Medical Mutual 2011 Pillar Award
for Community Service — Columbus
Battelle takes the lead on solving many of the world’s most important scientific challenges, but it expends just as much effort to help prepare tomorrow’s leaders to join the cause.
Under the leadership of CEO Jeff Wadsworth, Battelle has centered its charity work on education. Specifically, the company seeks to transform education to focus more intently on the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Battelle wants to show people that these fields, known in scholastic circles as STEM, are not solely for students pursuing a career in math or science. STEM courses should not be isolated from arts and humanities but rather integrated into interdisciplinary learning environments that bring relevance to the topics and excitement to students and teachers.
These courses have the potential to motivate a student and change the perception from, “Why do I need to know this?” to “Wow, so that’s how that works!”
Battelle partnered with The Ohio State University in 2006 to establish the Metro Early College High School, where students receive accelerated math and science instruction in addition to a headstart on college coursework.
Metro was Ohio’s first STEM platform school, a school aligned to common design principles that serve as research and development labs to be utilized for rapid prototyping of STEM content and instruction.
Battelle is working hard to establish the Ohio STEM Learning Network and is also seeking to build similar networks in Tennessee, North Carolina and several other states. The company gives at least 20 percent of its annual revenue to philanthropy, with a primary focus on education.
The goal of all this is to get students to realize how important math and science are, whether that’s your career focus or not. Through its many educational efforts, the company hopes to convince more students of these opportunities and put tomorrow’s leaders in position to achieve great things.
How to reach: Battelle, (614) 424-5853 or www.battelle.org
