CLEVELAND, OH.... Thomas Kelley, a third-year student at the Cleveland Institute of Art, is the recipient of a $1,500 scholarship grant for his design of an employee recognition award for Eaton Corporation. Separately, the company announced it will donate $5,000 to the Institute for on-going programs.

Kelley, who is from Loveland, Ohio, finished first in competition with 15 other Institute of Art students. Three additional students received a total of $1,400 in scholarships for second place, third place and honorable mention finishes.

Eaton created the Innovation and Patent/Trade Secret Award Program to focus on the importance of internal efforts that support the company's growth initiative. It recognizes individuals, teams and operating units that contribute innovative ideas and generate substantially increased profits and/or capital and cost savings for the company.

The company said it was extremely pleased with the results of the contest and its working relationship with the Art Institute, and is making a separate $5,000 grant to the school. The grant is intended to support programs being conducted in the Institute's high-tech computer laboratory, where several of the winning designs were developed.

In recognizing Kelley's award-winning design, representatives of Eaton and the Institute said, "Tom has created an extremely futuristic award, combining walnut wood, lead crystal and precious metal. The cylindrical crown of the design suggests the letter "E" , and is to be created from different metals to distinguish between Eaton's three award levels-gold, silver and bronze. The lustrous wood base represents a warm foundation. The crystal shapes forming the mid-section convey clarity, precision, alignment and synergy. They represent employees: individual shapes, divided by space, and yet working in unison....We find it to be quite stunning."

Cleveland-based Eaton said it made the decision to approach the Institute of Art because of the school's outstanding national reputation, and the hometown tie of the two institutions. "From the company's perspective, we couldn't be happier," an Eaton spokesperson said. "The energy and enthusiasm exhibited by the student contestants seems most appropriate for this type of award, and the professional oversight and professionalism displayed by Gregory G. Gibson, Vice President for External Affairs, and the entire Institute faculty, was indeed refreshing."

Eaton Corporation is a global manufacturer of highly engineered products which serve industrial, vehicle, construction, commercial and semiconductor markets. Principal products include electrical power distribution and control equipment, truck transmissions and axles, engine components, hydraulic products, ion implanters and a wide variety of controls. Headquartered in Cleveland, the company has 56,000 employees and 165 manufacturing sites in 26 countries around the world. Sales for 1996 were $7 billion.