Ernst & Young LLP Starts 2010 With a Three-Day Event for Minority Students and a Faculty Roundtable Focused on Campus Diversity

NEW YORK, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 100 minority students from 60 US campuses will be sponsored by Ernst & Young LLP to attend the fourth annual Discover Tax event in New York City from January 6-8. Ernst & Young LLP will also simultaneously host its second annual Campus Diversity and Inclusiveness Roundtable for key faculty and administrators from top undergraduate business programs.

"Ernst & Young has long recognized the importance of fostering diversity within our own ranks to best serve our diverse global clients. This starts with building a pipeline of high-performing candidates. Through Discover Tax, we give minority college students the opportunity to hear first-hand from Ernst & Young leaders about all of the opportunities available to them if they pursue careers in tax," said Chris Yamamoto, Ernst & Young LLP, Tax People Leader. "Additionally, we bring together faculty from all over the country to discuss how to foster a truly inclusive culture on college campuses."

The three-day Discover Tax event is packed with panels, networking events and opportunities to speak one-on-one with Ernst & Young LLP leaders. Following the conference, all attendees are eligible to interview for internships with the firm. In previous years, the majority of Discover Tax participants have been extended internship offers. For more information on this event, please visit http://www.ey.com/us/discovertax.

The program has helped Ernst & Young LLP to increase the number of minority campus hires for its tax practice: African American and Hispanic full-time campus hires rose six percentage points since the program started in 2007. Minority partners and staff now represent 30% of Ernst & Young LLP's total US employee population -- more than double the representation a decade ago.

In addition to the Discover Tax seminar, Ernst & Young LLP will simultaneously host its second annual Campus Diversity and Inclusiveness Roundtable to discuss and share best practices regarding diversity issues facing today's undergraduate business programs. More than 20 participants including deans, accounting chairs, faculty and administrators will gather to talk about the most pressing diversity issues facing top undergraduate business programs across the US and Canada.

Topics at the roundtable will include institutional commitment and accountability, student recruitment and development, faculty recruitment and development, and curriculum best practices.

"We believe companies, colleges and countries with a strong culture of diversity and inclusiveness will have a competitive advantage and will help foster long-term economic and job growth for all," noted Ken Bouyer, Ernst & Young LLP, Americas Director of Inclusiveness Recruiting. "In a challenging economy, it is more important than ever to bring together faculty and students to facilitate dialogue, overcome obstacles and continue a path of progress."

Based on feedback provided by faculty during last year's roundtable, Ernst & Young announced the winners of a new Inclusive Excellence Award for Accounting and Business School Faculty last August. Five faculty members from top undergraduate business programs were selected for their extraordinary efforts to advance inclusiveness on their campuses. For more information on these winners, visit www.ey.com/us/facultyinclusiveaward.

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This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.

SOURCE Ernst & Young