Daniel’s College of Business is planning the new Taylor Family Undergraduate Career Services Center and the creation of a scholarship fund to support internships for Daniel’s undergraduates after a donation of $5 million from Andy Taylor, CEO of Enterprise Holdings, and his wife Barbara, announced in a DU press release on Tuesday.
Of the $5 million endowment, $2.5 million will be used to create the career center, and $2.5 million will be used for the scholarship fund and will be matched by DU, bringing the total scholarship endowment to $5 million, according to Dan Connolly, associate dean for undergraduate student programs at Daniels.
DU was able to match the donation “dollar for dollar” because it met the parameters of the Undergraduate Endowed Scholarship matching program through DU’s Ascend campaign, which requires a minimum of $25,000 investment before June 2014.
“We’re very happy about this because it allows us [Daniels] to pursue our mission,” said Connolly. “Through their generosity we are able to deliver the best and brightest people to the business world.”
Although Connolly says that the expectations of the scholarship are still being set up based on the Taylor family’s wishes, funding is available immediately through Daniel Garza in the Daniels office of undergraduate programs. Students must be taking an internship opportunity for credit, demonstrate financial need and be enrolled in Daniels’ to qualify.
Examples of eligible internships include non-profit and government agencies, and can be approved by the Daniels office of undergraduate programs in conjunction with the student’s academic department.
“This is an exciting new development, to get more students working and stretching their potentials when they graduate, they’ll be that much more marketable and that much more prepared for a prosperous business career,” said Connolly.
The other half of the gift will fund the Taylor Family Career Center which will specialize in portfolio services for undergraduate business students.
“[The center] will put more emphasis on work experience, help students learn potential areas of interest and options available upon graduation and make that successful launch into those fields as they graduate,” said Connolly.
According to Connolly, the distinguishing factor of the center from other career services at DU will be the focus on undergraduate Daniels students, although the center will continue to work together on programming, resources and career fairs with the DU Career Center, which serves the students and alumni in all departments of the university, and the Suitt’s Career Management center, which focuses on Daniels’ graduate students.
“Our relationship with DU Career Center is a working relationship, very healthy relationship that will continue,” said Connolly. “We’re looking to strengthen that relationship in a way that will help everyone. Many other departments, such as AHSS, have created similar resources to post internship opportunities.”
The amount of staffing and location of the career center is has not been determined, although Connolly said that they are preparing to recruit for positions, and that the Taylor Family Career Center will most likely be located in Margery Reed upon the completion of construction there.
The recent $5 million endowment brings the total of the Taylor family’s donations to Daniels to $11 million, after previous donations of $5 million in Taylor scholarships in November 2011 and $1 million to establish the Taylor Scholarship endowment, according to Julie Lucas, assistant director of media and public relations at Daniels. Both Andy and Barbara Taylor are Daniels alumni (BSBA ‘70, and attd. 1969-70 respectively).
The November 2011 endowment, which was designed to promote diversity and inclusive excellence at Daniels, was also matched by DU, according to the press release on Tuesday.
“The Taylor family has been a very engaged and loyal benefactor of the university,” said Connolly. “They focus on areas where they can provide transformational gifts for students who might not otherwise have these opportunities.”
The gift supports a larger plan for Daniels’ to improve the way it serves its students, according to Connolly.
“It’s [the endowment] a wonderful thing that will add to the things we are trying to do to bring DCB [Daniels College of Business] to a top 50 business school in the nation, if not the world,” said Connolly. “This is another step towards that goal.”
