Corporate or Foundation Partner Award

SAPA Transmission is a precision manufacturer committed to engineering excellence — and, increasingly, to something more personal: building real pathways between industry and the next generation of engineers who will shape the country’s future. That commitment and the partnership it has produced with Central Michigan University are at the heart of why SAPA Transmission receives the 2026 Corporate Partner Award. 

The relationship began with an intentional choice. When CMU launched its Industrial Affiliate Program, SAPA Transmission signed on as the inaugural partner — not because it was convenient, but because it was personal. Darren Werner, SAPA’s president and a 1989 CMU graduate, understood from experience what CMU could produce. “CMU gave me a foundation at a really important time in my life,” he said. “It wasn’t just academics — it was discipline, perspective, and a sense of direction that carried me through 40 years in the Army and now into industry.” Partnering with CMU through SAPA was, for him, both a homecoming and a mission. 

That founding commitment has grown into a deep and multi-layered relationship. SAPA engineers who are also CMU alumni mentor the Senior Design Capstone team — including Joe Glinski, ’96, Will Werner, ’24, and Madeline St. Pierre, a 2024 CMU College of Science and Engineering graduate who returned to the program just one year after completing her own capstone, a full-circle moment she described with pride. “It was not that long ago that I was in their exact shoes,” she said. 

SAPA has also established the InSciTE scholarship and a dedicated internship fund, and it holds a seat on CMU’s College of Science and Engineering Advisory Board. The company’s first-ever intern was a CMU student — a fact that Will Werner, a business development associate for SAPA, describes as no coincidence. “SAPA Transmission was looking for the talent pipeline from the start,” he said. CMU graduates across generations now work at SAPA, with graduation years ranging from the 1980s to 2024. 

Looking ahead, Darren Werner sees even more opportunity: connecting CMU’s research to real industry challenges, engaging students earlier in their academic journeys and leaning into national security and defense industrial base opportunities. “I think of it more as a circle,” he said. “CMU gave me a foundation — now, being in a position to partner with CMU through SAPA, it’s about building something bigger than any one person’s journey.” 

For its deep commitment to engineering education, student opportunity and the future of Michigan’s workforce, SAPA Transmission is recognized with the 2026 Corporate Partner Award from the Central Michigan University Alumni Association.