KPMG Foundation Awards $450,000 In Scholarships To Minority Accounting Doctoral Scholars

News provided by

Sep 11, 2013, 08:30 ET

MONTVALE, N.J., Sept. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The KPMG Foundation announced it has awarded a total of $450,000 in scholarships to minority accounting doctoral students for the 2013-2014 academic year.

The recipients include 11 new recipients and 34 students whose scholarships have been renewed. Each scholarship is valued at $10,000 and is renewable annually for up to five years.

"The KPMG Foundation is proud of the very positive influence it has had in helping to increase the number of diverse faculty members at our nation's colleges and universities," said Jose Rodriguez, KPMG Foundation Chairperson. "The Minority Accounting Doctoral Scholarship will play a critical role in transforming these 45 talented students into educators who will shape tomorrow's business leaders."

Since 1994, the KPMG Foundation has awarded over $15 million to 320 African-American, Hispanic-American, and Native American scholars pursuing doctorate degrees, as part of its ongoing commitment to increase the representation of minority students and professors in business schools. Today, 213 of those scholarship recipients have successfully completed their doctoral programs and are professors at universities throughout the country.

KPMG Foundation also supports The PhD Project, a related program aimed at increasing the diversity of business school faculty. Since its inception in 1994, The PhD Project has increased the number of minority business professors from 294 to 1,217, and there are currently 361 minority doctoral student members of The PhD Project.

"Business leaders realize success by understanding the complexities of a global marketplace," said Rebecca P. Sproul, KPMG LLP's National Managing Partner of University Relations and Recruiting. "These lessons begin in the classroom and diverse educational environments provide future leaders with the perspective that is necessary to thrive in their professions."

About the KPMG Foundation Minority Accounting Doctoral Scholarship Program

The KPMG Foundation Minority Accounting Doctoral Scholarship program aims to further increase the completion rate among African-American, Hispanic-American and Native American doctoral students in accounting, and is part of a larger commitment by the KPMG Foundation to increase minority representation not only in accounting programs at colleges and universities, but in the American work force. The program complements The PhD Project, a separate 501(c) (3) organization that the KPMG Foundation founded in 1994, which recruits minority professionals from business into doctoral programs in all business disciplines. The PhD Project attacks the root cause of minority under-representation in corporate jobs: historically, very few minority college students study business as an entrée to a corporate career. Diversifying the faculty attracts more minorities to study business and better prepares all students to function in a diverse workforce. (www.phdproject.org).

About the KPMG Foundation

The KPMG Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private foundation. The Foundation operates on donations from KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm. For fiscal year 2013, KPMG donated over $6.2 million to the Foundation. Through the KPMG Foundation, the firm has spent over 45 years supporting and developing programs to enhance business education. (www.kpmgfoundation.org).

About KPMG LLP

KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International.") KPMG International's member firms have 138,000 professionals, including more than 7,900 partners, in 150 countries. (www.us.kpmg.com).