Knowles Gifts $200K to Advance Gender Diversity in Engineering

The donation will enrich scholarships, professional development for female students at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Engineering

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN), a market leader and global provider of advanced micro-acoustic microphones and speakers, audio processing, and precision device solutions, today announced it has committed $200,000 to the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Engineering to support the enrollment and academic success of female students pursuing STEM degrees. As part of a perennial sponsorship from Knowles, this year's donation supports the university’s efforts to empower diverse groups of students to access opportunities in the engineering field.

“A diverse workforce is crucial for ensuring innovation in technology,” said Jeffrey Niew, President and CEO of Knowles and chairman of the UIC College of Engineering Advisory Board. “This gift will further support UIC in attracting, retaining and developing the talent to accelerate change in the technology sector while advancing the growth of underrepresented groups in STEM. Knowles is proudly committed to helping more students achieve their highest educational goals and realize both personal and professional success.”

The $200,000 donation will be distributed across the following critical initiatives:

• The UIC Knowles Electronics Scholarships for Women Fund: Knowles believes that access to financial resources is critical in attracting and retaining female STEM students. High-achieving first-year STEM students who identify as female are eligible for UIC’s College of Engineering Society of Women Engineers Knowles Scholarships.
• UIC’s Women in Engineering Summer Program (WIESP): The annual intensive program exposes junior- and senior-level female high school students to various engineering fields. The program focuses on engineering concepts, robotics and spatial competencies. Each year, Knowles hosts these students at its corporate headquarters in Itasca for a day that includes hands-on learning about careers in engineering and live interactions with the Knowles staff, including female engineers.
• The UIC Engineering Advisory Board Annual Gift Fund: The Knowles gift will support Advisory Board initiatives, including career placement, facilities, research, scholarships, chaired professorships, and more. These initiatives are necessary to uphold the high standard of educational excellence at UIC.

“The College of Engineering is immensely thankful for Knowles Corporation’s continued support of our mission and students. Knowles’ commitment to increasing diversity in STEM mirrors our goal of creating opportunities for students of all backgrounds to better their own lives and improve the world through engineering,” said Peter Nelson, Dean of UIC’s College of Engineering.

In addition to its longstanding support for the UIC College of Engineering, Knowles prides itself on fostering gender diversity in the workplace through mentorship, leadership and career opportunities. For more information about Knowles’ advocacy for women in engineering, visit www.knowles.com/womeninengineering.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a market leader and global provider of advanced micro-acoustic microphones and speakers, audio solutions, and high-performance capacitors and RF products, serving the consumer electronics, communications, Medtech, defense, electric vehicle, and industrial markets. Knowles uses its leading position in SiSonic™ MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) microphones and strong capabilities in audio processing technologies to optimize audio systems and improve the user experience across consumer applications. Knowles is also a leader in hearing health acoustics, high-performance capacitors and RF solutions for a diverse set of markets. Knowles’ focus on the customer, combined with unique technology, proprietary manufacturing techniques, and global operational expertise, enables it to deliver innovative solutions at scale across multiple applications. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, Knowles is a global organization with employees in over a dozen countries. For more information, visit knowles.com.

About University of Illinois Chicago

UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with more than 33,500 students, nearly 3,000 faculty members, 16 colleges and the state's major public medical center. UIC was ranked in 2020 by The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education as #10 in the United States for best value, a designation given to universities that provide an excellent education for their net cost. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world. For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu.

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