Harry Davis Scholarship for Nonprofit Leaders

The Harry L. Davis Executive Education Scholarship for Nonprofit Leaders seeks to provide leaders of nonprofit organizations the opportunity to benefit from an executive education program at Chicago Booth in one of the following areas of study: finance, leadership/organizational behavior, marketing, or strategy. We are targeting, in particular, candidates of organizations that lack the resources traditionally needed to support their directors’ pursuits of executive education. We hope that after learning from The Chicago Approach™, nonprofit executives will be able to use their new experiences to position their organizations more competitively while benefiting society.

Harry L. Davis, the Roger L. and Rachel M. Goetz Distinguished Service Professor of Creative Management, has personally shaped leadership development at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Over the past 50 years, Professor Davis has pioneered innovative programs such as Leadership Exploration and Development (LEAD), which strengthen students’ communication and interpersonal skills, and Management Lab courses, which supplement the traditional MBA curriculum with client-project teams. Professor Davis’s profound effect on Chicago Booth is deeply felt—this scholarship honors this legacy and his commitment to management education.

Outlined below are the specifications of the scholarship, applicant eligibility, selection, and application. Download the application (PDF).

  • The scholarship covers the tuition, books, and instructional materials for one Executive Education program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
  • For a complete listing of our program offerings and dates, visit our Program Finder. Please refer to the application PDF for the programs that are included.
  • The scholarship recipient must apply it toward an Executive Education program within one year of notification.
  • The scholarship is not transferable and has no cash value. 
    • Applicants must be nonprofit executives who are directly responsible for shaping their organizations’ mission, policies, and major programs.
    • The applicant’s organization must be designated as nonprofit.
    • Applicants should have at least one year of experience at their current company and at least one year in their current role.
    • Applicants who have already been selected for the scholarship may apply in subsequent years, but preference will be given to applicants from previously unselected organizations to increase diversity within the scholarship pool.

     

The Selection Committee will determine scholarship recipients based on its assessment of which applicants will best use the knowledge gained from Chicago Booth Executive Education to further the goals of their organization:

  • Harry L. Davis, Roger L. and Rachel M. Goetz Distinguished Service Professor of Creative Management
  • Linda E. Ginzel, Clinical Professor of Managerial Psychology
  • Robert H. Gertner, Joel F. Gemunder Professor of Strategy and Finance and John Edwardson Faculty Director Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation

Please include the required items below and e-mail the completed application to Megan.Millard@chicagobooth.edu

  • Complete application form: Download the PDF listed above
  • A copy of their organization’s most recent Annual Report, including annual operating budget
  • Background information detailing their organization’s mission and purpose, track record in recent years, and future promise (500 word limit)
  • A letter of recommendation from their president or from the chair of the board or other board member if the president is the applicant
  • Resumé

 

  • January 10: Deadline for application submissions
  • March 1: Notification of decision
  • March 1 of the following year: Deadline to use scholarship toward an appropriate program