The Chiara String Quartet -- sponsored by the Rockwell Collins Office of Diversity, employee network groups and Hancher Auditorium -- held a "Very Open Rehearsal" for Rockwell Collins employees on Monday, Oct. 20, 2008, at the company headquarters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Pictured are Jonah Sirota, viola, and Rebecca Fischer, violin.

Rockwell Collins is known for supporting diversity in the communities in which its employees live and work. We are also known for our commitment and involvement in education, the arts and culture. We collaborate with and support a variety of organizations to strengthen our communities, provide development opportunities for our employees, and gain greater access to sources of talent and the counselors, faculty members, and professors who are influencing our future leaders.

National organizations that we support include

• Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
• Hispanic Engineers National Achievement Awards Conference (HENAAC)

Some regional/community organizations we support include

• Big Brothers/Big Sisters
• Boys and Girls Clubs
• Junior Achievement
• YMCA

Some schools, colleges and universities we support include

• North Carolina A&T
• Tuskegee University
• University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Rockwell Collins has also initiated a Strategic Diversity Partnership program that involves teaming with nine diversity-related organizations. The partnerships include opportunities for employee volunteerism with each organization, as well as monetary donations totaling more than $140,000 for the first year of the program. The goal of the program is to assist in the development of Rockwell Collins' talented and motivated workforce by helping current employees extend their personal and professional networks, and by providing groups typically underrepresented in the field of engineering exposure to the many opportunities in the aerospace industry.

The organizations selected to participate in this program include:

• Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) — Karen Brown, Director of Diversity Partnership Programs for Rockwell Collins, serves on the Board of Directors
• MentorNet
• The National GEM Consortium - Nan Mattai, senior vice president of Engineering & Technology, serves on the Board of Directors
• National Organization on Disability - Woody Hogle, senior vice president of International Business and Washington Operations, serves on the Board of Directors
• National Urban League - John-Paul Besong, senior vice president of e-Business, serves as the executive sponsor
• Out and Equal
• The PhD Project - Patrick Allen, senior vice president of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, serves on the Board of Directors
• Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network (WEPAN) - Linda Snow-Solum, senior director in Engineering & Technology, serves as the executive sponsor

Rockwell Collins' leadership understands that diversity and inclusion needs to be a community effort, not just a company effort. For that reason, our Chairman, President and CEO Clay Jones founded a non-profit consortium based in our Cedar Rapids, Iowa, headquarters called Diversity Focus, as a way to support our overarching diversity and inclusion strategies and improve the retention of employees within the community. This unique, community-based organization connects and leverages the many organizations supporting diversity and inclusion with the vision that programs created will help the community be more inclusive and welcoming of all people. We continue to work with other community leaders in all sectors of the community to support this organization.