Voices

KPMG foundation selects new minority scholarship recipients

The KPMG Foundation announced that it awarded $400,000 in scholarships to 40 minority accounting doctoral students for the 2011-12 academic year.

The students include 10 new recipients and 30 students whose scholarships were renewed. Each scholarship is valued at $10,000 and is renewable annually for up to five years.

"The KPMG Foundation is proud of the very positive influence it has had in helping to increase the number of diverse faculty members at our nation's colleges and universities," said Jose Rodriguez, KPMG Foundation chairperson, in a statement. "The Minority Accounting Doctoral Scholarship will play a critical role in transforming these 40 talented students into educators who will shape tomorrow's business leaders."

The foundation has awarded over $10 million to 297 African American, Hispanic American and Native American students pursuing doctorate degrees since 1994. Of those recipients, 194 have successfully completed their doctoral program and are professors at American universities.

"Business leaders realize success by understanding the complexities of a global marketplace," said Stacy Sturgeon, KPMG’s national managing partner of university relations and recruiting, in a statement. "These lessons begin in the classroom and diverse educational environments provide future leaders with the perspective that is necessary to thrive in their professions."

The new recipients and their Ph.D. affiliations are:

•    Herita Akamah, University of Oklahoma
•    Brandon Ater, Virginia Tech.
•    Matthew Driskill, University of Florida
•    Brent Garza, University of Illinois Urbana
•    Stephanie Hairston, University of Memphis
•    Suzanne Perry, University of North Texas
•    Anywhere Sikochi, Pennsylvania State University
•    Andreya Marie Silva, University of Miami
•    Stephen Smith, University of Alabama
•    Porschia Thomas Quinn, University of Memphis

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