TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota
USA Foundation and California State University, Dominguez Hills
announced today that together they will tackle workforce readiness
issues head-on, creating a new Toyota Center for Innovation in STEM
Education (Toyota Center) to inspire learning for students from
kindergarten through college.
Toyota USA Foundation's
$4 million grant will support the
design, construction, and equipment for a new 87,000+ square foot
science and innovation building on the CSU Dominguez Hills campus,
which will house the Toyota Center. It will include a fabrication
lab, labs for K-12 teacher demonstrations and training, SMART
classrooms, collaborative workspaces, and an outdoor workspace.
"The center will help further science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics teaching, learning, research, and 'making' that is
critical to the future of California's youth, the region, and the
nation," said Mike Goss, president,
Toyota USA Foundation. "Investing
today to provide hands-on, creative experiences that create
excitement for STEM careers is critical to America's advanced
manufacturing future."
"We want this new facility to help support students of the South
Bay and Los Angeles so that they
can be prepared for the next generation of jobs," Goss added.
Toyota Motor Sales committed an additional $750,000 toward construction of mobile trailers
equipped with tools and technology, such as laser cutters to create
2D and 3D structures, 3D printers, and electronic components for
prototyping projects. These mobile fab labs pulled by four Toyota
Tundra trucks will travel throughout the South Bay and the greater
Los Angeles region to serve local
schools, bringing the learning to students, educators, and
communities.
"The new center will be a key resource for the university,
directly impacting academic success and strengthening the region's
future STEM workforce," said CSU Dominguez Hills President
Willie Hagan. "We are honored to be
working with such a forward-thinking community partner as Toyota.
Educators are constantly adapting to new, innovative technology and
processes to prepare students for success in our global society.
The Toyota Center and mobile fab labs will provide leading tools
for the development of creative academic programs and innovative
curricula in line with the Next Generation Science Standards and
Common Core State Standards."
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that by 2018 there will
be more than 1.4 million new STEM-related jobs that could go
unfulfilled. According to the California Teachers Association,
"California's demand for new math
and science teachers in the next 10 years is expected to be over
33,000 and the current rate of new math and science teachers cannot
come close to meeting that need." In fact, in 2014 CSU Dominguez
Hills received a $12.45 million grant
from the U.S. Department of Education to train highly qualified
secondary math and science teachers to help improve student
achievement in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The mobile fabrication labs are expected to begin arriving in
May 2017. Groundbreaking for the
science and innovation building is expected in the fall of
2017.
About California State University,
Dominguez Hills
California
State University, Dominguez Hills, centrally located in the
greater Los Angeles South Bay region, is a model urban university
with a wide range of academic programming, providing
accessible, high quality, and transformative education to
students aspiring to succeed and thrive in a complex, global
society. Since 1960, CSU Dominguez Hills has served a
diverse community of learners and educators collaborating to change
lives and communities for the better. A national model and
laboratory for student success, the university offers a proven path
to opportunity and social equity, advancing a college-focused
culture in the communities it serves while providing vital
resources of knowledge, talent, and leadership to the
greater Los Angeles region and
beyond.
Today, CSU Dominguez Hills boasts over 100,000 alumni –
doctors, scientists, engineers, educators, entrepreneurs – who are
leaders in education, health, technology, entertainment, public
service, and business, making a difference in their fields, in
people's lives, and in their communities. For more
information, visit www.csudh.edu.
http://www.csudhnews.com/
http://www.twitter.com/DominguezHills
http://www.facebook.com/csudh
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius
and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to advancing mobility
through our Toyota and Lexus brands. Over the past 60 years,
we've produced more than 30 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14
manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than
44,000 people (more than 34,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North
American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold almost 2.6
million cars and trucks (2.45 million in the U.S.) in 2016 – and
about 85 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years
are still on the road today.
Toyota partners with community, civic, academic, and
governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing
mobility challenges. We share company resources and extensive
know-how to support non-profits to help expand their ability to
assist more people move more places. For more information about
Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
Media
Contacts:
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California State
University, Dominguez Hills
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Paul Browning, Media
Relations
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Phone:
310.243.2740
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Email:
pbrowning@csudh.edu
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Toyota
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Media
Line
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Phone:
310.468.5297
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SOURCE Toyota