Purdue University depends heavily on Exelon Corporation to fund educational opportunities for students in its School of Nuclear Engineering, and Exelon Corporation believes in the Purdue students who emerge from the School of Nuclear Engineering prepared to join the Exelon team and contribute right away to maintaining the corporation’s status as one of the most successful electric utilities in the United States.  

Recently, Exelon Corporation’s total cumulative contributions to the School of Nuclear Engineering topped the $1,000,000 mark.

This did not happen by accident, according to Tim Hanley, site vice president at Exelon Corporation’s Dresden Generating Station and a 1987 graduate of Purdue University’s School of Nuclear Engineering.

“Purdue is one of a limited number of schools that are able to supply us with students capable of jumping right in and flourishing in our work environment,” Hanley explained. “As a company, Exelon is happy to contribute to efforts that generate quality engineers. To get quality engineers, you need to provide a quality education. This mandates that you have excellent students, faculty, and facilities. We do what we can to help Purdue stay on the leading edge on each of those fronts.”

Through the years, Exelon has provided the School of Nuclear Engineering with student support, faculty support, upgraded lab equipment and computer facilities, and even aid for student recruitment efforts targeted toward women and underrepresented minorities.

“The ongoing support we receive from Exelon is pivotal to helping us meet our goals for enhancing the student experience and encouraging faculty development,” said Ahmed Hassanein, the Paul L. Wattelet Professor and Head of the School of Nuclear Engineering. “I feel very fortunate to have a corporate partner that is able to not only understand our needs but is also willing to turn challenges we might face into opportunities to improve the educational experience.”

Hanley noted that Exelon Corporation has seen its investment in Purdue University pay tremendous dividends.

“The internship program at Exelon has proven to be a great way for Purdue students to experience on-the-job training while pursuing an engineering education,” Hanley said. “They seem to enjoy testing us out, and of course we appreciate the opportunity to test them out as well. Within the past five years, Exelon’s employee retention rate has grown from 60 percent to almost 90 percent, which speaks volumes for what can happen when education meets opportunity.”

 Exelon Corporation is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities with approximately $19 billion in annual revenues. The company has one of the industry’s largest portfolios of electricity generation capacity, with a nationwide reach and strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Exelon distributes electricity to approximately 5.4 million customers in northern Illinois and Pennsylvania and natural gas to approximately 480,000 customers in the Philadelphia area. Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the ticker EXC.