Patton (News - Alert) Electronics, a family-owned and operated VoIP service provider, has revealed that its CEO, Robert R. Patton, has been appointed as chair of the External Advisory Committee to the Graduate and Transfer STEM Talent Expansion Program (GT STEP) program at Montgomery College (MC).

The project was funded by a recently-awarded grant from the National Science foundation (NSF) in hopes of growing Maryland’s science and technology workforce by increasing the adoption and attention to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates.

Not only this, but the program also works to promote transfers from Montgomery College to partner institutions including the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP), the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus (UMBC) and the Universities at Shady Grove.

Robert himself holds a BSCS from UMCP, and says he feels like he’s come full circle by being appointed to the STEM project advisory committee. As a Maryland-based organization and employer, Patton further aims to benefit from the GT STEP project by recruiting potential employees from the STEM graduate pool. This will allow new and promising graduates to make significant strides in their fields of interest during a critical time when occupational opportunities are far and few between.

Even more, the company continues to be fully committed to giving back to the community by supporting workforce education with regular internship opportunities for area STEM and high-school students.

"Patton's commitment towards building the workforce by engaging students from non-traditional backgrounds is laudable and expands on all the other workforce-education programs they support," said Bernadette Goovaerts, business development manager, IT and Entrepreneurship at Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, in a statement.

Patton has truly impacted the academic landscape in more than one way. For example, the company actively participates on the advisory board for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and National Academy of Information Technology (AOIT), and also serves as a benefactor in Capitol College’s annual scholarship program and Leadership Advisory Council.

Additionally, the company is involved with the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI), which operates a satellite office on the site, as well as is pursuing the development of a robotics research project for grades K-12.

Furthermore, in 2010, Patton was awarded with the “Outstanding Co-op Employer of the Year” award, while MC honored Robert (Bobby) R. Patton – as well as four of his brothers – with the Milton F. Clogg Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award.

Furthering his positive impact on both businesses and citizens alike, Mr. Patton will be addressing the engineering study body at York College next month. Patton proves itself a wonderful example of a company making a true and long-lasting impact outside of the office.