Superior Tire & Rubber Corp. Inks Scholarship Agreement with NPRC

Superior Tire Scholarship NPRC

Northern Pennsylvania Regional College is fortunate to work with great partners throughout their nine-county area. Each of them has helped to make the college what it is today; an institution that serves a large area through a collection of degrees, certificates, and workforce training offerings.

NPRC’s partners have recognized that it is no secret investing in education can sustain the future of our region. One of these partners who has supported the College for several years is Superior Tire and Rubber Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of polyurethane and rubber industrial components for the material handling, construction, agricultural, municipal, and mining industries. Headquartered in Warren, the business has been in operation since 1964, with NPRC Trustee, Hank LeMeur Jr. serving as the current President and Chief Executive Officer.

Superior Tire and Rubber Corporation believes in the mission of NPRC so much that they have begun a scholarship program to provide opportunities for their employees, their employee’s spouses, and their employee’s children to enroll in courses at NPRC at no cost. The program will not only allow their employees, their spouses, and children to improve their skills in the workforce, but it will allow families to improve their quality of life. Presently, several Superior Tire employees have co-op positions between the Warren County Career Center and Superior Tire, an agreement the business hopes will eventually transition these employees to full-time and allow them to become an NPRC student.

LeMeur shared with NPRC that “The overriding objective is we want to offer a path to growth for our employees and their families. The objective is to help make our employees more productive, our company more productive, and make it more fulfilling. One of the first people we had go through NPRC was not the employee, but their wife. It helped her improve her skills and move onto a job that gave her path for a more fulfilling career.”

To be able to provide pathways to change people’s lives and brighten their future is our promise, something that Superior Tire is investing more in through this program. As for the quality of instruction and the return on investment, LeMeur has also been pleased with those outcomes.

“We have a young man who has had a great career here at Superior who is on a business track (at NPRC) who has had nothing but positive things to say about the instruction and teachers. From my perspective, if our employees are satisfied with the product, then I am satisfied with the product. The feedback I have gotten from our employees has all been positive.”

Unlike traditional, residential colleges, NPRC allows students to remain at home and work towards a degree at a much lower cost; sometimes as much as 70 percent less. Along with that, attending the College is much lower risk in terms of investment than competitors because of the affordability, with the credit hour rate of $185.00. Recognizing a degree at NPRC is already low-cost for community members, Superior Tire wanted to ensure it was no-cost through this scholarship program. LeMeur adds,

“NPRC does not just help non-traditional students who are entering college after some time in the workforce, but it also helps new graduates to see if they are ready to make a commitment to college at a very low cost. With the scholarship program, it allows them to do it at no cost. I think it’s vital.”

To formally acknowledge the scholarship program agreement between NPRC and Superior Tire, a signing between NPRC and Superior Tire and a check presentation of $10,000.00 for future students’ education took place on Tuesday, July 12 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Superior Tire’s headquarters on Scientific Road in Warren.

“Companies are focused on their business, but what we want to do is give our employees, their spouses, and their children an opportunity. We are trying to utilize talent to its fullest,” LeMeur said.