UNITE and Kansas State University Announce Collaboration Focused on Uniting University & Industry

Photo courtesy of K-State media.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 2022

UNITE and Kansas State University Announce a Collaboration Focused on Uniting University and Industry Partnerships

UNITE, a training, consulting and technology company, and Kansas State University today announced they will work together to drive business engagement across the university and increase collaboration among internal teams.

Holistic corporate engagement is a high priority for many universities. At UNITE we have cracked the code on how universities activate corporate relationships,” said Christy Bertolo, Co-Founder of UNITE. “Our proprietary process and valuation tool were designed specifically to help universities work more effectively with industry, resulting in aligned internal teams going to business with a singular voice and increased engagement. We are honored to have Kansas State as our first Big 12 Conference partner.”

With this partnership, Kansas State University and the KSU Foundation deepen their commitment to maximizing corporate partnerships. Since President Richard Linton began his tenure as the 15th president of K-State in February, there is a renewed energy around fundraising, specifically from corporate partners. Active intersection of industry and academia is vital to success in the president’s plan to deliver K-State as the next-generation land grant university.

The KSU Foundation, in partnership with the office of the vice president for research and key leadership across the university’s colleges and units, seeks to develop a common framework and language for corporate engagement across the university through the UNITE 5 Process. This alliance will also provide a data-driven approach to tiered corporate strategies through the UNITE valuation tool. Key stakeholder groups will be developed across campus to implement those strategies.

“From the very beginning, it was clear that UNITE would not just provide a healthy, third-party view of our corporate prospects and strategy but also be a true partner in helping us realize our full potential in this area,” says Stephanie Froehlich, SVP of development at the KSU Foundation. “We are excited to boldly advance Kansas State and its industry collaboration through this partnership.”

The partnership between Kansas State University and UNITE launched in September 2022.

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About Kansas State University

Kansas State University is a comprehensive, research, land-grant institution serving students and the people of Kansas, the nation, and the world. Since its founding in 1863, the university has evolved into a modern institution of higher education, committed to quality programs, and responsive to a rapidly changing world and the aspirations of an increasingly diverse society.

About UNITE

UNITE is a consulting, training and technology designed to help universities work more effectively with corporate partnerships. UNITE delivers a proven Process to drive win-win partnerships and a Valuation Tool to place value on industry relationships and validate the efforts of university teams activating corporate engagement work. UNITE is an Ohio State University portfolio company and exclusively licenses a technology (invented by the co-founders) from The Ohio State University. The UNITE cohort of partners is growing and includes colleges and universities across the US of all sizes and the Ohio Innovation Exchange.

For more information about UNITE, please visit www.UNITECorporateEngagement.com or contact Chris Svec at Chris@UNITECorporateEngagement.com or 614.205.4826.