Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business has announced a new partnership with the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) as part of the first installment of the NBMBAA Collegiate Partnership Program. According to a press release, the program aims to increase awareness and facilitate access to graduate and business education programs in professional fields across the country.
The NBMBAA was founded in 1970 to help African Americans coming into the corporate sector, largely for the first time, share experiences and insights to help make their careers and career paths easier. The organization’s partnership means a few different things:
- Georgetown has committed to awarding at least two merit-based scholarships to NBMBAA member students
- The school must ensure that at least 25 Georgetown McDonough students are NBMBAA members
- McDonough will hold an NBMBAA event on campus every academic year
- Georgetown will send a case competition team to the annual NBMBAA conference
Ultimately, the partnership will help help increase the diversity of the Georgetown McDonough community. According to the school, McDonough’s MBA program enrolls full-time and evening students from 43 countries and over 15 different industries.
“We need to build and grow our ability to attract, recruit, and yield fantastic students,” said Shelly Heinrich, interim associate dean for MBA admissions. “We are most proud of our ability to have a diverse classroom. It enriches the classroom conversation and allows people to really challenge their perspective and think about things in a new way.”
In addition to the new partnership with the NBMBAA, McDonough has partnerships with Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), which equips African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans with leadership skills, coaching and connections, and The Consortium, the largest diversity network in the United States.
Each of the school’s diversity initiatives have been successful: According to the school, McDonough has seen an increase in the diversity of its applicants and has just admitted its largest class to date of Consortium students.