The ISTA Educational Foundation’s mission is to engage, inspire, and empower student leaders who will improve our world through advancing transport packaging design. Dedicated to the support and service of the packaging community, the ISTA Educational Foundation (ISTAEF) is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(C)3 charitable organization, raising and distributing funds to foster educational growth in the transport packaging space.
The Foundation will implement this mission by supporting the following activities and programs:
Research Grants
The majority of funding will be used to support research in distribution packaging via grants to packaging schools. The funding could be used to support the packaging school research curriculum or could support a capstone-type project/course. The selected researchers will be invited to present their findings at the ISTA Forum as either a speaker or as part of a poster board event. The funding could be used to support the recipients‘ travel expenses. The goal is to tie grants to research in the distribution packaging area.
Scholarships
The Foundation provides scholarships to packaging students interested in transport packaging.
Recognize Educational Contributions
The R. David LeButt Award was established to recognize educational contributions in transport packaging. Each year, a packaging professional is honored by receiving the prestigious R. David LeButt Award in recognition of excellence and continuing education in Package Design & Testing. The award resides at Georgia-Pacific’s Innovation Institute in Norcross, Georgia where Dave worked.