University officials announced Monday the appointment of President Luis M. Proenza to a national committee charged with identifying and implementing new strategies to strengthen U.S. manufacturing.

According to university officials, President Barack Obama has appointed Proenza to serve with 19 other national academic, labor and industry leaders on the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee “2.0.”

Among the universities represented on the committee, along with The University of Akron, are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, the University of California-Berkeley and Georgia Tech. Co-chairs of the committee are MIT President L. Rafael Reif and Andrew Liveris, president, chairman and CEO of The Dow Chemical Co.

According to university officials, the committee will build on the progress made by the inaugural Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee. The president initiated the committee in 2011 to enable more U.S. manufacturers to take advantage of emerging technologies.

In other news, the Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet next Wednesday at 9 a.m.