Ford Fund Announces $1 Million William Clay Ford Automotive Design Scholarship
14 Marzo 2014 - 5:05AM
Business Wire
- Scholarship commemorates the design
legacy of William Clay Ford, former chairman of Ford Motor
Company’s design committee
- Ford Fund commits $50,000 per year
during the next 20 years, giving five automotive design students
each $10,000 per year
- Mr. Ford oversaw design of the iconic
Lincoln Continental Mark II, considered by many one of the greatest
cars ever built
Ford Motor Company Fund will award $1 million in automotive
design scholarships during the next 20 years to commemorate the
late William Clay Ford’s contributions to the design legacy of Ford
Motor Company.
Throughout his 57 years as an employee and board member, Mr.
Ford was instrumental in setting the company’s design direction,
overseeing development of a number of classic vehicles, including
the iconic Lincoln Continental Mark II. He served as chairman of
the design committee at Ford for 32 years.
“Design was Mr. Ford’s passion, and his creative vision
transformed vehicle design at Ford,” said Jim Vella, president,
Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. “We are honoring
William Clay Ford’s legacy by encouraging and supporting the next
generation of innovative automotive designers through this
scholarship.”
The grant will be paid at the rate of $50,000 per year during
the next 20 years, awarding five $10,000 scholarships annually to
outstanding college sophomores or juniors pursuing a degree in
automotive design. Details of the program will be announced in the
coming months.
William Clay Ford’s role in design
On July 17, 1952, Mr. Ford was appointed manager of special
product operations in charge of a group of engineers and designers
engaged in advanced planning of the Lincoln Continental Mark II.
The Continental Mark II was the successor to the classic Lincoln
Continental developed under the direction of Mr. Ford’s father,
Edsel Ford, and introduced in 1939. The Continental Mark II is
considered to be among the greatest cars ever built.
Mr. Ford told the Henry Ford Museum he wanted to closely follow
the designs of the original Lincoln Continental. That included
matching the ratio of window glass to sheet metal, re-creating the
intimate feel of the interior controls, as well as mounting the
spare tire in an impression in the sheet metal of the trunk,
recalling the original Continental’s outside-mounted spare.
“I wanted the spare tire in the back. That was the trademark of
a Continental,” Mr. Ford said. “We took most of the basic
proportions of that car and tried to keep those same proportions in
the Mark II, and I think we did pretty well at it.”
When the design committee of the company’s policy and strategy
committee was formed in 1957, Mr. Ford became its first chairman, a
post he held until he retired from Ford Motor Company in 1989. Mr.
Ford was appointed vice president, product design, in 1973.
In addition, he received an honorary doctor of science degree
from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., in
1981.
More information on Mr. Ford and his legacy can be found
here.
Ford Fund support of art and design
Ford Motor Company Fund is an established supporter of the arts,
as well as design and arts education. Longtime partnerships include
the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibits (Washington, D.C.),
Detroit Institute of Arts, College for Creative Studies (Detroit)
and Art Center College of Design (Pasadena). At the high school
level, Ford Fund is a founding sponsor of Henry Ford Academy
(Dearborn), Henry Ford Academy: Alameda School for Art and Design
(San Antonio) and Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies
(Detroit).
About Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services
Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services works with
community partners to advance driving safety, education and
community life. For more than 60 years, Ford Motor Company Fund has
operated with ongoing funding from Ford Motor Company. The
award-winning Ford Driving Skills for Life program teaches new
drivers through a variety of hands-on and interactive methods.
Innovation in education is encouraged through programs that enhance
high school learning and provide college scholarships and
university grants. Through the Ford Volunteer Corps, 25,000 Ford
employees and dealers work on projects each year that better their
communities in 30 countries. For more information, visit
www.community.ford.com.
For news releases, related materials and
high-resolution photos and video, visit www.media.ford.com.
Ford Motor CompanyElizabeth
Weigandt313.845.4147eweigand@ford.com
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