| From left: Brian McAllister, School of Business dean; accounting
professor Dr. Susan Anders; accounting professor and associate dean of
business Dr. Carol Fischer; Keith Stolzenburg, partner in the PwC’s
Buffalo office; SBU students and program participants Dominic Greene,
Michael Marin and Thomas Green; Sarah Leiby, PwC campus recruiter in
Cleveland, Ohio; and Mark Bruno, PwC recruiting manager in Buffalo. |
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y., Sept. 23, 2011 — A grant from the global
professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers is supporting a new
career mentoring program designed to recruit and retain minority
accounting students in St. Bonaventure University’s School of Business.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC) representatives were on campus recently for a presentation to all
accounting majors on career readiness strategies, and to recognize
three freshmen who have been chosen as the program’s inaugural
participants: Thomas Green of Rochester, Dominic Greene of the Bronx,
and Michael Marin of East Elmhurst, N.Y.
The PwC grant was
awarded to Dr. Susan Anders, professor of accounting at St. Bonaventure
and chair of its Accounting Department, and Dr. Carol M. Fischer,
professor of accounting and associate dean of business, to support their
Accounting Scholars Program. The PricewaterhouseCoopers INQuiries grant
is part of a larger effort by PwC to support diversity initiatives in
accounting programs, added Fischer.
“The program is designed to
enhance recruitment and retention of minority students,” said Anders.
“This entails increasing minority applicants to the accounting program
and providing support services to enable students to achieve success,
academically and socially, at St. Bonaventure.”
The
goal is to accept into the program each academic year three or four
racial minority students who meet certain admission criteria and are
deemed capable of completing St. Bonaventure’s New York State registered
five-year accounting program. That program, to which students apply in
their junior year, enables students to earn their bachelor of business
administration and master of business administration degrees in five
years, as well as qualify to become certified public accountants.
In
addition to a financial scholarship, students in the new Accounting
Scholars Program: - are accepted into the Living/Learning Business
Community residence halls, where they can more easily establish
relationships with other business majors;
- participate in new
career-ready programs through the University’s Career and Professional
Readiness Center, with special programming designed to provide students
with support services and exposure to business culture;
- are eligible for
additional scholarship funds;
- are provided access to alumni mentors,
particularly those who work with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The new
scholarship program was not in place until after housing assignments for
this semester were completed, so only one of the three recipients is in
a Business Community residence hall. The other two, however, are in
Leadership & Service learning communities, which “is also an
excellent match for a business student at a Franciscan university,” said
Fischer.
About the University:
Inspired for more than 150 years by the Franciscan values of individual
dignity, community inclusiveness, and service, St. Bonaventure
University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative
communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative
problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the
diverse world around them. |