Purdue News
Purdue News
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November 19, 1999 United Technologies exec invests in business schoolWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Karl Krapek, the president and chief operating officer of United Technologies Corp., and his wife, Tina, have pledged a personal gift of $2 million toward Purdue University's "Krannert at the Frontier" campaign to raise $55 million for the Krannert School of Management. The campaign will fund a new $31 million building, which will include classrooms, distance learning facilities and the new Krapek Student Career Center for master's degree students. The facility is the largest privately funded project in Purdue's history. The remainder of the money raised will support student scholarships, faculty endowments and technology upgrades. So far, $22.8 million has been pledged. "Karl Krapek has been a longtime Purdue supporter and a valuable member of the Dean's Advisory Council in the School of Management since 1988," said Richard Cosier, dean of Krannert and the Leeds Professor of Management. "As an innovative leader in his field and a Purdue alumnus, Karl understands the commitment necessary to keep our management programs on the leading edge of business education, and we are very grateful for his vision." United Technologies Corp., the 43rd largest corporation in the United States, has headquarters in Hartford, Conn., and provides a broad range of high-technology products and support services to customers in the aerospace and building industries worldwide. It has Indiana offices and facilities in Indianapolis, Bloomington and Fort Wayne. "My experiences at the Krannert School of Management were invaluable to me in terms of preparation for the future, and I think it's important to give something back," Krapek said. "Krannert has an outstanding reputation not only for preparing students to be leaders in business, but also for making businesses aware of the quality of its graduates. Tina and I are delighted to be in a position to support the career services office." The Economist magazine's just-released survey of business schools found Purdue's Krannert Graduate School of Management No. 1 in the world in helping its students with career services. The rankings are listed in the 11th edition of "Which MBA?" and are based on a survey of students and recent graduates of more than 100 business schools worldwide. Krapek is familiar with recruitment at Purdue, Cosier noted. More than 500 Purdue graduates work for divisions of United Technologies, and of those, more than 150 are alumni of the Krannert School. Born in Spencer, Iowa, Krapek came to Purdue as a graduate student after earning a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) in 1971. He received his master of science degree in industrial administration the following year. Tina Krapek holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Michigan State University and an MBA from Central Michigan University. After graduating from Purdue, Krapek served 10 years in various management positions at General Motors. He was manager of car assembly operations and project director of the Fiero sports car at the Pontiac Motor Division before being tapped as vice president of operations for the Otis Elevator Co., a division of United Technologies Corp., in 1982. He rose through the executive ranks there to become president of the company in 1989. In 1990, he was named chairman, president and chief executive officer of another UTC subsidiary, the Carrier Corp., and two years later was asked to take a similar position of leadership at Pratt & Whitney, also a division of United Technologies Corp. By 1997 he was executive vice president for United Technologies and had been elected to the board of directors, in addition to serving as president of Pratt & Whitney. He was elected president and chief operating officer of UTC in April. Krapek received Purdue's highest honor – an honorary doctorate – in 1998 from the Krannert School. A member of the "Krannert at the Frontier" campaign cabinet, he has maintained a long-standing relationship with Purdue throughout his career, returning to campus several times each year as a guest lecturer in management and engineering classes. The Krannert School named him a distinguished alumnus in 1990. Under his leadership, Pratt & Whitney sponsored a 1997 replication of Amelia Earhart's historic attempt to fly around the world. He arranged for pilot Linda Finch to make an appearance in 1998 at the Purdue Airport in her vintage 1935 Lockheed Electra airplane, which was identical to the one the Purdue Research Foundation bought for Earhart's last flight. Source: Richard A. Cosier, (765) 494-4366; rcosier@mgmt.purdue.edu Writer: Sharon Bowker, (765) 494-9723; home, (765) 429-4338; sharon_bowker@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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