Order of the Knoll Corporate and Foundation Award

3M

Iowa State University and 3M have been working together for decades, resulting in academic and recruiting collaborations, far-reaching philanthropy, and innovative research that have lifted both the university and the global manufacturer to new heights.

In 2005, 3M made the largest-ever corporate gift to a student-focused initiative in ISU’s College of Engineering. With 3M’s $500,000 contribution, Iowa State was able to establish the Engineering Leadership Program, a comprehensive program for engineering students that provides scholarships, academic programming, and student leadership activities. In 2008, 3M provided an additional $500,000 contribution to the program. These gifts will ensure Iowa State is creating the engineering leaders of the future who will make the world a better place in which to live.

However, 3M’s generosity toward Iowa State does not end with the Engineering Leadership Program. Over the past 15 years ISU faculty have received grants from 3M totaling more than $400,000 for research in areas such as business analysis, treatment of organic polymers in fluorine containing low pressure plasmas, and antiviral activity in dye samples. During Campaign Destiny, 3M partnered with the university to establish a challenge campaign that raised $740,000 from the 3M Foundation, employees, and retirees for the Engineering Teaching and Research Complex.

In total, 3M Foundation cash and product donations to ISU are more than $3 million.

3M has continually opened its doors to Iowa Staters for internships and jobs, and today it is one of the leading employers of ISU alumni. Allen Jacobson (’47 chemical engineering) served as 3M’s chairman and CEO from 1986-1991. Iowa Staters who work for or have retired from 3M have followed their company’s example and given back to the university through membership in such groups as the ISU Foundation Governors; advisory boards in the colleges of business, engineering, and liberal arts and sciences; the College of Engineering’s National Campaign Committee; and the Chemistry Building Campaign Committee.

Founded in Two Harbors, Minn., in 1902, 3M today manufactures more than 50,000 consumer products and is continually exploring new technologies and innovations to improve lives. Most famous for manufacturing products such as Scotch Tape and Post-It Notes, 3M creates a variety of household products that are used daily in homes and offices. Headquartered now in St. Paul, Minn., it is one of the upper Midwest’s most prominent and philanthropic corporations. In 2007, 3M contributed more than $46 million to education, health, cultural, and environmental causes to employee communities through its Community Giving Program.