Top engineering school changes its name to Kettering University - GMI Engineering and Management Institute; incluye artículo sobre un reconocimiento a Darryl Odom, ejecutivo de Raytheon Company - TA: GMI Engineering and Managament Institute; includes article about a recognition given to Raytheon Company executive Darryl Odom

Hispanic Times Magazine, March-April, 1998

It is official! The prestigious engineering college, formerly known as GMI Engineering and Management Institute, has changed its name -- and is now known as Kettering University.

The name honors Charles F. Kettering, inventor/entrepreneur/business executive and automotive pioneer. Kettering was founder of Delco, a firm later acquired by General Motors Corporation. His inventions covered a wide range of fields such as the electric cash register, workable refrigerants, and the use of magnetism in medical treatment. He is best known as the inventor of the first successful electric starter for automobiles, an invention which eliminated the automobile crank and made driving possible for a wider range of people.

Kettering, a strong advocate of hands-on education, was influential in establishing the nature of the Flint college as a cooperative educational institution. All students at Kettering University alternate 12 weeks of study with 12 weeks of experience at their co-op employers therefore combining education and experience at the most important time of their lives.

In 1926, when General Motors Corporation acquired the seven-year-old college (and called it General Motors Institute), Kettering was GM's vice president for research. He spoke at several commencements and was a continuing supporter of the cooperative education concept. GM divested itself of ownership in 1982 and the newly-independent college retained GMI as part of its name. The name Kettering University marks the end of the school's transition to its current identity.

The name change reflects current activities at the 2,400-student school.

During the past few years, the college doubled the number of degree programs offered, expanded its campus, and added two new buildings.