Ford Motor Company and Arizona State University Help Shape Future Automotive Retailing Leaders

TEMPE, Ariz., April 4 - Ford Motor Company and Arizona State University College of Business (ASU BUSINESS) add a new dimension to their existing business partnership today with the announcement of two programs designed to develop future automotive retailing leaders. Ford Motor Company is announcing the Automotive Dealership Education Program for Minorities (ADEPM) -- a five-year, post-graduate training program managed by the company's Minority Dealer Operations organization. The program is aimed at providing minorities with the skills, experience and business acumen needed to become future dealership owners and operators. At the same time, the ASU College of Business today announces the new ASU BUSINESS Certificate in Dealership Management, an option that enriches the undergraduate business degree with automotive industry-specific knowledge and experiences. Ford Motor Company worked closely with the College to develop the specialized curriculum for the Certificate. The relationship between these two new programs marks a first for the automotive industry and the academic arena. While the Certificate in Dealership Management program is open to all ASU BUSINESS students, Ford and ASU anticipate the program will attract many talented minority students. Minority graduates of ASU's Certificate program will be offered entrance to Ford's new ADEPM program -- marking the first time an auto manufacturer has partnered with a college or university to prepare candidates for dealer development programs, which focus on helping individuals own or operate a Ford Motor Company dealership. This unique supply chain relationship underscores the value to both parties of the dynamic relationship between Ford and ASU. "As the business environment of automotive retail becomes more complex, the dealers of the future are going to require a very different set of skills in order to be successful," said George Frame, executive director, Dealer Development, Ford Motor Company. "Judging from the success of our past relationship with ASU, through internships, scholarships and honors programs with ASU students, I am confident that the curriculum and 'real world' experiences the new ASU Certificate program offers will do an excellent job of preparing students to meet our industry challenges -_ and produce a pool of enthusiastic and entrepreneurial minority candidates for our ADEPM program, who can in turn lead the profession into the future." ADEPM is one example of the blueprint Ford Motor Company has built for minority economic empowerment through entrepreneurship. Ford Motor Company leads the U.S. automakers in the percentage of dealerships owned or operated by minorities. But with more than 360 minority dealers representing seven percent of its total dealer body, Ford is not yet satisfied. "We have been conducting various training, internship, financial assistance and support programs for minority dealers since the 1980s, but we are focusing now more than ever on recruiting and developing minority dealers for the long-term future," said Frame. "This partnership will allow us to equip minority students with the best tools for success, starting with their undergraduate education, and then develop them into dealership owners and operators with our industry-first program for post-graduate training." The Certificate in Dealership Management offers any interested ASU BUSINESS student the opportunity to learn automotive retail through a dealership management course, seminars, industry internships, and electives. Management and marketing courses and projects for the Certificate program are tailored to the automotive business. "The ASU BUSINESS Certificate in Dealership Management upholds our mission to provide students with a solid foundation in the principles of business, combined with the skills and experiences needed to add value immediately on the job," said Larry E. Penley, Dean of the ASU College of Business. "The Certificate in Dealership Management gives any motivated ASU BUSINESS student opportunity to develop depth in the automotive industry -_ and for our talented minority students, this is an unparalleled chance to accelerate their careers." Upon completion of the ASU BUSINESS Certificate in Dealership Management program, graduates will be ready to contribute immediately to the success of a dealership or other entrepreneurial businesses, or to assume automotive corporate positions. The first group of ASU students to enroll in the ASU BUSINESS Certificate in Dealership Management program began studies in January. "Students graduating with this preparation will find opportunity in Ford and other dealerships, inside automotive corporate settings and in other entrepreneurial industries," said Philip Regier, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at the ASU College of Business. Minority graduates of the ASU BUSINESS Certificate in Dealership Management who are accepted to Ford's ADEPM program will earn what Ford calls a "mini MBA," hold dealership management positions and then attain certification from the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA). Graduates then become eligible for Ford's many dealer development programs -_ which are aimed at providing financial assistance, consultation, education and professional enrichment toward owning a dealership for one or more of the company's brands, including Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury or Volvo. "So often, we have found individuals who have all the talent and business knowledge to own a dealership, but simply lack the capital," said Frame. "Since the 1950s, we have been offering financial assistance to such individuals to become owners and operators of Ford Motor Company dealerships, and the candidates for our new ADEPM will certainly be no exception." The Ford Motor Company formalized its long-time relationship with Arizona State University two years ago by naming ASU to its College Relations Sponsor Program (CRSP). As one of Ford Motor Company's 31 CRSP institutions, ASU receives annual contributions for targeted programs, including fellowships, professorships and scholarships in the College of Business and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Ford funding supports ASU undergraduate programs, including the ASU College of Business Center for Services Marketing and Management, the Ford Undergraduate Business Honors Scholarships and the Ford Undergraduate Business Honors Faculty Fellows program. At the graduate level, Ford funding supports the Ford ASU MBA Fellowship Program in the College of Business, and was used to establish the Ford Graduate Suite at ASU's College of Business.