Ciba is committed to being an active and welcome neighbor in the communities where we do business. At our sites across the region, we have programs to ensure open communication between site management and local residents, businesses and government. These efforts include citizen advisory councils, meetings with site management, partnerships with local schools and non-profit organizations, newsletters for local residents, preparedness drills with local emergency officials and much more.
Ciba Foundation
Through the Ciba Foundation, the company gives back in a special way – by helping local schools and organizations successfully meet education needs in our communities.
The Ciba Foundation is a catalyst for change, working to forge new partnerships among schools, businesses and communities. The foundation supports programs and learning experiences which bridge the transition from school to career. The foundation is based on the strong premise that our success as an industry and as a nation depends upon a skilled workforce, and a skilled workforce depends upon education.
Through its foundation, Ciba is focusing on School-to-Career initiatives which support a fundamental shift from abstract, passive learning to tangible, skill-based learning. As a company committed to life-long education, Ciba believes that it can make a significant contribution by focusing on student needs and teacher development initiatives.
The foundation offers annual grants of $10,000 to $60,000. Upon meeting the stated goals, grants may be renewable for two more years, on a declining basis. The strongest proposals, eligible for the highest level of funding over a three-year period, approach the challenges of the school-to-career transition with a strategy to bring about systemic change in how young people are prepared for their futures. Such proposals have a direct impact on improving workforce preparedness in the geographic areas where Ciba's sites are located.
Proposals for funding are invited by the foundation; unsolicited requests are not accepted.
Foundation Contact:
Lois S. Amend
Ciba Foundation
540 White Plains Road
Tarrytown, NY 10591
Tel: (914) 785-4578
Ciba Foundation Signature Programs
High School Chemistry Institute:
For 14 years, the Ciba High School Chemistry Institute has brought together high school juniors for a high-impact two-week program in which they learn as much about themselves as they do about business and chemistry. These students, selected through a rigorous application process, must exhibit strong skills in the sciences and a passion for learning. To learn more about the Institute and what students, parents, faculty and Ciba volunteers have to say about it: High School Chemistry Institute.
High School Science Awards:
Each year, outstanding science students from more than 100 Ciba area high schools are presented with the Ciba High School Science Award. Each recipient receives a certificate and a cash award. Ciba’s NAFTA President and Global Head of Innovation Eric Marohn presents the awards to students in the Westchester/Putnam, NY, area at a reception held in their honor at NAFTA Regional headquarters. Similar ceremonies are held at other Ciba sites. Such ceremonies provide the students and their parents with a chance to meet Ciba management and scientists, and make contact with peers who may be attending the same universities in the fall.
For more information about the High School Science Awards, contact Lois Amend.
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Exemplary Elementary/ Middle/High School Teacher and Principal Award:
These awards are presented at the annual national NSTA conference, which attracts more than 15,000 science educators. Teachers are recognized for innovative and creative approaches to science education, and principals are honored for their leadership and support. In recent years, award winners have come from across the country, from North Bend, OR and Norwalk, CA to Scottsdale, AZ and Milwaukee, WI to Bridgewater, VA, Vernon, NJ, and Hudson, MA.
Ciba Environmental Engineering Scholarship at Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY:
Through an endowed scholarship, the Ciba award is presented annually to a junior or senior who has attained excellent academic achievement in environmental engineering and has demonstrated financial need.
Ciba Foundation Grants
Alabama Southern Community College, Monroeville, AL:
A partnership among Ciba's production site in McIntosh, Ala., Alabama Southern Community College and other chemical companies in the region provides two-year scholarships to area high school students. This technical career preparation program includes internships offering hands-on industry experience and culminates in the students' attainment of an Associate Chemical Technician degree. The program has received national acclaim from educators, and two of the program's first graduates have been hired by Ciba.
Charlotte Mecklenburg School-to-Work Career Partnership, Charlotte, NC:
Under the banner of "Making Connections," this highly successful program has expanded a pilot Teacher Internship Program, which provides educators with business/industry experience as well as meaningful ways to integrate their internship experience into the curriculum. This program continues to open windows of understanding between educators and industry, and helps better prepare students for making career decisions.
Children’s Village, Dobbs Ferry, NY:
Since 1851, Children’s Village has been providing a safe environment and care for some of society’s most vulnerable children. More than 80,000 children –victims of circumstances they did not create – have rebuilt their lives with help from Children’s Village programs. The Ciba Foundation supports the Village’s Work Appreciation for Youth (WAY) program. The Ciba grant was targeted to a four-week automotive care and maintenance program especially designed to meet the needs of an increasing number of older boys by providing them with marketable skills. The WAY program is about much more than learning a trade. It is about teaching children responsibility, and instilling confidence and solid work habits, attitudes and behaviors that will allow them to thrive as adults. www.childrensvillage.org.
Communities in Schools, High Point, NC:
The Ciba grant enabled Communities in Schools to extend its 21st Century Scholars high school program to High Point middle and elementary students. The objective of the program is to help students choose their futures before their futures choose them. It provides a vision for life, and helps students make the connection between school and college or career. The program is open to all students, however students with academic and/or economic challenges are targeted and provided with mentors. Fifteen Ciba employees serve as volunteers, tutors and mentors. (336) 883-6434.
Delaware Futures, Wilmington, DE:
The Delaware Futures Program prepares high school students to gain entrance to and achieve success in college. Ciba’s three-year grant provided funding for an internship program to help economically disadvantaged students gain experience in a professional work environment. Through exposure to career opportunities, the internship program has had a profound effect on how students approach their studies in college. Delaware Futures – (302) 652-8609.
Paul D. Camp Community College Workforce Development Center, Franklin, VA:
The Ciba grant provides funding for specialized employee training services, customized to meet employer specifications, as well as pre-employment training programs and other workforce development services. The center includes multi-purpose meeting and training rooms incorporating the latest in technology and telecommunications equipment. Employers are also able to use the center to set up specialized equipment to train employees on new systems. www.pc.cc.va.us.
Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Teachers (TSTT), Elmsford, NY:
TSTT is a career development mentoring program that recruits and trains high school and college students to become teachers. In particular, TSTT is designed to increase the number of teachers coming from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Through the program, 50% tuition scholarships are offered to one of 15 participating colleges and universities. The US Department of Education recognizes TSTT as “an innovative program that embodies many of the goals and objectives for educational excellence and that should serve as a model for other regions in the nation.” The Ciba Specialty Chemicals Foundation grant has enabled the program to expand from 18 to 22 school districts in the Westchester/Putnam, NY, area. www.tstt.org.
Yonkers Public Schools, Yonkers, NY:
As a result of a foundation-funded school-to-career initiative, the Yonkers, N.Y., public school system has developed the Ciba Elementary Career Academy to address career opportunities and help its students meet higher standards outlined by the New York State Education Department. Students are currently being immersed in reading and math activities and are offered the opportunity for improved career awareness that links academic learning to real-world applications. The program is further directed toward enhancing teacher understanding of available career options, and strengthening ties between local business and the Yonkers elementary schools.
Western Tidewater Tech Prep Consortium, Franklin, VA:
The Ciba Foundation supports the Career Exploration Summer Camp, which is designed to help incoming ninth-grade students make the transition from middle school to high school. At the camp, teachers and business leaders help the students explore a broad range of technical careers, learning about science and business in a program that includes field trips, lectures and hands-on experiences. Most importantly, students gain an increased understanding of the importance of education and work skills. www.pc.cc.va.us.
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