Education
Office Depot Announces $4.5M in Contributions to Higher Education; New Education and Diversity Partnership Program Supports Three South Florida Universities and Programs for Hispanic and African-American Students
Source: Office Depot
Feb 2, 2006, 15:05

DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Feb. 2, 2006--Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced contributions of $4.5 million to support three South Florida universities and two national nonprofit organizations that promote opportunities for students of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Office Depot`s Education and Diversity Partnership Program includes:

-- A contribution of $2 million to Florida Atlantic University (FAU), based in Boca Raton, Fla., for construction of a new Center for Executive Education in the College of Business. The gift will generate an additional $2 million in state matching funds for FAU. The building will be named in Office Depot`s honor.

-- A contribution of $1 million to Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Fla., to support the University`s ''Building for Business'' campaign for construction of a new College of Business Administration complex. The gift will generate an additional $1 million in state matching funds for FIU. The student commons area in the new complex will be named in recognition of Office Depot.

-- A contribution of $500,000 to the University of Miami (UM) in Coral Gables, Fla., to establish the Office Depot Innovation Laboratory within the Anthony Burns Center for Advanced Supply Chain Management in the College of Engineering`s Department of Industrial Engineering.

-- A contribution of $500,000 to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to support member institutions, scholarships, the 2006 UNCF Professional Development Institute in Atlanta and other programs.

-- A contribution of $500,000 to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) to support a five-year partnership encompassing scholarships at member institutions, sponsorship of HACU`s Capitol Forum in Washington, D.C., and other programs.

''Office Depot has an unwavering commitment to education and the community,'' said Steve Odland, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot. ''We clearly understand the critical role that education plays in our society and our lives. Universities, in particular, are engines of economic development and entrepreneurship in their communities, our nation and the world. They are instrumental in developing the business leaders of the future, and provide unmistakable value to our customers as well as to our current and future associates.

''The contributions we are making through our Education and Diversity Partnership Program total $4.5 million, which collectively represent the largest corporate gift in our company`s 19-year history,'' Odland continued. ''When state matching funds are included, the full impact of this program reaches $7.5 million. We believe that by helping to build stronger ties between the academic and business communities, the value of our investment will be multiplied many times over for each of our partners as well as for South Florida and our nation.''

Commenting on Office Depot`s announcement, Dr. Mark Rosenberg, Chancellor of the State University System of Florida, said, ''On behalf of the Board of Governors, I commend Office Depot for its leadership and generosity to our public universities. These universities provide students with a high-quality education, and Office Depot`s support will help our institutions advance their cutting-edge teaching and research agendas in business and business administration.''

To deepen the partnerships, a number of senior executives at Office Depot will be invited to serve on advisory boards at each of the universities. In addition, opportunities will be created for a variety of student internships, joint research projects and other mutually beneficial projects.


About Office Depot

With annual sales of over $14 billion, Office Depot provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company. Incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, Office Depot conducts business in 23 countries and employs 47,000 people worldwide. The Company operates under the Office Depot(R), Viking Office Products(R), Viking Direct(R), Guilbert(R), and Tech Depot(R) brand names.

Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel - from retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. With over $3.1 billion in online sales, the Company is the world`s number three Internet retailer. As of September 24, 2005, Office Depot has 1,009 retail stores in North America. Internationally, the Company conducts wholly-owned operations in 14 countries, and operates retail stores under joint venture and license arrangements in another seven countries.

The company`s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.

© Copyright 2007 Collegiate Presswire, Inc. and Office Depot