Goodyear's $3 Million Gift Helps UA Reach Goal

Akron, Ohio, Jan. 22, 1998 — A $3 million gift from The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has put The University of Akron over the top in its $125 million capital campaign, nearly three years ahead of schedule. University of Akron President Marion A. Ruebel and Sam Gibara, Goodyear chairman, chief executive officer and president, made the announcement today at the University's newly named Goodyear Polymer Center.

“The naming of the Polymer Center by the University Board of Trustees recognizes decades of Goodyear support of this institution, including the company's most recent and largest single donation ever,” Ruebel said. “In addition, we are naming the main auditorium in E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall, Goodyear Centennial Hall; establishing a Goodyear Chair for Intellectual Property in our School of Law; and beginning a Goodyear Global Scholarship Program in the College of Business Administration.”

“Without the efforts of thousands of campaign supporters, this campaign would not have succeeded,” Gibara said. "This level of support by so many companies and individuals is surely a measurement of the importance our community places on learning as a critical strength that must be treasured and nurtured.

“We are delighted to offer this support to the University and exceedingly grateful to the University trustees for so visibly recognizing that support," Gibara added. “Our donation is symbolic of the continuing, yet changing relationship Goodyear has with the community.”

Recalling his 1996 speech to the Akron Roundtable, Gibara said, “A global corporation like Goodyear keeps a community's life blood flowing with its finger on the pulse of worldwide competition, which helps raise the community's standards and its global competitiveness. We need each other, because neither can win the globalization battle alone.”

Knowledge and education, he added, ultimately will provide the competitive advantage for all, and attracting the best and brightest to the region will help ensure that Goodyear and other area employers remain world-class companies. Gibara said Goodyear's latest commitment to the University is an “act of confidence and another example of our partnership with The University of Akron and the community.”

Opened in 1991, the $17-million Goodyear Polymer Center has more than 50 research labs, 20 faculty offices, 10 faculty labs and 200 modules for students, visiting researchers and postdoctoral students. The Center is home to the University's College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, one of the largest and best programs of its kind in the world.

The Goodyear Chair in Intellectual Property in the School of Law will enhance existing programs in patent, trademark and copyright law and other similar specialties.

The main auditorium at E.J. Thomas will be renamed Goodyear Centennial Hall. Recognized internationally as an outstanding venue for the performing arts, the hall hosted nearly 400,000 attendees during its 1996-97 season. It is the home of the Ohio Ballet, the Akron Symphony Orchestra, the Children's Concert Society, the Akron Youth Symphony and the Summit County Choral Society. Most recently, the hall was the site for President Clinton's inaugural town hall meeting on race relations.

The Goodyear Global Scholarship Program, established in the College of Business Administration's International Business Program, will begin in the fall of 1998 and provide four-year scholarships for Goodyear associates and their families worldwide.

“We are particularly proud to provide these scholarships, which will add to the diversity of the University's student body and prepare students for careers in global companies,” Gibara said.

Four scholarships will be presented annually to one student from each of Goodyear's regions—North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe. The scholarships will be named after four former Goodyear business leaders who made important contributions to Goodyear's global success.

The Latin American scholarship will be named after Charles J. Pilliod, Jr., Goodyear chairman from 1974 to 1983. Pilliod spent much of his career in Latin America, and after retirement served as U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

The North American scholarship will be named after Robert E. Mercer, Goodyear chairman from 1983 to 1989. Mercer devoted much of his career to the growth and expansion of North American operations including the Kelly-Springfield subsidiary and the Engineered Products Division.

The European scholarship will be named after Tom H. Barrett, Goodyear chairman from 1989 to 1991. Barrett served in Europe at Goodyear's Luxembourg complex, which became Goodyear's largest investment outside North America.

The Asian scholarship will be named after Stanley C. Gault, Goodyear chairman from 1991 to 1996. Under Gault's leadership, Goodyear became the first major global tire company to enter China by acquiring both a tire plant and an automotive hose plant under his tenure.

“Naming Goodyear's global scholarships after these four living Goodyear chairmen is not only appropriate, but it permanently recognizes the critical importance of outstanding business leadership for a global corporation,” said Gibara.

More than 200 donors, educators, University trustees, civic and business leaders, legislators and friends of the University attended today's luncheon.

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