Wichita State University (WSU) and Textron Aviation, a Textron Inc. company, today announced the company’s commitment of $300,000 to support WSU’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement efforts.

Textron Aviation will be the exclusive sponsor for three years of four division programs: Tenacious Ten, No Veteran Left Behind, Community Engagement Ambassadors, and Applied Learning and Partnership Development. With combined efforts, these programs work to engage and support a variety of underrepresented groups and help students be successful.

“It’s essential to the future of our business that we foster a thriving, diverse community where everyone has the opportunity to be successful,” said Maggie Topping, senior vice president of Human Resources and Communications at Textron Aviation. “WSU is a driving force in educating, empowering and mobilizing the community to foster and sustain an inclusive campus, and we look forward to working alongside them to grow their efforts.”

The university’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement was established in 2017 to facilitate community dialogue about diversity and help achieve WSU’s goal to be a campus that reflects the evolving diversity of society.

“The Division of Diversity and Community Engagement is excited to partner with Textron Aviation,” said Marche Fleming-Randle, vice president for Diversity and Community Engagement at WSU. “This gift will provide resources and services for our target constituency groups who are historically underrepresented.”

Textron Aviation’s sponsorship of diversity programs is the next step in an ongoing collaboration between the company and the university to develop and support the aviation industry’s next generation of employees. Textron Aviation recently signed a long-term lease at the Wichita State Innovation Campus to offer additional student internship opportunities, and also operates an on-site company Help Hangar that employs students through Ennovar.

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The mission of Wichita State University is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master's and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State's Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.

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About Textron Aviation Inc.

Textron Aviation Inc. is the leading general aviation authority and home to the Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker brands, which account for more than half of all general aviation aircraft flying. The Textron Aviation brands represent unrivaled innovation, performance and leadership in the industry, and offer an unmatched value proposition rooted in the total ownership experience. Leveraging unparalleled speed-to-market, Textron Aviation provides the most versatile and comprehensive business and general aviation product portfolio in the world through five principal lines of business: business jets, general aviation and special mission turboprop aircraft, high performance piston aircraft, military trainer and defense aircraft and a complete global customer service organization. Textron Aviation has delivered more than 250,000 aircraft in over 143 countries. Its broad range of products include such best-selling aircraft as Citation business jets, King Air and Caravan turboprops and T-6 military trainer aircraft, all of which are backed by the industry’s most capable global service network. For more information, visit www.txtav.com