Honda gift to Ohio State supports U.S. automotive manufacturing

Building on 25 years of a beneficial partnership, Honda has announced a $1 million gift to The Ohio State University. This significant investment will establish the Honda Endowed Professorship in Automotive Manufacturing at the College of Engineering.

Honda’s gift came during the final month of the university’s historic fundraising campaign, Time and Change: The Ohio State Campaign, adding to its successful close. The gift was recognized on April 2 at a ceremonial check presentation on campus.

“This partnership between Ohio State and Honda is exemplary. Not only do we challenge each other for the benefit of our students, but we work together to impact positively the entire mobility industry and the nation as a whole,” said College of Engineering Dean Ayanna Howard. “This latest investment is about how we can combine our superpowers to both prepare students for career success and establish Ohio as an epicenter of automotive manufacturing talent.”

The endowed professorship will provide leadership for and administration of the College of Engineering’s newly launched Automotive Manufacturing Certificate Program. Honda provided the impetus for Ohio State to start exploring the feasibility of such a program and worked closely with the university to bring it to fruition.

Open to all engineering majors, the certificate consists of 13 credit hours and is delivered entirely in-person. The goal is to increase interest in automotive industry careers and build relevant skills. Upon completion of the certificate, students will gain practical experience with equipment and processes used in each of the various areas of automotive manufacturing, as well as exposure to the application of different engineering disciplines in the field.

Honda’s gift will leverage the College of Engineering’s matching program, which enables the college to receive matching funds from the university for certain endowed gifts. The matching professorship will be established as the Honda Endowed Professorship in Artificial Intelligence in Mechanics and Manufacturing. It will support a tenure track faculty position in the college, with preference for a faculty member with a joint appointment in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

“This gift is not about Honda. It isn’t about our plants in Ohio. It is about working together to help grow the future of manufacturing in the U.S.,” said Bob Nelson, American Honda executive vice president. “This Automotive Manufacturing Certificate program will play a large role in equipping students with the tools they need to be successful in our industry.”

“We are grateful to Honda for 25 years of unwavering partnership and support, which has not only advanced research and innovation but also enriched the educational experiences of countless students,” said Peter J. Mohler, executive vice president for Research, Innovation and Knowledge at Ohio State. “Thanks to this latest announcement, we can look forward to many more years of shared success and partnership to develop the future workforce for manufacturing in the United States.”