Forging a new era of realignment in the college athletics landscape, Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) joined the Big Ten athletic conference in 1990, becoming the 11th member institution. The name of the conference was not changed, a wise branding decision that was not understood by many at a time before conference realignment phases began in earnest.
In August 2023, Penn State announced that all 14 of their satellite campuses would convene a common “Project and Supply Chain Management” club during the Fall semester, marking a significant endeavor by which a single club was launched concurrently across numerous satellite campuses. Activities developed for club members include LinkedIn profile best practices training, a common study abroad program, career speakers and networking opportunities, and onboarding into related full-time positions for club officers. These activities help to meet the need for supply chain positions requiring a four-year degree in organizations across the state of Pennsylvania.
Similar to how forensic accounting clubs sprung up across college campuses in the aftermath of the Wall St. corporate accounting scandals and cybersecurity clubs were established after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, student groups with a logistics/supply chain focus have been common since the pandemic.
Big Ten Academic Alliance member institution Purdue University offers over 1,000 registered student-led organizations. The mission of the GT-SCALA club at Purdue University, an offspring of the former ATMAE club, is to integrate leadership and global supply chain opportunities. Officers and members led the “Climb to Success” summit in 2023, focusing on leadership and innovative trends in the post-pandemic global supply chain.
Club officers raised funding to support the attendance of fellow students. The graciousness of the following sponsors is greatly appreciated: GE Appliances, Rolls Royce, Heartland Food Products Group, The GrowthCoach: Business and Sales Coaching, Jobsite Supply, GROTEC, Primerica, Envista, The Hirsh Center: For Arthritis and Sports Medicine, and Koala. The following provided excellent and well-received presentations: (Keynote Address:) Bill Good, VP of Supply Chain at GE Appliances; Robert Paden, Owner of The Growth Coach; Meredith Hirsch, CEO of The Hirsh Center; Olusegun Akerele, President of GROTEC; Jim Vitou, Regional VP of Primerica; Isaiah Baptiste, Co-founder of UMerge and recent alumnus, Petronio Bendito, Author and Program Coordinator of Visual Communication Design.
