Kelley receives $500,000 for diversity

Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP donated $500,000 to the Kelley School of Business on Tuesday in an effort to bolster diversity initiatives.

The donation will help support and increase numbers of minority students within the school, officials said.

“There will be two overall shifts in the business world,” said Jay Preston, IU alumnus and senior manager at Ernst & Young, “one being a demographic change in the next 15 to 20 years, and a change in capital flow from emerging markets of other countries.”

The event featured James Turley, chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young, handing a giant check to Kelley School of Business Dean Dan Smith. After exchanging appraisals, the two sat down to answer questions from local media.

The Kelley School recently received $15 million for upcoming construction projects from a $60 million fundraising campaign. Although this gift is substantially smaller, the donation will be tailored to making business students more worldly.

Kelley, a top-rated business school, has received criticism recently for its inability to attract and retain a diverse student body.

It’s estimated that Kelley’s black and hispanic population totals less than 3 percent, or about 180 students.

“All students need to be more attuned to the world around them, to understand differences of opinion, to respect differences among people and also to realize that nothing is (being) done more to lift economies to globalization,” Turley said.

Kelley and Ernst & Young representatives said they believe that by broadening the cultures exposed to Kelley students in an “inclusive” setting, the students will be better prepared to handle a global business environment.

Kelley’s partner companies are observing their markets changing dramatically, Smith said.

Michael Sampson-Akpuru, president of the Kelley School Diversity Council, said he believes the best way for students to connect with one another is for them to live together. Although there are no official plans set in place to acquire this “inclusiveness,” Sampson-Akpuru recognizes the issues need immediate attention.

Among other things, the donation will aim to help finance college recruiters’ visits to high schools and will support minority students once they are at IU, officials said.

Through its donation, Ernst & Young hopes to further the initiative of IU’s commitment to diversity inclusiveness, Turley said.

“The goal is to bring diversity in and make it work,” said Gregory Bednar, an Ernst & Young coordinating partner for the project. 

Multiple universities have applied for similar kinds of support, Turley said, but Kelley was a “very compelling story, one that was assured of having strong return and benefiting both the school, the students we recruit from the school and the broader society at large.”