 The Siemens Foundation’s Jim Whaley works to bring together the
private, public, and academic sectors to improve U.S. education. The
Foundation is a subsidiary of electronics and electrical engineering
giant Siemens (AG), a German-based corporation with 400,000 employees
worldwide. It provides over $7 million annually to U.S. science, math,
technology, and engineering education at all levels, including college
and graduate school.
Name: Jim Whaley Title: President, Siemens Foundation
Title: Senior Director of Corporate Affairs, Siemens Corp., Iselin, N.J.
Education: B.A., Journalism, Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, Pa., M.B.A., Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Frankfurt, Germany
 Q: What are Siemens’ signature programs to support high school students in math and science?
A: Our Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology is the nation’s premier math and science competition for students. We give $100,000 to the top individual and $100,000 to the top team. Our Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement is really the standard across the country for AP support. We give money to the top girl and boy in every state – students who scored the highest in their science and math AP exams. We award the teacher and school because we think all three are important for quality education. Q: How about the lower grades?
A: We have a program called "Siemens Science Day." It takes our employees from across the country as volunteers, primarily at the fifth and sixth grade level, to do hands-on science experiments. At these levels, 90% of the math and science teachers don’t have science degrees. They welcome support in the classroom. We’re not trying to tell them how to teach science, but instead to bring support, expertise, and resources. Q: Environmental sustainability is on everyone’s minds. Is Siemens doing anything with K-12 students in this area? A: Recently we have launched the We Can Change the World Challenge. That program is the nation’s first sustainability challenge with curriculum in our country. We work with Discovery Education and the National Science Teachers Association. We have developed curriculum to be used in seventh and eighth grades, and next year it will be K-5. Q: Why is K-12 STEM education in trouble in the U.S.? A: It’s a very complex problem. There are a lot of challenges. We have 50 states. Every state has its own requirements, issues, and set of standards to some degree. Resources are that not evenly disbursed. All those challenges are tough ones. Q: What needs to be done? A: Solving the education challenges that we face as a country is going to require a lot of partnerships. I think you’re going to have partnerships between local school boards, state education officials, as well as nonprofits, and the U.S. Department of Education. There are many programs that are working well in supporting math and science, and yet there are some that are reinventing the wheel. Q: How do U.S. corporations compare to other countries in K-12 educational involvement? A: No one does more than U.S. business, hands down. No other country on earth has business so involved in nonprofits and philanthropy in general. Q: What are the consequences if we don’t seriously address STEM education? A: It’s a national security issue. If you’re not producing the very best and brightest, and you’re not resourcing education adequately, you’re not going to remain a world power. We do, as a nation, support our students very strongly compared to other countries. If you look at the dollars we spend per student, it’s pretty high in the industrial world. The question is: Are we spending those resources as well as possible?
 Sheila Riley
is a San Francisco-based freelance journalist. She is also an
experienced online editor and ESL curriculum developer, and teaches ESL
at City College of San Francisco.
POSTED ON HOTCHALK.COM
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