The SAE Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary last week by saluting one of the notable champions of the Detroit auto industry in Ford Motor Co. executive Edsel B. Ford II.

The SAE Foundation honored Ford with its Industry Leadership Award and raised more than $400,000 to fun STEM education programs during the Foundation’s 25th Anniversary celebration at Ford Field in Detroit.

Much of the proceeds came from a live auction of a one-of-a-kind Ford Mustang built by Ford Motorsports and Roush Performance.

The SAE Foundation is the charitable arm of SAE International. Its programs are among the most widely-recognized and successful in classroom-based education in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) areas.

In remarks after accepting the Industry Leadership, Edsel B. Ford II said, “I am truly humbled to receive the SAE Foundation’s Industry Leadership award, however the real honor goes to the many hardworking men and women of our engineering, product development and design staff who have brought passion, dedication and ingenuity to our worldwide product line-up that is now an integral part of Ford Motor Company’s DNA.

“I am honored to be recognized and represent the Ford team tonight.”

Ford is a member of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company and a consultant to Ford. He is active in company affairs and dealer relations and a member of several charitable, philanthropic and community organizations.

He was recognized for his more than 40 years of commitment and dedication to improving the U.S. automotive industry.

Matt Miller, director of the SAE Foundation, said, “Leaders such as Mr. Ford are a key element of our efforts to attract, educate and retain engineers.

“Our programs are among the most effective in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, and we are honored to include Mr. Ford among our leaders and supporters. Our 25th anniversary celebration promises to be a great evening for the industry.”

Elsewhere at the event, the 2nd annual Gordon Millar Award, funded by auto supplier AVL, was presented to Dan and Vicky Hancock for their continuous philanthropic support of the SAE Foundation Mission to encourage and increase student participation and achievement in STEM education. Hancock is a retired executive from General Motors.

“The evening was a testament to the industry-wide support for our STEM education programs,” SAE Foundation’s Miller further said.

“The support from companies like Ford, Roush and the dozens of others who are committed to improving the industry’s competitiveness will help us offer our programs to even more students in the future,” he added.

The evening’s theme, “The Future STEMs from You!” celebrated the SAE Foundation’s individual and collective efforts to improve the state of STEM education for America’s students.