Jon M. Huntsman, chairman and chief executive officer of Salt Lake City-based Huntsman Chemical Corp., and his wife Karen, Thursday gave The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania a $4 million gift to establish The Huntsman Center for Global Competition and Leadership.
"The Huntsman Center represents an important milestone in Wharton's ongoing commitment to internationalization of all aspects of the curricula," said Russel E. Palmer, dean of the school of which Huntsman is an alumnus.Palmer said the money will be used to support research, develop innovative courses and teaching materials and create a forum for leaders from business, government, labor and academia who specialize in policy and management issues related to global competition and leadership.
He said the center will support research in such areas as productivity and quality, technology and innovation, global organizational structures and arrangements, federal policies for industrial competitiveness, and the education of work forces and the nation.
Palmer said objectives of the center are to support faculty research in global competition, promote the study of leadership in a globally competitive environment, bring together leaders from business, government, labor and academia, and create innovate course materials.
The center will be headed by William P. Pierskalla.