Show ( - -- Soft Sheen's Carol Mimes Sacmc A fellowship from the Comorthms for Graduate Study Management changed the directimi of her Ife - I "'" - i f I 11 t 1 - - I I - I t 7 'L-- 1 A forward-lookin-g 1 410k "Nt t 1' 'k '7 t d4r t! 5 - - -' -- t-Z-- r- --- 4 f i - r4 t ‘t: - I' 1 ' - group of t and business i university ! leaders is helping i bright minority 1 young people to win 1 4T Tr in 101 ) 1 -- o I' a' -V- rr7!':1 ACLvince 6 M BY HERE WILL BE MORE opportunity for non- white men and for all women for jobs and advancement as we go through the 1990s" the speaker was telling the young men and women gathered in the hotel ballroom in Austin Tex "The issue is whether minorities and women will be prepared to take advantage of that opportunity" There was a buzz in the air Most of those in the audience were recent college graduates with some work experience They were getting ready to enter business school in the fall and they had come to hear A Barry Rand 47 a corporate group vice president at Xerox and president of its United States marketing group speak about the future of minorities in American business More than anything it was the confidence and professionalism of Rand that impressed his listeners Responsible for an organization with more than $6 billion in revenue and a work force d of 35000 he was one of the blacks in corporate America highest-ranke- middle-manageme- 't(4e1y1 ' I - ?srl'7'n 4 It 1 TO! The PIERCE PONCHITTA with many betting that he would go even higher His very presence was proof that with hard work a member of a minority group could rise to the top of the cor- porate world "Here is a person who has the vision to see blacks and Hispanics making sig-nificant contributions to the future of American business" Calvin 4 441 jam-pack- ed Calvin Gooding—dressed for suc- - ' - )1' - '- ' ( i s ' ' I 1 s 1 4: - nt fund-raise- rising with passion "This program - ' I a 'P Gooding said afterward "It's pretty heady stuff If that doesn't motivate you I think you should be out of the game" That's the impact the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management a nonprofit corporation headquartered in St Louis banked on when Rand was in- -' vited to speak at its annual orientation program The audience consisted of 150 recipients of Master of Business Administration fellowships financed by the Consortium The speech was part of a three days that included networking orientation sessions meetings with corpo- rate executives and recruiters a career fair workshops and spirited participation in The Work Ethics Game a look at the real-lif- e tough decisions to be made in the corporate world 4 )‘ s I After that he told me he was aiming for a career on Wall Street "I remember being young and kids were talking about being firemen and football players and policemen" he said "I knew I wanted to be a trader" Gooding whose family is from the West Indies added: "I grew up with an incredible work ethic It's very much part of the American Dream to work hard make the sacrifices and do the necessary work to do better than the previous generation" In its 25 years the Consortium has financed the acquisition of MBA degrees for more than 1800 minority men and women At a cost of more than $14 million—contributed by foundations corporate donors and the nine universities who are members of the Consortium— it has enabled blacks Hispanics Asians and others to gain a major foothold in corporate America They now are spread out in positions around the country and have proved that given enough support they are able to succeed in business One of those who makes the project go is Wallace Jones the Consortium's chief executive officer and rs "Our turnone of its major downs are many more than our successes" he says noting that a great many more students could be helped if more money were available for scholarships Almost 1200 applied for grants in 1990 and about 600 were admitted to one of the universities in the program But only 150 were awarded the two-ye- ar merit fellowships which ranged from $14000 to $38000 to cover the full cost of their education Sixty percent of the students were black 38 percent were Hispanic most of them Mexican-American and 2 percent were American Indians When companies talk about dropping out Jones really goes to work: "We just can't let that happen" he says his voice ' James Jackson-- 4e the fird dam el 22 back in '67—is re wavicepresideatatTacoBeL cess highly motivated and determined —mirrored the other participants at the orientation A young man in a hurry he already had worked at Merrill Lynch and Paine Webber and now he was on his way to New York University's business school thanks to the Consortium means too much And these companies are the ones who benefit" More than 90 percent of the Consortium graduates take their first job with sponsoring companies "It isn't always the job with the most prestigious company or the one with the highest pay" Jones says "It his more to do with acceptance and feeling part of a team" He also expresses disappointment with Fortune 500 companies that contribute less than $2000 a year About 200 companies gave $1000 to $75000 in 1990 Corporate support covers 55 percent of the Consortium's $45 million budget Member universities supply the rest in the form of tuition remissions and waivers Washington University in St Louis Indiana University and the University continued PEI 16 JANUARY 5 19S2 PARAM IIAGAZINE |