“In our DNA” is a bit of corporate-speak that we’re all probably tired of hearing, but every now and then, it really does express the depth of a company’s commitment to a principle or a cause that it takes seriously. Heidelberg, for one, would be fully entitled to use the phrase, if it wanted to, to describe the authenticity of its support for industry education—an activity that’s as much a part of its mission as selling printing equipment.

Just ask the Graphic Communication Institute (GrCI) at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), where students are learning to operate the new POLAR XT 92 programmable cutter that Heidelberg donated to the school in commemoration of Printing Week last month. Joining the students in the photo above are James Martin (dark jacket and striped shirt, right), senior vice president of marketing, Heidelberg USA; and Prof. Harvey Levenson (behind and to the right of Martin), head of GrCI.

Heidelberg equipment—donated or made available on generous terms—is at work in printing schools from coast to coast. GrCI, one of the nation’s premier programs for graphics education, also trains its students on a four-color Speedmaster CD 74 perfector, a pair of Printmaster QM 46-4s, and assorted prepress equipment previously donated by Heidelberg.

The company also is a staunch supporter of the SkillsUSA graphic communications competition and is a regular contributor to various scholarship funds. Heidelberg manages an extensive professional training program through its Print Media Academy and its Technology Center, both located at company headquarters in Kennesaw, GA. At these facilities, Heidelberg has hosted “Fit to Print” and other outreach events aimed at attracting young people to careers in graphic communications.

It all sounds genetically encoded to us. Respect to Heidelberg for doing the right thing in the right way on behalf of education, and good luck to the students at Cal Poly with their spiffy new POLAR cutter.