Minority doctoral students got a boost this past weekend when the KPMG Foundation granted thousands of dollars in scholarships for the upcoming academic year.
Thirty-nine minority doctoral students received $390,000 in scholarships for the 2009-2010 school year. Of the awards, eight are to new recipients scheduled to begin their accounting doctoral program this fall, three are to new recipients who have already begun programs and 28 are renewals of scholarships previously awarded.
The gifts mark the 15th anniversary of its Minority Accounting Doctoral Scholarship program. The program aims to further increase the completion rate among African-American, Hispanic-American and Native American doctoral students in accounting.
Each of the scholarships is valued at $10,000 and renewable annually for a total of five years. The Foundation established the scholarship program in 1994 as part of its efforts to increase the number of minority students and professors in business schools - and has since awarded $8.7 million to minorities pursuing doctorate degrees.
This years new recipients are:
Elio Alfonso, Louisiana State University
Dereck Barr, University of Mississippi
Cathalene Bowler, Morgan State University
Elicia Cowins, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Paige Gee, Temple University
Aisha Meeks, Jackson State University
Wayne Nelms, Morgan State University
Genese Rogers, Morgan State University
Menghistu Sallehu, Drexel University
John Williams, University of North Texas
Reginald Wilson, Jackson State University