New Chicago Booth Scholarships for Nonprofit, Govt. Professionals
The Chicago Booth School of Business has debuted a scholarship program designed to support advanced business education in the nonprofit and government sectors.
The new Civic Scholars Program, funded in part by a $4-million gift from the Neubauer Family Foundation, will provide full-tuition scholarships every year to Chicago Booth’s Weekend MBA Program for eight professionals working in the nonprofit and government fields.
Known as Neubauer Civic Scholars, students in the program will continue working full-time as they pursue their degrees, allowing them to apply their classroom experiences to their workplaces.
Traditionally the public and nonprofit sectors are underrepresented in MBA programs, but with the Civic Scholars Program, Booth can tap the potential of professionals in these fields. No other world class business school currently offers as comprehensive a program for civic leaders.
“This is an opportunity to strengthen the development of future leaders from the public and nonprofit sectors across the United States, and Booth’s data-driven and collaborative approach will help these professionals drive change within their organizations that has a dynamic impact,” says Joseph Neubauer, MBA ’65.
“The same leadership skills are required to run all enterprises regardless of sector, which is why we are particularly excited to provide this opportunity to those who are the best and brightest in their chosen fields to strengthen the critical business and analytical skills required to run their organizations,” he adds.
The program will bring important voices to the classroom and community by providing broader perspectives on issues such as understanding the role of business in society, the implications of expanding public-private partnerships, and the opportunities for business leaders to engage productively with government and nonprofit organizations.
Neubauer Civic Scholars will be subject to the same curriculum requirements as all students in Booth’s MBA Programs, and ideal candidates will have approximately six to ten years of professional experience when applying to the program.
In addition to the core curriculum, they will have new, experience-based courses designed exclusively for the program that allow them to work in small teams on research and consulting projects for social sector and government organizations, as well as on individual projects at the Civic Scholars’ own organizations.
Additionally, a platform of curricular and extra-curricular programs exclusive to Neubauer Civic Scholars will be developed with the goal of fostering the group’s connections with each other as well as enhancing the educational experience.
The Civic Scholars Program will partner with other Booth research centers such as the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State, Social Enterprise Initiative, and the Harry Davis Leadership Center, as well as faculty from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, on curricular and co-curricular programming.
“We are very grateful for the pledge from the Neubauer Family Foundation to create the Neubauer Civic Scholarship Fund,” says Booth Dean Sunil Kumar. “This investment will allow Chicago Booth to provide select students from the nonprofit and public sectors the same discipline base and leadership tools we offer to business leaders. In time, this will help the school broaden its impact into these sectors, by building a community of talented and well-trained alumni.”
