RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), the world’s leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, has named MaryLisabeth Rich executive director of Education Alliance as part of the company’s initiative to get more undergraduates pursuing high-tech careers.

Rich, who distinguished herself as an innovator and executive with the American Cancer Society during the past 11 years, is responsible for advancing Education Alliance’s mission of attracting more students into STEM fields of study – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – and promoting their transition into careers that make a difference in high-impact areas including energy, health, environment and national security.

Education Alliance is SRC’s private foundation that develops funding sources and offers enhanced education through hands-on research experiences and meaningful interaction with scientists and engineers working in technology industries. It concentrates on bridging the undergraduate gap in STEM education between increasingly strong K-12 programs and top graduate schools.

“We see this as an unbelievable opportunity, and we see MaryLisabeth Rich as the strong leader we need to help prospective donors, both individuals and corporations, embrace this mission,” said Larry W. Sumney, SRC’s president and CEO. “She thinks creatively. She has an impressive track record of success in fund development. And she brings abundant energy and enthusiasm to the task. We’re very pleased to have her on our team.”

Through scholarships and fellowships, Education Alliance connects students with science- and technology-based industries, demonstrating the excitement and value of transforming research into useful technologies and products that create jobs and enhance quality of life.

Education Alliance is already funding 230 scholarships for undergraduates in STEM majors this year at 14 universities across America. Rich will lead the drive to develop funding sources and raise those numbers dramatically in the near future.

She has at her fingertips the world’s most successful model – SRC’s unique, award-winning approach featuring an industry-driven consortium that supports and guides coordinated university research programs and prepares students for high-tech careers. SRC has helped educate more than 8,500 students since it was founded in 1982 and supports 1,500 students annually at more than 100 universities in pre-competitive research and through prestigious internships at top technology-driven companies.

“Together, SRC and Education Alliance are absolutely determined to help turn around the unfortunate truth that the United States has fewer and fewer students going into STEM-related careers,” Rich said. “I am thrilled to be part of it. I embrace the challenge. This work is so vitally important. We must be bold and innovative, and we will be. Through our parent corporation’s broad affiliations at top-flight universities and companies, I look forward to taking full advantage of Education Alliance’s access to many of the brightest minds. With their help we will substantially raise interest among high school and college students in careers that will address some of the world’s greatest challenges.”

Rich, whose management and leadership style is grounded in teamwork and accountability, began her career in development at North Carolina State, High Point and Florida State universities. She joined the American Cancer Society in 1998 and as vice president and chief operating officer of its Planned Giving Business Unit, she helped develop, direct and manage an innovative initiative that transformed planned giving at one of the nation’s largest nonprofits. She also established major gifts as one of the financial foundations in the ACS 21^st century fight against cancer while serving as national vice president of the American Cancer Society Foundation.