J&J Receives 25-Year Sponsorship Award from Penn State’s CSCR
Article reposted with permission from Johnson & Johnson.
For a quarter of a century, Johnson & Johnson has been a proud sponsor of Penn State’s Center for Supply Chain Research (CSCR). Recently, this mutually-beneficial relationship was recognized with an award ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of Johnson & Johnson's corporate sponsorship.
Johnson & Johnson has very close ties with Penn State. There are well over 1300 Johnson & Johnson employees who hold a Penn State degree, 49 of whom were hired in 2022 alone. Penn State also considers Johnson & Johnson a top company for hiring co-ops and interns.
Penn State students and graduates are excellent hires and interns for Johnson & Johnson. Penn State was named by Gartner as having the #1 graduate program for supply chain management and has 829 students enrolled in their supply chain program. Additionally, Penn State offers 24 executive education classes each year.
The corporate sponsorship between Johnson & Johnson and Penn State delivers incredible value to all parties. On the one side, Penn State receives a regular annual monetary contribution. In return, Johnson & Johnson benefits from access to Penn State’s talent pool, executive education courses, research projects, and networking events.
At the award ceremony, Steve Tracey, CSCR's executive director and Penn State Smeal professor of practice, stated, “It’s a wonder when you can celebrate a milestone as impressive as a 25th anniversary. The reason I think we’ve partnered with Johnson & Johnson for so long is our commitment to shared values. When you share the same values, you can accomplish a lot together. I’m quite certain that this partnership has many more years ahead – with a lot left to accomplish!”
In attendance at the award ceremony was the current executive sponsor, Ron Volans, Senior Director Logistics, Deliver; two prior executive sponsors – Kristyn Harkins, VP, Engineering & Property Services, and Kurt Underkoffler, VP, Commercial Operations; and Wanda Hope, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer.
“Penn State and Johnson & Johnson are organizations that people stay connected to for life. That’s because both organizations work to foster a culture of belonging where everyone feels welcomed and comfortable to show up as their authentic selves,” confirmed Wanda. “This is a tradition of collaboration and a mutually-beneficial partnership that helps Penn State students have a greater understanding of the workforce and helps Johnson & Johnson to incorporate new perspectives and future talent.”
Kristyn commented, “Our partnership has enabled us to focus on recruiting the best talent into our organization, to benchmark on critical Supply Chain topics, to leverage academic research and to bring a multitude of learning and development opportunities to our Johnson & Johnson employees. A huge thank you to Steve Tracey and everyone at the CSCR for their support and expertise!”
Upon receiving the award on behalf of Johnson & Johnson, Ron affirmed the importance and power of shared values, noting, “The partnership is founded on the core principles found in both Johnson & Johson’s Credo and Penn State’s Mission, including responsibility, respect, innovation, community, environment, diversity and inclusion, and global leadership. Penn State and Johnson & Johnson partner through CSCR to connect academia and industry through higher education to bring new supply chain research, innovation, and world-class knowledge to benefit students, alumni, industry partners, and faculty. We are very excited to be recognized by Penn State as a 25-year partner and sponsor and look forward to continued collaboration.”
