Graham Collaborative Innovation Fellows

The Graham Collaborative Innovation Fellows Program seeks individuals who demonstrate a strong interest in entrepreneurship and experience in implementing new ideas. Graham Fellows are innovators who are passionate about identifying and fulfilling the needs of their community. If this describes you, we invite you to apply—show us who you are and what you believe. Please consider the following guidelines:

• There are no strict GPA or test score requirements. We will evaluate your application as a whole and will consider past work in innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as your future goals, teamwork, and more. 
• The Graham Collaborative Innovation Fellows team will review your application and may ask to speak with you.
• Plan on attending Accepted Student Day so you can meet other incoming Fellows.

Each Graham Fellow will:

• Achieve at a high level in both academic and co-curricular work;
• Maintain open communication with their advisors and peers, including attending all group meetings and responding to communications in a timely manner;
• Act as an ambassador for the fulfillment of the program’s mission and goals;
• Complete two courses with other Engaged Scholars: a First-Year Seminar in Entrepreneurial Thinking and a course in Rhetorical Communication;
• Design their program of studies to support their personal and career goals;
• Attend events designed to help them to build leadership skills;
• Participate meaningfully in at least one special project each semester;
• Meet individually with their advisor at least once per semester to discuss academic, career, and personal goals;
• After their first year, mentor incoming Fellows, providing advice and setting a positive example; and
• Take part, as their schedule allows, in additional classes with other scholars across campus.

In order to get the most out of the program, Graham Fellows will regularly engage with faculty and other Fellows, develop meaningful curricular and co-curricular experiences, respond to, and — when appropriate — support student ideas and innovations, and be personally committed to the success of the Fellows.  

To the Parents and Families of Future Spartans:

As parents, the hopes and dreams we have for ourselves pale when compared to the hopes and dreams we have for our children. We know that at York College. And as the father of four children, I know that as well. 

We know that you want college to be transformative, that you want college to give your son or daughter a start in the world that will ignite their desire to learn, to succeed, to thrive, and to be happy. 

So, why encourage your son or daughter to consider the Graham Scholars program?

• It will make them part of a team of other motivated students
• It will encourage them to study what they love and love what they study — while also giving them some basic business principles that can help them succeed in the workplace no matter their major
• It will help them see, from day one, the benefits of hard work 
• It will help them learn not only from excellent professors, but also from community mentors and leaders, the real-world applications of their work 
• It will give them the funded opportunity to travel abroad with other Scholars and to learn from other cultures here in the United States
• If they choose — and if they earn it — it will give them the opportunity for funded summer work/research experiences to build experience and a strong resume, while earning enough to replace or supplement other summer work. 
• Most of all, it will help them to learn how powerful the combination of innovative thinking and a strong work ethic can be. 

That is what our patron, the highly successful businessman Donald Graham, calls “entrepreneurial thinking” — thinking that not only helps you start a career, but which helps you become a valuable member of any workplace. 

In effect, we’ve reverse-engineered Mr. Graham’s formula for success and are using it to educate better. So, whether your son or daughter becomes a Graham Scholar or not, we know what an investment of time and money college is. 

At York College, we’ll make it worthwhile. You have the word of a fellow parent on that!

Sincerely, 

Dominic DelliCarpini
Dean of the Center for Community Engagement

The Graham Collaborative Innovation Fellows Program is made possible through the generosity of Donald C. Graham. Mr. Graham is well-known in the York area for his philanthropy and business acumen. He is invested in the success of each of our Fellows, and we are very grateful for his vision and support.

Biography of Donald Graham

Donald C. Graham was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan on January 25th, 1933. Today, he's well-known in the York area for his philanthropy and business acumen. He has been the driving force behind Graham Engineering, Graham Packaging, and many other York-based companies that have a widespread reach.

Don graduated from the University of Michigan, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1955 and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Business Management in 1956. He was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Don was inducted into Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society, and was a member of the U-M chapter of the American Society of Tool Engineers. Don was also a member of the Engineering Honor Council, which oversees the administration of the College of Engineering Honor Code.

Don is a registered Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania. He has received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan and York College of Pennsylvania for his many accomplishments and contributions to benefit the institutions.

Don and his wife Ingrid have been married for over 56 years. They have five children: Steve, Kristi, Ken, Richie, and Erik, as well as 17 grandchildren. 

The Making of an Innovator

Don's work and business life began as a young boy delivering newspapers, cleaning toilets, and setting bowling pins at the University of Michigan Student Union, fixing and selling old cars, and later working as a machinist at Electro Arc Corp.

After college, Don's professional life started with Baker Perkins in Saginaw, Michigan. A stint in the Army brought Don to the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland, where he earned a critical skills accreditation in the chemical weapons group. He moved on to Read Machinery Corp. in York, Pennsylvania (later Read Standard Corp.) as Chief Engineer for Specialty Products, and then went to Read's parent company, Capitol Products, as Vice President of Technology.

Don left Capitol Products in 1960 to start Graham Engineering in the basement of a rented farmhouse in Dover, Pennsylvania with no capital and one employee. Graham Engineering grew from a design services firm into a diversified group of custom manufacturing companies with leading international positions in specialty machinery, plastic packaging and architectural window systems, which subsequently led to the formation of The Graham Group.

The Graham Group has since grown to include Graham Capital Company, Graham Partners, Inverness Graham Investments, Striker Partners and Graham Software Development. The investment companies have in turn invested in over thirty companies in building products, packaging, medical instruments, aerospace, electronics, communications, business services and information technologies.

Still located in York, Pennsylvania are Graham Packaging, Graham Engineering, Graham Architectural Products and Graham Capital, however the Graham Group has a wide geographic reach that until recently included Berry Plastics, which is listed on the NY Stock Exchange, and for which Don served on the Board of Directors. In 2011, Graham Group sold its last holdings in Graham Packaging which had by then grown to over $3.5 billion in annual sales.