The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and the Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT) established a strategic partnership by signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Pentagon, Oct. 15, 2002.

Signatories of the MOU from left to right were Donna S. Richbourg, Principal Deputy, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy; Louis A. Kratz Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Logistics Plans and Programs, Office of the Secretary of Defense; Harold J. Raveché, President, Stevens Institute of Technology; and Frank Anderson Jr., President, DAU

The establishment of the strategic partnership is to offer enhanced opportunities for members of the DoD Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L) workforce to participate in the Graduate Certificate Programs in Systems and Supportability Engineering and the Master's Degree in Systems Engineering under the System Design and Operational Effectiveness (SDOE) Program, an executive graduate degree and certificate program.

The opportunities identified in the memorandum include but are not limited to the following terms and conditions:

• SIT will utilize the education, training, and experiences of the members of the Defense AT&L workforce received in pursuit of DAU level of certification in at least one of the Defense Acquisition Workforce Act (DAWIA) career fields in conjunction with a Graduate Certificate in Systems and Supportability Engineering and the Masters Degree in Systems Engineering under the SDOE Program offered by SIT.
  
• Provide administrative support services to include the counseling and assistance to students desiring to enter the program.
  
• Promote and advertise the programs throughout the Defense AT&L workforce. Provide DAU with information as required for planning, conducting, and reporting of DAU's operation.
  
• Provide qualified and experienced instructors to conduct the courses.
  
• Assist with outreach and communications promoting the certificate and degree programs; advise students; and provide SIT with suggestions for adjusting content of academic courses to meet the changing needs of the programs and Defense AT&L workforce educational requirements.
  Provide copies of student transcripts for DAU courses.
  
  SIT developed the SDOE Program to respond to DoD and the aerospace and defense industry's requirements for graduate education in systems and supportability engineering. Through this common purpose and objectives, DAU and the SDOE Program at SIT will actively collaborate on curriculum development in the form of case studies, lessons learned, best practices, and metrics and measures for system supportability and logistics. DAU and the SDOE Program at SIT will also develop research topics and projects in the area of Acquisition Logistics. Additional information about this partnership and the SDOE Program is available at http://www.stevens.edu/sdoe/.