How Gender Parity Looks On Business School Campuses

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School Announces New Fund for Educational Diversity

Harvard Business School (HBS) has announced a new fund promoting educational diversity and opportunity in business leadership. The Loring Family MBA Pathways Fund will support activities that make the HBS MBA program more accessible to a wider range of students.

The fund is made possible by Ian K. Loring (HBS MBA 1993), a senior managing director and executive chair of Haveli Investments, and Isabelle P. Loring, an active volunteer with nonprofits.

“We are deeply grateful to Ian and Isabelle Loring for their ongoing dedication to the School, which has enabled us to provide scholarships to talented students from a wide array of backgrounds and experiences,” HBS Dean Srikant Datar says in a press release. “This new gift broadens their potential future impact by giving young people an opportunity to see how, through the pursuit of a business education, they can become leaders who will make a difference in the world.”

SUMMER VENTURE IN MANAGEMENT

One of the programs supported by the new fund is Summer Venture in Management (SVMP)—a one-week residential educational program for rising and graduating college seniors designed to increase diversity and opportunity in business education.

Each year, SVMP brings together 180 college students—at no cost to students—to experience HBS for a week during the summer through intensive case studies, career sessions, and interactions with current students and alumni. Additionally, SVMP alumni who later enter the HBS MBA Program will be eligible for an additional $20,000 scholarship on top of their need-based scholarship and will be known as Loring Fellows.

Other initiatives supported by the fund include expanding outreach to first-generation college graduates and prospective students; launching the Forward Fellowship, which offers additional funding to students who provide financial support to family members while attending business school; revising the financial aid formula to factor in socioeconomic background in addition to personal income, assets, and undergraduate debt; and instituting a need-based application fee waiver.

In a press release, the Lorings highlighted their belief in creating opportunities for economic and social mobility.

“Finding ways to provide access for underserved communities has long been a priority for us,” says Isabelle. Ian notes, “To the extent we can find ways to give more people exposure to the business school opportunity and hopefully inspire them in this journey, that was really important for us.”

Sources: Harvard Business School, Harvard Business School

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.