Toyota Pledges $400,000 to UCSB Bren School
Money to Fund Internships, Fellowships for Environmental Students
UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management announced today that global automaker giant Toyota has pledged a four-year, $400,000 grant to the institute.
The money funds the formation of student fellowships (“Toyota fellows”) designed to attract elite masters’ and PhD students by covering their academic and book fees. It also allows for a special internship program that will have students pursuing environmental studies to participate in the Toyota International Teacher Program. Finally, the money helps establish a professor-in-residence program that will have Bren faculty members accompanying research missions abroad.
According to a written statement, the grant represents Toyota’s in providing future environmental leaders the best education possible. Toyota’s corporate partner relationship with Bren goes back to 2001. Since then, the company boasts that it has helped the greenie mecca hire two graduates as full-time employees, created internships for 14 students and established the Toyota International Teacher Program. “Toyota is a visionary company – the leader in its field – and we are so pleased to work in partnership with them,” said Bren School Dean Ernst von Weizs¤cker.
