UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State is embarking on an effort to develop a University-wide commercial partnership program that will provide a unified strategy and approach to commercial partnership opportunities.
“While we are still in the preliminary stages of this process, the goal of this work is to help Penn State optimize the benefits of future collaborative partnerships across the University,” said Sara Thorndike, Penn State senior vice president for finance and business and University treasurer. “Penn State has a long and successful history of building meaningful and collaborative partnerships with private industry. Ultimately, we want partnerships that continue to enhance the lives of our students, faculty, staff, alumni and the communities we serve in a meaningful and authentic way, and in a way that aligns with the mission, goals, culture and values of Penn State.”
The commercial partnership effort is an outgrowth of Penn State’s Resource Optimization Initiative, a multi-year University-wide effort that began in 2018 to study the affordability of a Penn State degree and to identify potential cost savings and opportunities to enhance revenue and fulfill strategic initiatives.
In addition to conducting interviews about this effort with key stakeholders across the University, a marketing research study will be deployed beginning in August to seek additional input from the Penn State community, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, members of the general public and event attendees. Individuals who are randomly selected to participate in the study will receive an email with a link to the confidential survey. The study will gather data around community members’ perceptions and thoughts about the value and impact of corporate partnerships.
Thorndike said the University’s Corporate Sponsorship Working Group, which is one of the groups involved in reviews and activities through the Resource Optimization Initiative, has enlisted a team of leading marketing and sponsorship industry experts, including strategic marketing consultants Michael O’Hara Lynch, former head of global sponsorship marketing at Visa, Inc.; Keith Martin, former managing director of championships and alliances at the NCAA; Peter Laatz, global managing director of IEG; and Jed Pearsall, president of Performance Research; to help develop the program.
The group has taken initial steps to examine how Penn State enters into partnerships with corporations and other entities, and how these partnerships benefit students, faculty, staff, alumni and the broader community.
“We are honored to work with Penn State to help develop this program to support meaningful University-wide partnerships with companies in service to the Penn State community and the commonwealth,” said Lynch.
The team will collaborate on a comprehensive asset valuation, custom brand and audience equity research, and partnership rights and packaging development before making recommendations to senior leadership about the commercial partnership program, which is anticipated to launch by the end of the year. As part of this effort, companies may be invited to partner with the Penn State community on a more comprehensive University-wide basis.
Across the nation, other universities have modeled successful university-wide corporate partnership programs that are helping to drive incremental revenue growth, while also providing new opportunities and benefits for students, faculty and staff across various programs, academics, research, athletics, career services and more.
Thorndike said the University will develop and put updated policies and processes in place and will be reviewing new and continuing partnerships that align with Penn State’s mission, vision, values and brand.
“There is an opportunity to maximize the value and benefits of future partnerships and sponsorships, which include generating new revenue and garnering programmatic support across the entire University,” she said.
To learn more, visit the Corporate Sponsorship Working Group website.