ASU students from underrepresented communities to benefit from Schwab scholarship

Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business is one of seven universities announced as a participant of Charles Schwab Corporation’s $3.5 million endowed scholarship program. The program — funded through Charles Schwab Foundation — will provide financial assistance and professional development opportunities to students from underrepresented communities.

“Diversity and inclusion are inherent to the DNA of ASU, and we’re very happy to receive support from the Charles Schwab Foundation to continue the important work of drawing finance majors from all backgrounds to the business school,” said Amy Ostrom, interim dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business and PetSmart Chair in Services Leadership. “Diversity builds a healthy, vibrant community and is crucial for developing innovative solutions and effective change.”

Underrepresented students at W. P. Carey are eligible to apply for approximately $10,000 a year in scholarship funds. In addition to the two-year scholarship, recipients will be invited to apply for and participate in an internship at Schwab, which could help inspire a future career in finance. In addition to the direct benefits to the scholarship recipients, the program will also assist ASU in enhancing its student diversity for the benefit of the entire student body.

“We believe programs like our scholarship endowment can make a meaningful impact by creating educational opportunities, which can help break down barriers and open new possibilities,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, president of Charles Schwab Foundation and senior vice president of Charles Schwab & Co. “Schwab was founded on the belief that our industry should be more inclusive, and that starts with providing encouragement and support to more underrepresented students as they explore college majors, including financial planning.” 

In addition to financial support, the program will make voluntary mentorship and professional development opportunities available to help prepare the scholarship recipients for a successful career in financial services.

“In working closely with universities near our employment centers, we believe we can help open new possibilities through financial assistance, mentorship, professional development and industry experience,” Schwab-Pomerantz said.

This new Charles Schwab scholarship program complements other initiatives at W. P. Carey to support underrepresented communities, including:

• A grant funded by Schwab Advisor Services, in partnership with the Charles Schwab Foundation, will help develop and deliver a new financial planning concentration to attract talent representing gender and racial/ethnic diversity and targeted coursework for a career in financial planning.

• W. P. Carey’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to support Black lives, Native communities, immigrants, members of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities and others who live at the intersections. 

• The Difference Engine: An ASU Center for the Future of Equality to provide tangible and useful products that communities can use to help reduce the effects of inequality.

• W. P. Carey’s involvement in the ASU LIFT Initiative to accelerate meaningful change at ASU and contribute to a national agenda for social justice.

ASU was recently ranked sixth in the country by the Princeton Review for resources for minority students. The ranking was based on reported school data, such as the percentage of students and faculty from underrepresented minority groups, and student surveys asking questions related to resources for minority students, how supportive the culture is of minority students, and whether fellow students are ethnically and racially diverse.

Current ASU W. P. Carey juniors majoring in Financial Planning with demonstrated financial need can visit the W. P. Carey Scholarship & Resources website at wpcarey.asu.edu/scholarships and apply through the W. P. Carey General Scholarship Application beginning in November 2021 to cover the 2022–23 academic years.

For more information, contact:

Shay Moser, W. P. Carey School of Business
shay.moser@asu.edu
480-965-3963

Stephanie Corns, Charles Schwab                                                     
stephanie.corns@schwab.com