Philanthropist and Value Investor Larry Jennings Jr. Speaks at the Inaugural Graduation Reception at Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda

KUGALI, Rwanda, July 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Philanthropist and value investor, Larry Jennings Jr. gave a reflective speech at the Inaugural Graduation Reception at Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda (CMU-R) on July 23, 2014.  His reflections focused on the CMUs vision to engage Rwanda as part of the global educational community.  This 2014 graduation is highly significant because it marks the first graduating class to matriculate from the only world-renowned, American-founded university, to establish a campus in an African nation.  In 2007, the Connect Africa Summit recommended that Centers of Excellence in Science and Technology be established, in each sub-region of Africa.  The Government of Rwanda formed a strategic collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), to establish and operate a masters degree-granting program in Rwanda, because of CMU's strong culture of research and innovation.  With CMU-R, Rwanda is establishing itself as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub of East Africa. 

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Mr. Jennings is a Senior Managing Director and Co-founder of ValStone Partners.  He is a Carnegie Mellon alumnus, who serves as a Life Trustee for the Carnegie Mellon University Board of Trustees. Well noted as a respected, visionary leader, Mr. Jennings has been a major proponent for the globalization of the University and its efforts in Rwanda and Qatar. He also serves as a co-chair the Math Curriculum Advisory Committee and sits on the Investment Committee at Carnegie Mellon's main campus in Pittsburgh, PA. Throughout his career, Mr. Jennings has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to community, innovation, and creativity, while serving global and local communities in business and philanthropic endeavors.  As part of his commitment to creating educational opportunities for ambitious students to become globally minded citizens, Mr. Jennings established the Jennings Family Brave Companions Fund.   This fund gives Carnegie Mellon undergraduate students, with personal financial constraints, the opportunity to travel to developing countries to study, conduct research, and participate in service work.  "We are here in partnership with the Rwandan government because it is the right thing to do for Africa and extends Carnegie Mellon's global reach into the fastest growing economies in the world," says Jennings.

CMU-R offers a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering, as well as a Master of Science in Information Technology.  The Rwandan campus adheres to the same standards and faculty recruitment criteria used at CMU'S main campus. Course credits earned at CMU-R are fully transferable to CMU's main campus and vice-versa.  CMU-R adapts its curriculum to address regional problems and needs so that graduates from CMU-R acquire ICT expertise that is more directly relevant to emerging markets, making it easier for them to directly contribute to the local economy. 

For more information about Carnegie Mellon Rwanda please visit http://www.cmu.edu/rwanda/.
For more information about Larry Jennings, please visit http://www.valstonepartners.com.

For more information contact:
Candace Coleman, DC Nadia Group LLC.
(301) 683-8865
Email

SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University Rwanda