SECU

We're a financial services company that's been around for more than 140 years, helping individuals, families, and businesses build more secure futures. At Securian Financial, we focus on what matters most: protecting the people you care about. Our team develops insurance, investment, and retirement solutions that actually help real people face life's uncertainties with confidence rather than anxiety. What started back in 1880 as a life insurance company has grown into something much bigger. We're still anchored in St. Paul, Minnesota, but now we serve millions of customers across the United States and Canada. Our family of companies includes Minnesota Life Insurance Company and Securian Life Insurance, and we work through financial professionals, employers, and direct channels to deliver the protection people need.

Vaayu is the world's first automated AI software empowering retail brands and businesses to track and cut environmental impact in real-time. By leveraging proprietary AI and machine learning technology, Vaayu calculates impacts like emissions, water and waste across product, packaging and logistics, using certified LCA methodologies to provide granular insights and inform data-driven decision-making. The platform enables retailers to monitor product, order and company footprints, identify hotspots in materials, manufacturing and logistics, and test reduction actions through scenario modelling. Vaayu has pioneered research into the climate impact potential of circular business models with Vinted and Otrium, and calculated product footprints at scale for Klarna and Redcare. Other global partnerships include Veja, New Balance, ASKET, Missoma, Ace & Tate and Wunderman Thompson Commerce. Named one of TIME's 2022 Best Inventions, Fast Company's 2022 Next Big Things in Tech, and winner of the Europas 2022 Hottest Climate Tech/Sustainability Startup Award, Vaayu has created retail's largest and most accurate impact database which is continually evolving to power reduction at scale. The company's methodology follows the GHG Protocol and has been certified by TÜV Rheinland.

Columbia University is one of the world's most important centers of research and at the same time a distinctive and distinguished learning environment for undergraduates and graduate students in many scholarly and professional fields. The University recognizes the importance of its location in New York City and seeks to link its research and teaching to the vast resources of a great metropolis. It seeks to attract a diverse and international faculty and student body, to support research and teaching on global issues, and to create academic relationships with many countries and regions. The University expects all areas of the institution to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to convey the products of its efforts to the world. Columbia University operates a comprehensive academic enterprise spanning sixteen schools, a world-renowned medical center, twenty-five libraries, and more than one hundred research centers in New York City. For more than 250 years, Columbia has been a leader in higher education in the nation and around the world, combining the intimate scale of a small college with the vast resources of a major research university.

The University of Cincinnati stands as a premier public research university with a legacy spanning two centuries. Founded in 1819, UC pioneered cooperative education, creating the world's first co-op program that has since become a model for experiential learning globally. Today, the university enrolls over 53,000 students across 426 degree programs, maintaining a 19:1 student-to-faculty ratio that ensures personalized attention. UC's co-op program ranks fourth nationally, with students earning a collective $94 million annually through paid professional placements that integrate directly with their academic studies. As a Carnegie R1 research institution, UC drives significant economic impact - generating $10.6 billion regionally and $22.7 billion statewide while supporting over 125,000 jobs. The university's research expenditures reached $738 million in FY2025, reflecting its commitment to innovation and discovery. UC's campus has garnered international acclaim, with The New York Times recognizing it as featuring "the most ambitious campus design program in the country." Home to over 360,000 living alumni and competing in NCAA Division I athletics as a Big 12 Conference member, the University of Cincinnati continues to shape the future through education, research, and community engagement.

Founded in 1963 to fuel the talent and technology needs of America's growing space program, the University of Central Florida has evolved from a bold vision into one of the nation's largest metropolitan research universities. What began as Florida Technological University - opening its doors to 1,948 students in 1968 - has transformed into an academic powerhouse serving over 70,000 students across 12 colleges with more than 250 degree programs. UCF's journey reflects the spirit of its era: born from the race to the stars, it has maintained that pioneering DNA, becoming "America's Space University" while expanding its impact far beyond aerospace. Today, UCF stands as a testament to what happens when access and excellence merge - consistently ranked among the top 10 most innovative public universities while graduating more than 18,000 students annually who power industries across Florida and beyond. UCF's identity is defined by motion and momentum - where research becomes progress, progress attracts talent, and talent drives the next breakthrough. From the Exolith Lab developing lunar regolith simulants for NASA missions to researchers reimagining terraforming Mars using the planet's own resources, UCF creates knowledge that reaches beyond Earth. The university's $237.4 million in funded research powers discoveries in optics and photonics, modeling and simulation, healthcare, and national security. But what truly sets UCF apart is its commitment to social mobility: 70% of first-time-in-college students graduate without educational debt, bucking national trends that leave most students burdened by loans. With multiple campuses including UCF Downtown and Rosen College of Hospitality Management, plus robust online programs that have led the evolution of remote learning for over 25 years, UCF delivers education that works for real lives - transforming the Orlando community and redefining what a public university can achieve when it refuses to choose between scale and quality.

Penn State exists to expand access to education and drive discovery that transforms lives. Founded in 1855 as Pennsylvania's first and only land-grant institution, the university emerged from a fundamental belief that knowledge should be accessible to all, not just the privileged few. Today, that land-grant mission pulses through every aspect of the institution - teaching, research, and service that directly addresses the critical challenges facing Pennsylvania and the world. Across 24 campuses and a robust World Campus, nearly 90,000 students and 20,000 faculty and staff know that the real measure of success goes beyond the classroom - it is the positive impact made across communities worldwide through breakthrough research, community partnerships, and graduates who lead with purpose and integrity. The university consistently ranks among the top institutions globally, not by chasing rankings, but by staying true to core values that have guided it for nearly 170 years. Penn State's research enterprise spans from fundamental science that unlocks the mysteries of the universe to applied innovations that strengthen industries, improve health outcomes, and protect national security. The World Campus extends this educational experience beyond physical boundaries, offering the same rigorous, quality-accredited programs to learners anywhere, anytime - proving that geography should never limit opportunity. With a network of over 750,000 alumni worldwide, Penn State's impact multiplies through graduates who carry forward the land-grant spirit in every field imaginable, from business and healthcare to technology and public service.