News Releases

01/24/2011

Pace University and Hitachi America, Ltd. Co-Sponsor Free Education Program For Westchester Nonprofit Organizations on February 16, 2011

--Program to Focus on Social Enterprise and Evolving Nonprofit Business Models--

(Tarrytown, NY) January 24, 2011 – Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT/TSE: 6501) located in Tarrytown, NY, and Pace University’s Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship are co-sponsoring a free, full-morning education program for nonprofit organizations facing increasing demands and decreasing funding.

This year’s program is entitled “Social Enterprise and How It Can Work for the Nonprofit Sector.” The program will explore the intersection of business and traditional nonprofits as well as the appearance of nonprofit hybrids.

Conducted in a panel discussion format, the program will feature representatives from nonprofits ranging from traditional to hybrid practitioners. The discussion will include innovation, governance and leadership in the current economic climate. In addition, the conference will highlight the challenges of economic and social sustainability for nonprofit managers in Westchester County.

The program will take place at Pace University’s Graduate Center located in downtown White Plains, NY and will run from 9:00 am – 11:30 am on Wednesday, February 16, 2011. The campus is located at 1 Martine Avenue. Check in and a light breakfast will begin at 9:00 am and the panel discussion will begin at 9:30 am. Media admission by press pass.

Panelists include:

Pam Allyn, Executive Director and founder of LitWorld (www.litworld.org)
Universal literacy through Advocacy, Education and Access
Daniel W. Bena, Director of Sustainable Development, Pepsico
Nancy Biberman, President, WHEDCo (www.whedco.org)
Interconnected, innovative and high quality solutions for impoverished families in the Bronx.
Rohan Mathew, Executive Director and CEO, The Intersect Fund (www.intersectfund.org)
New Brunswick-based non-profit that trains low-income entrepreneurs, offers long-term support.
Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez, CEO, Hot Bread Kitchen (www.hotbreadkitchen.org)
Social enterprise that prepares women for food businesses and sells multi-ethnic breads.

The program is free, but advance registration is required due to limited seating. Attendance is limited to members of nonprofit organizations. Participants can register online at: Pace University/Hitachi America, Ltd. Nonprofit Forum Registration

The goal of the forum is to offer nonprofit leaders content-rich sessions that provide actionable steps to help their organizations weather today’s difficult economic climate. This is the third year that Hitachi America, Ltd. has spearheaded this program and the second year that Pace University’s Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship has served as a co-sponsor.

The Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship was created in 2005 to serve the nonprofit community and Pace University. The Center provides scholarly research, academic programs, advisory services and roundtable discussions to encourage excellence and enhance managerial leadership skills of professionals within the nonprofit sector.

“Educational programs that encourage thoughtful exploration of issues surrounding nonprofit effectiveness and efficiency are at the core of our mission at the Wilson Center,” said Rebecca Tekula, PhD, the Center’s Executive Director. “We are proud to once again work with Hitachi America, Ltd. on what promises to be an enlightening discussion for the nonprofit, corporate and student communities.”

“We are excited to be sponsoring this educational program that will look at the evolving business model for nonprofit organizations,” said Lauren Garvey, Director of Community Relations for Hitachi America, Ltd. “As nonprofits continue to face increasing social demands and decreases in funding, many are looking at alternative business models. We have organized our morning program to provide a forum for dialogue and exchange of ideas about this compelling topic. I am appreciative of our continued partnership with The Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Pace University in putting this program together.”

Hitachi America, Ltd., headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and its subsidiary companies, offers a broad range of electronics, power and industrial equipment and services, automotive products and consumer electronics with operations throughout the Americas. For more information, visit www.hitachi-america.us. For information on other Hitachi Group companies in the United States, please visit www.hitachi.us.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2009 (ended March 31, 2010) consolidated revenues totaled 8,968 billion yen ($96.4 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit Hitachi’s website at www.hitachi.com.

The Helene and Grant Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship is an institute of Pace University aiming to serve students and nonprofit organizations by encouraging more effective and efficient nonprofit management practices through research, colloquia and continuing education programs. The Center was launched with a $5 million gift from Helene and Grant Wilson, entrepreneurs and philanthropists whose involvement with nonprofits has convinced them that entrepreneurial management can help these organizations increase their impact.

For 104 years Pace University has produced thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling nearly 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Lubin School of Business, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lienhard School of Nursing, School of Education, School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. www.pace.edu.