Seeing the Forest for the Trees -- An Industry

Abstract: This paper is co-authored by Michael R. Bowman and Glendali Rodriquez and is part of the conference proceedings for the ASQ 2012 Advancing the STEM Agenda Conference.

Partnerships between universities and professional organizations can address the demand for well-educated professionals. Collaboration between the University of Wisconsin Stout (UW-Stout) and the North American Wholesale Lumber Association (NAWLA) Education Foundation (NEF) connected science, technology, engineering & mathematics (STEM) students to internships and STEM faculty with industry leaders. In order to meet the workforce needs of the lumber industry, NAWLA began an educational program in 2011 that would encourage students outside of typical forestry-related programs to investigate opportunities in the lumber business. This paper examines the partnership between UW-Stout and NAWLA, and the results from the first offering in a three-year planned series.

Keywords: STEM - Conference Proceedings - Career Development - Partnering