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Lafayette students interested in pursuing full-time graduate studies at a top-tier business school promise to benefit from a new partnership with the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester.
The College is joining a small number of undergraduate colleges and universities that participate in the Simon School’s Early Leaders Award program, which awards special scholarships for full-time study in MBA or M.S. programs. On Monday, Feb. 27, Mark Zupan, dean of the Simon School, will speak with Lafayette students about the program in a general information session scheduled for 4 p.m. in the Gendebien Room, Skillman Library.
All students admitted to full-time studies under the program receive a fee-waived application to the Simon School and an Early Leaders Scholarship of at least $5,000 that is valid for up to five years after the award date. Students admitted to the MBA program who have profiles significantly above the existing norm receive merit-based awards of at least $30,000 over the duration of their studies, and exceptional students admitted to a designated M.S. program receive awards of at least $20,000 over the course of their studies.
“This partnership opens a remarkable opportunity for Lafayette students and recent graduates to continue their education at one of the world’s premier institutions,” says W. Mark Crain, Lafayette’s William E. Simon ’52 Professor of Political Economy. “I have long admired the graduate business program at Rochester. Over many years the Simon School’s renowned faculty members have contributed much to the professional literature and maintained a fine balance between cutting-edge research and teaching. The school’s new dean, Mark Zupan, is an amazing scholar and a visionary administrator.”
The Simon Professorship is named in honor of the late Lafayette alumnus and trustee emeritus William E. Simon ’52, as are Rochester’s Simon School and Early Leaders program. Simon’s son J. Peter Simon ’75 is a Lafayette trustee and member of the Simon School’s Executive Advisory Committee.
Recipients of the Early Leaders Award are nominated by administrators, faculty, and staff at their institutions based on personal and intellectual potential for graduate business study and future management leadership. The Simon School bases its decisions on admissions and scholarship awards on nominees’ written and oral communication skills, academic performance, and leadership ability. Juniors, seniors, or recent graduates may be nominated.
“Students nominated for the Early Awards Program exemplify leadership skills and a passion for excelling and reaching their professional and personal goals,” Zupan says. “We actively seek students with a positive, can-do attitude and a willingness to work hard, contribute to the life of the school, and derive the maximum benefit from all aspects of the educational experience.”
The Simon School is known for its analytic, economics-based approach to teaching and research. This approach, which is the integrating principle behind the school’s distinctive curriculum, explains in large measure Simon’s high rankings, especially in the areas of finance, accounting and economics. The Financial Times of London recently ranked Simon fourth globally in both finance and in managerial economics, and two of the school’s accounting professors were awarded the American Accounting Association’s highest honor last year—only the fourth time the award has been given in the history of the Association—for their lifetime contributions to the field.
The Simon School is committed to a diverse student body and to seeking out the best possible future business leadership talent, regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, international background and age. The School is an original member of The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, a national organization promoting MBA graduate business opportunities among U.S. underrepresented minorities. Approximately 40 percent of its student body is international.
William Simon, the 63rd Secretary of the United States Treasury, graduated from Lafayette with a bachelor of arts degree in government and law. He began service on Lafayette’s board of trustees in 1970 and resigned from the board in 1973 when he was appointed deputy treasury secretary by President Nixon. Following his service as treasury secretary, he rejoined Lafayette’s board in 1977 and served until 1990, when he became an emeritus trustee. The College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1973.