Alpha Natural Resources, the nation's third-largest coal producer, recently pledged a donation of $150,000 to Virginia Tech's Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering (MinE) during a recruiting visit in September. George A. Owens, Jr., Vice President — NexGen and Leadership Effectiveness and other members of Alpha Natural Resource's recruiting team were in Blacksburg to interview mining and minerals engineering students, and announced the gift to Greg Adel, MinE department head.
Alpha's pledge will be made in two installments over the next two years and reflects the close relationship between the Abingdon, Virginia-based coal company and Virginia Tech's mining engineers.
“Virginia Tech graduates have what it takes to be smart, capable and energetic employees,” said Alpha CEO Kevin Crutchfield, a Virginia Tech Mining and Minerals Engineering alumnus. “We know this from years of recruiting experience at Tech, which is why Alpha is affectionately known among many department members as the 'Hokie Coal Company.' Whether it's bringing bright young recruits into the business world, helping others get through school with scholarship assistance, or offering learning internships, we're committed to nurturing an ongoing relationship with the university that benefits both of us.”
In the past five years, Alpha Natural Resources has hired more of Virginia Tech's mining and minerals engineering graduates for permanent and summer internship positions than any other coal company, and it hires the second largest number of graduates than any other company hiring from the department. In addition, Alpha Natural Resources has enabled more than 50 undergraduate students to complete their educations through company sponsored scholarships.
"The Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering has a great relationship with Alpha Natural Resources,” noted Adel. “They routinely hire our graduates, provide valuable work experience for our summer interns, and help support our research. In turn, we provide high-quality engineers to support their business, short-courses to train their work force, and research solutions for their technical problems. This donation is invaluable in helping us sustain a high-quality program."
Alpha Natural Resources is one of America's premier coal suppliers with affiliate coal production capacity of more than 90 million tons a year. Alpha is the nation's leading supplier and exporter of metallurgical coal used in the steel-making process and is a major supplier of thermal coal to electric utilities and manufacturing industries across the country. Alpha and its affiliates employ approximately 6,400 people and operate more than 60 mines and 14 coal preparation facilities in the regions of Northern and Central Appalachia and the Powder River Basin.
Founded in 1908, Virginia Tech's Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering is one of the largest mining engineering programs in the country producing over 25% of all new mining engineering graduates in the U.S. over the past ten years.
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