General Motors Corp. has given $200,000 to Cornell University's College of Engineering to help educate future automotive engineers.

The grant was presented to President Hunter Rawlings on Oct. 28 by Michael Mutchler, GM vice president and group executive of the GM Powertrain Group, and Robert McCabe, general director of finance for GM's Service Parts Operations and a Cornell alumnus. Patricia Bryant, manager of education relations for GM, also attended the presentation and participated in GM Day, hosted by Cornell's Office of Corporate Relations.

"GM views Cornell University's College of Engineering as a key center for automotive engineering expertise," Mutchler said. "Cornell's programs provide excellent development and training of future automotive engineers. Such skills are critical to GM in its continual drive to improve quality and productivity."

Programs supported by the grant include Cornell's Engineering Minority Programs and Women's Programs in Engineering, the Master of Engineering Degree Program, curriculum development and the Center for Manufacturing Enterprise.

"GM further expects that Cornell University will continue to lead the way with technological developments and the drive to increase diversity amongst the ranks of engineers," Mutchler added.

"I am deeply appreciative of General Motors' generous gift to support vital programs in the College of Engineering," Rawlings told Mutchler. "By strengthening these areas, you and your colleagues have significantly reinforced Cornell's ability to prepare skilled professionals for critical roles in the automotive industry. We appreciate all you do and continue to do to fortify the bond between GM and Cornell."

GM has been a long-term supporter of Cornell's College of Engineering. The GM Engineering Facility at Cornell, funded by the company, has permitted teams of students to build high-quality Formula SAE and Hybrid Electric cars for national competition with other universities. The GM representatives met with engineering students who were constructing an SAE racing-type car for competition in Detroit this spring, heard presentations from two faculty members who advise master of engineering students on GM projects, and toured the Engineering Design Studio and Cornell Nanofabrication Facility.

"We thank General Motors for its generous support of the College of Engineering," said John E. Hopcroft, dean of the college. "It is my belief that partnerships, intellectual as well as financial, with companies like General Motors are crucial to our ability to educate engineers in the broad range of skills they will need to meet the challenges of today's global workplace."

GM supports selected colleges and universities in order to acquire the best human resource talent possible to enable GM to meet the competitive challenges of the 21st century and to encourage scientific research and development activities.