Information technologies program awarded grant

The Northwestern Mutual Foundation will extend its partnership with UW-Whitewater's Information Technology programs in the form of a $78,000 donation. "The intent is to help us attract and retain students in our Information Technology Infrastructure (ITI) and Management Computer Systems (MCS) majors," said John Chenoweth, chair of UW-Whitewater's IT and business education department. The commitment will allow the university to offer two $3,500 scholarships per year for the next five years and provide ongoing support for summer technology camps. Both scholarships are intended for outstanding juniors or seniors in ITI or MCS. One of the two, the Northwestern Mutual Women in IT Scholarship is specifically designated for female applicants. "It allows us to focus on increasing interest and participation of women in information technology careers," Chenoweth said. Seniors Andrew Kielbasa and Danielle Dresang were the two students awarded the Northwestern Mutual Scholarships this school year. "I believe that Northwestern Mutual sees this as a great way to keep networking with UW-Whitewater students," Dresang said. "They hire quite a few of our students as both interns and full-time employees." The rest of the contribution will be used to continue offering "CyberGirlz" technology camps, which bring sixth, seventh and eighth grade girls to campus for a week during the summer to participate in various IT activities. In addition, the contribution will allow the university to offer a second camp, called "CyberHigh" for freshman and sophomore girls this coming summer, according to the UW-Whitewater Tech Camps Web site. "I think that it is great that Northwestern Mutual is involved as they are in our programs. It's a very mutually-beneficial relationship to be formed," Kielbasa said. "By investing in UW-Whitewater's programs, they hope to create more qualified students that will look at Northwestern Mutual as a career possibility."

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