Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia Pledges $900,000 to Fund SAE Foundation’s STEM Education

(West Point, GA.) Dec. 7, 2012 – On Thursday at West Point Elementary School, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) presented a $900,000 donation to the SAE Foundation that will be used to impact science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Troup County between 2012 and 2014.

The presentation was attended by local city council members, county commissioners, school board members and school administrators; Randy Jackson, KMMG’s vice president of human resources and administration, spoke about Kia’s commitment to this area’s students and the importance of working together as one system, one team.

“Our organization is a learning organization,” he said. “We try to do things better every day – it is part of our Kia Way philosophy. We are taking our philosophy and trying to share it with the community.”

KMMG’s commitment to STEM and the community is strengthened by the partnership with SAE Foundation and the Troup County School System located in Georgia. SAE Foundation will use the funds over the next three years to provide services to the school system through the implementation of SAE’s K – 12 STEM Education Program, A World in Motion^© (AWIM).

AWIM is an award-winning program that brings science, technology, engineering and mathematics to life in the classroom. These programs help students to build a foundation for careers as engineers, scientists or technicians, to meet future workforce needs of companies like Kia Motors.

Matt Miller, director of the SAE Foundation, discussed the importance of focusing on these subject areas to spark the students’ interest in science and engineering.

“In the long term, our goal is to increase student participation in the STEM fields,” he said. “We have found that when you reach students in lower grades, the more impact you will have.”

During the event, KMMG team members assisted students in an activity where the students each built a JetToy Chassis on their own beforehand. The students then took center stage, each releasing their JetToys to see how far they would go. This activity provided an example of what is to come with the AWIM program.

“We could not be more pleased that Kia has chosen to make such a tremendous investment into these critical subject areas by providing services to our schools,” said Dr. Cole Pugh, superintendent of Troup County Schools. “We thank Kia for recognizing the value of education and for being such a great friend to the Troup County School System.”

About KMMG

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) is the first manufacturing site in North America for Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, Korea. KMMG is located on 2,200 acres in West Point, Georgia, and began mass production on Nov. 16, 2009. KMMG is home to the 2013 Sorento CUV and the 2013 Optima mid-size sedan, two of the brand’s top selling models. Beginning in 2012, the plant has the ability to build 360,000 vehicles annually from U.S. and globally-sourced parts.

About SAE Foundation

The SAE Foundation is the charitable arm of SAE International that strives to encourage and increase student participation and achievement in science, technology, engineering and math through educational programs, including A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™. SAE International is a global association of more than 133,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International’s core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development.

About AWIM

SAE International’s A World In Motion® (AWIM) is a teacher-administered, industry volunteer-assisted program that brings science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education to life in the classroom for students in kindergarten through grade 12. Benchmarked to the national standards, AWIM incorporates the laws of physics, motion, flight and electronics into age-appropriate hands on activities that reinforce classroom STEM curriculum.