WALTHAM, Mass., Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) today announced its support of US2020, the White House initiative created to help meet the future workforce needs of leading STEM employers by equalizing access to STEM careers for underserved populations.

As a Founding Corporate Partner of US2020, Raytheon has committed employee mentoring talent and financial support to help expand the organization's student mentoring network nationwide.

"Maintaining a healthy and robust STEM talent pipeline is crucial to ensuring the United States maintains its leadership position in global innovation," said William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company. "Our collaboration with US2020 opens new pathways for our employees to share their passion for, and expertise in, STEM subjects and fields with a wide range of student populations. The diversity of thinking that will come from this focused effort will enrich us all."

US2020 aims to mobilize one million STEM mentors by 2020 by connecting high-quality education partners like Citizen Schools to STEM professionals nationwide. The organization is currently executing its first US2020 City Competition to identify 3-5 cities to share in nearly $1 million of direct and in-kind support to build STEM mentoring capacity at the local level.

"The necessary growth of America's STEM workforce is significantly inhibited by the fact that too few underrepresented groups -- in particular lower income children, children of color, and girls -- know STEM professionals, know what they do, or have had the moments of discovery that can inspire unfamiliar career paths," said Eric Schwarz, Co-Founder and CEO of Citizen Schools and Executive Chairman of US2020. "We are excited to partner with Raytheon, a proven leader in STEM education, to help inspire the next generation of technologists and engineers."

About US2020
US2020 is a new organization formed through a partnership of leading education non-profits and corporate leaders in the STEM field. The initiative emerged from a White House call to generate big, innovative solutions to our STEM education challenge, with a focus on increasing access to STEM careers for girls, underrepresented minorities in the sciences, and low-income children. US2020 will be incubated within Citizen Schools, a leading education non-profit, and will become a standalone non-profit entity in 2014. US2020 relies on a committed and growing community of public, private, non-profit and individual partners. For more information visit http://www.us2020.org/.

About MathMovesU
Raytheon's MathMovesU^® program is an initiative committed to increasing middle and elementary school students' interest in math and science education by engaging them in hands-on, interactive activities. The innovative programs of MathMovesU include the traveling interactive experience MathAlive!^®; Raytheon's Sum of all Thrills™ experience at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot^®, which showcases math in action as students design and experience their own thrill ride using math fundamentals; the "In the Numbers" game, a partnership with the New England Patriots on display at The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon; the company's ongoing sponsorship of the MATHCOUNTS^® National Competition; and the MathMovesU scholarship and grant program. Follow MathMovesU and other Raytheon community outreach programs on Facebook and on Twitter @MathMovesU.

About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2012 sales of $24 billion and 68,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 91 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems; as well as a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more about Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter @Raytheon

Media Contacts

Raytheon Company
Tina Martineau
+1.781.522.6490
corporatepr@raytheon.com

InkHouse
Scott Montminy
+1.781.966.4100
raytheonpr@inkhouse.com

SOURCE Raytheon Company