KeyBank Foundation Awards $1.25 Million to Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Cleveland State University for “STEM” Classrooms on Cleveland State Campus

CMSD, CSU to create joint campus for 11^th and 12^th graders at MC²STEM High School

CLEVELAND – January 8, 2013 – KeyBank Foundation has awarded a $1.25 million grant that will enable the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Cleveland State University to partner in creating a STEM school for 11^th and 12^th grade students on the CSU campus, officials from KeyBank Foundation, the school district and the university announced today. The grant agreement is expected to be approved by the boards of CMSD and CSU at their next meetings on January 8 and January 16, respectively.

The grant will fund renovations at Cleveland State’s Rhodes Tower to create facilities for students from the Cleveland schools’ MC²STEM high school. The high school, which offers a special curriculum emphasizing science, technology, engineering and math, has demonstrated significant success in preparing students for higher education. Its goal is to immerse high school students in a college environment, to better prepare them for enrollment at a four-year university. MC²STEM recently graduated its first class; 100 percent of those graduates enrolled at a university.

Currently, 9^th grade students at MC² attend classes at the Great Lakes Science Center, while 10^th graders are taught at GE Lighting’s Nela Park campus in East Cleveland.

“We are proud to invest in a partnership that we believe holds great value for Northeast Ohio as it prepares students for success in education and for advanced careers in a modern workforce,” said KeyBank Chairman and CEO Beth Mooney.

The upgraded facilities at Cleveland State will include renovated classrooms, laboratories and a fabrication lab, or FabLab, where computers and production equipment are linked through sophisticated technology that allows students to create objects based on their own designs.

In addition to renovations, KeyBank Foundation’s grant will provide scholarship support for students intending to take early college courses and enroll at CSU.  It also includes budget support for CSU to provide professional development opportunities for STEM teachers, as well as graduate student support for STEM students.

“The long-standing partnerships maintained with KeyBank and CSU have been instrumental in our ability to expand our high-performing school choices in Cleveland,” said Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon. “Support from our business and higher education communities provides additional momentum for the implementation of the Cleveland Plan that complements levy support from citizens to propel us toward our transformation goals.”

This gift is the latest in a series from KeyBank Foundation in support of STEM education at CMSD. In 2011, the Foundation awarded $700,000 to CMSD to fund STEM programming and support services at six elementary and middle schools in the District. In total, KeyBank Foundation has awarded CMSD more than $2.5 million to support STEM education initiatives. Key also announced today that they will be donating 1,900 computers to CMSD for use in classrooms and computer labs across the District.

“We are thankful to KeyBank Foundation for continued support of innovative educational programs and pathways to college for Cleveland students. The creation of the MC² partnership would not be possible without this gift and the commitment of our faculty to the mission of preparing a new generation of students to succeed in college,” said Cleveland State University President Ronald Berkman.

“In addition to offering a curriculum that prepares students for higher education, we are introducing them to a college environment, which contributes to a smoother transition after they graduate from high school,” said Margot Copeland, executive vice president and chair of KeyBank Foundation. “And, because the STEM disciplines are so rigorous, they prepare students not only to enroll in a four-year college but also to graduate.”

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Contacts:
KeyBank: Lynne Woodman, (216) 577-1374, lynne_woodman@keybank.com
Cleveland Metropolitan School District: Roseann Canfora, (216) 858-6510 roseann.canfora@cmsdnet.net
Cleveland State University: Joe Mosbrook, (216) 523-7279, j.mosbrook@csuohio.edu

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“This honor reflects our strong partnership with the SBA, our relationship approach to our business and our ongoing commitment to small businesses,” said Michael J. Toth, senior vice president and Business Banking head. “Key’s experience with SBA programs has helped us support our clients through a volatile economy.”

The SBA awards the Large 7(a) Lender of the Year based on factors such as portfolio performance, year over year growth in loan approval volume and on lender size, and ongoing commitment to the growth and expansion of small businesses.

Key demonstrates its commitment to small business in several ways, said John Moshier, senior vice president and national SBA manager. For example, Moshier said, Key is one of only four banks to consistently place among the nation’s top 30 SBA lenders. In addition, Key has pledged to make $5 billion in small business loans by 2014, and expects to fulfill that pledge well ahead of schedule.

“We have deep insight into our clients’ business challenges and exceptional understanding of the many ways the SBA can help them,” Moshier said.

Toth added: “The SBA honor highlights our ability to identify creative ways to support the capital needs of our clients through different economic cycles, and reinforces our passion for prudently supporting the growth of our clients and our economy. It is a great honor to be recognized by the SBA, and an even greater honor to be able to help our clients thrive.”

About Key

Key traces its history back more than 160 years and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, Key has assets of approximately $87 billion, as of March 31, 2012. 

Key provides deposit, lending, cash management and investment services to individuals and small businesses in 14 states under the name of KeyBank National Association.  Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name.

For more information, visit www.key.com.

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