Mason Provost and Executive Vice President S. David Wu and DLA Energy Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Albert Miller signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at Fort Belvoir last week that will provide students employment opportunities through DLA Energy programs. Photo by DLA.
George Mason University has formalized a partnership with the Defense Logistics Agency Energy that will cultivate employment opportunities for students while addressing critical needs for the U.S. military.
Mason Provost and Executive Vice President S. David Wu and DLA Energy Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Albert Miller signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at Fort Belvoir last week that will provide students employment opportunities through DLA Energy programs.
“We are thrilled to have the honor of being the first institution in the region that DLA Energy is partnering with,” Wu said. “With this agreement, more doors to unique educational and professional opportunities will be opened to Mason students. In return, DLA will receive a significant increase in qualified applicants and a home on campus to connect with interested and accomplished students. This MOU is another example how Mason is helping students have an impact on the world around them.”
The agreement is the first of its kind between DLA and any institution of higher learning. Through the terms of the agreement, Mason students will be provided opportunities under the DLA Pathways to Career Excellence Program, Pathways Intern Programs or other DLA employment programs.
“[The agreement] formalizes a relationship with a premier academic institution, which will have long-lasting effects for the [DLA] Energy workplace,” Miller said. “This MOU will allow us to leverage a mutually beneficial recruiting relationship and a pipeline of talent for the future.”
The DLA is the Pentagon agency that procures fuel and other energy sources on behalf of the U.S. military. As the nation’s combat logistics support agency, it manages the global supply chain—from raw materials to end user to disposition—for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, 11 combatant commands, other federal agencies and partner and allied nations.
Making sure that DLA assembles the diverse and skilled acquisition workforce necessary to continue meeting those demands was paramount to Mason alumna Gabby Earhardt, the director of DLA energy supplier operations who came up with the idea of the formal partnership with her alma mater.
“I feel incredibly fortunate that we are able to rely on George Mason to help provide us that much-needed bench strength,” she said.
DLA will be attending Mason’s JumpStart 2020 job and internship search event on Thursday, Jan. 16, in an Ask the Recruiter role, and it has already begun onboarding a Mason hire who was discovered at a University Career Services resume clinic.