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Through her American Express Diversity Fellowship, second-year student Amber Salley has attended a wide variety of business events and met with high-level executives of the company, which provided the corporate match for her $50,000 fellowship. “I’ve been able to get a real feel for the American Express culture,” Salley said. “They groomed me for my long-term career in corporate America by introducing me to senior executives so I can learn what it’s like to run a portion of the company.”
Salley was among recipients who shared their experiences at an October 18 reception at the Hyde Park Center to recognize corporate partners who have established women’s or diversity fellowships with Chicago GSB. The award pairs each student with a sponsoring company whose executives can help broaden the recipient's professional contacts in the field.
Salley said American Express employees answered her questions about the company in general and about other companies in which they have an interest, she said. “They can give me their perceptions of different organizations that I may be interested in,” Salley said. “The assistance provided has been more than I could have imagined.”
First-year student Joey Lee said her Lehman Brothers Diversity Fellowship showed her how she can apply skills to the corporate world that she learned during three years in strategic planning and public relations at the White House. “The fact that these corporations have supported the fellowships speaks well of their commitment to making sure our future in the work force consists of people of all sorts of backgrounds,” Lee said.
The school launched the fellowship program in fall 2005 in an effort to attract more women to the Full-Time MBA Program. Among the first sponsors was Robert W. Baird & Co., whose CEO Paul Purcell, ’71, committed funds to the program. Trisha Hansen, vice president for investment banking at Baird, said, “We feel diversity is very important both in terms of women and minorities.”
The fellowship is about more than just money, stressed Stacey Kole, deputy dean for the Full-Time MBA Program. “The goal—and the reason each company participates— is to invest in these students and support women as they take on a leadership role,” Kole said. “These fellowships give us the edge to attract the top talent.”
Dean Edward Snyder agreed. “It’s very clear to all of us that you can’t be the best business school unless you are a diverse business school and understand how to leverage that diversity.”
—Phil Rockrohr