In the mid-1980s, Sovilla served as CEA president, increasing the number of employer members from 155 to 253 and more than quadrupling the number of employers routinely participating in CEA's annual conference. While serving as president of a regional cooperative education association, he likewise more than quadrupled the number of employers and school members in the organization. Sovilla serves as the chief consultant for 33 colleges and universities with co-op. In all, he's consulted for more than 200 school and corporations starting or expanding their co-op participation in addition to serving on various task forces and as a consultant with the U.S. Department of Education. Out of the 600 verified co-op schools across the country, UC's is the largest at a public university.
Prestigious alumni recall the value of co-op in their careers.
Dr. Carl Patton, president of Georgia State University, points to the quality of UC's cooperative education program as an invaluable tool for him. Because of my real-world experience at UC, I gained the ability to talk to people. It taught me how to talk to people in the business community. Patton's best memories of his own co-op days include mentoring by leaders in the planning field, the chance to travel at a time when opportunities to do so were limited, and the chance to earn tuition money. He graduated with only a small amount of debt.