United States is projected to add 1 million new STEM jobs between 2012 and 2022, making increased student interest and achievement in STEM subjects imperative.
In conjunction with the White House Science Fair today, US2020 announced continued momentum for its effort, mentioning the new partnership with TI along with the nearly doubling of its US2020 city network that helps connect passionate employees with schools and non-profits. US2020's STEM mentoring network, which has expanded to 13 cities, now involves over 250 partners, including major corporations such as Chevron, Cisco, Cognizant, Discovery Communications, Raytheon, SanDisk, Tata Consultancy Services and TI, as well as numerous education and nonprofit organizations.
"The key to achieving our goal is building regional networks that connect STEM employers with local schools and nonprofits, and building a culture of service and mentorship within STEM companies," said Nick Hutchinson, executive director with US2020.
"US2020 will help us connect our employees and retirees with STEM-specific volunteer opportunities, which they've told us is their passion," said Andy Smith, director of Texas Instruments philanthropy. "Because US2020 is working with nonprofit partners who provide best-in-class student mentoring programs, including Citizen Schools, We Teach Science and Girl Scouts, we will be able to engage even more TI employees in STEM mentoring both remotely online and in-person in our communities across the U.S."
TI's Bay Area employees will lead off the company's first US2020 mentoring initiative, partnering with one of US2020's education partners, Breakthrough Silicon Valley, on a career day April 15 at TI's Santa Clara campus. TI will continue expansion of STEM mentoring opportunities for employees at all of its U.S. sites in the fall.
"TI has a long-standing commitment to building strong communities, and education is TI's top focus for both philanthropy and volunteerism," Smith said.
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