Smeal To Lead Marine Corps Logistics Training Efforts

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (October 5, 2007) – For the ninth year in a row, the United States Marine Corps is turning to Penn State's Smeal College of Business to lead the Marine Corps Logistics Education Program (MCLEP) for military and Department of Defense logisticians.

The Marine Corps has awarded Penn State Executive Programs, in conjunction with Smeal's Center for Supply Chain Research, a contract to conduct four MCLEP courses by June 2008. Two two-week courses will be conducted on Penn State's University Park campus, and two five-day courses will be conducted on separate Marine bases, including the base in Okinawa, Japan, and a yet-to-be-determined base in the United States.

William "Skip" Grenoble, executive director of the Center for Supply Chain Research, and other Smeal supply chain faculty members will lead all four courses, which are designed to introduce Marine Corps logisticians, as well as other military and Defense Department logisticians, to proven and emerging civilian industry best practices.

"With bases located all over the world, military logisticians have developed efficient, yet very complex, supply chains to make sure that U.S. troops have the equipment and provisions they need when they need them," said Patrick Cataldo, Smeal associate dean for executive education. "We're honored that the Marine Corps continues to choose our faculty to keep their logisticians on the leading edge of the best practices in supply chain management."

Each MCLEP course emphasizes logistics, supply chain management, change leadership, managerial development, information technology, and metrics for success. The content focuses on new and innovative commercial logistics concepts, products, and processes that can be tailored to support the Marine Corps' logistics modernization.

A total of 110 military logisticians will attend the on-base courses alone.

"This is the 16th time in a row that the Marine Corps University has chosen us to lead the MCLEP program, and we are very pleased with that partnership," said Jeff Spearly, managing director of Penn State Executive Programs.

More information on MCLEP can be found online at www.smeal.psu.edu/psep/mclep.html.

About Penn State Executive Programs
Penn State Executive Programs, the executive education division of Penn State's Smeal College of Business, has been serving the development needs of the world's business leaders since 1954, providing both open-enrollment and custom programs. Nearly 36,000 executives from 43 different nations have participated in programs on topics ranging from strategic leadership to supply chain management.

Penn State Executive Programs was recently ranked as the No. 1 provider in the world of customized executive education programs by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research arm of The Economist magazine publisher. The EIU also awarded Penn State Executive Programs its Award of Excellence for open-enrollment programs, making Smeal the only U.S. provider to be rated excellent in both categories.
For more on all the offerings of Penn State Executive Programs, visit www.smeal.psu.edu/psep.

About the Center for Supply Chain Research
The Center for Supply Chain Research was founded in 1989 and has since become one of the nation's leading institutes dedicated to supply chain management research and education. Its faculty and affiliate members encompass a broad range of disciplines including business logistics, management science, operations management, business law, agricultural economics, and industrial engineering.

Supply Chain Management Review has ranked Smeal as the top college for supply chain management, according to a survey of academics and practitioners.