BOSTON, Oct. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Reaching Out MBA, Inc., the nation's leading organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) graduate business students, has announced the creation of the Reaching Out LGBT MBA Fellowship for LGBT students and their active allies enrolling in business schools. Reaching Out is partnering with several of the country's most respected MBA programs to offer the Fellowship, which includes scholarship, mentorship and leadership components.
According to Matt Kidd, Executive Director of Reaching Out MBA, the partnership with graduate schools creates a bold statement about LGBT inclusion in the business community. "We designed the Fellowship to increase the number of LGBTQ students who are applying and enrolling in business schools and to provide these students with targeted opportunities that empower them to become future out LGBTQ leaders in the business world," explained Kidd.
Students who are chosen for the Fellowship will receive a scholarship to their MBA program as well as access to numerous Reaching Out programs. Reaching Out will also help identify mentorship options with LGBT leaders in the students' fields of interest, as well as leadership development opportunities. "The Fellowship allows students to identify supportive schools, and in turn, the program provides schools with long-term benefits," said Kidd. "By offering the Fellowship, graduate schools will be creating a robust, formal pipeline of LGBT applicants, which consequently, will build stronger internal LGBT on-campus leadership. A coordinated program like this shines a brighter spotlight on LGBT inclusiveness in business schools."
Business school programs participating in the program for the 2014-2015 application cycle include Columbia Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, NYU Stern School of Business, Tuck School at Dartmouth, University of California Haas School of Business, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, University of Texas Austin, McCombs School of Business, with other MBA programs to officially join at later dates. "We are thrilled to participate in Reaching Out MBA's fellowship program as part of our broader effort to promote diversity at Kellogg and this builds on our current legacy of supporting LGBTQ," said Kate Smith, assistant dean of admissions, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
For more information about the Reaching Out MBA Fellowship, visit www.reachingoutmba.org.
About Reaching Out MBA, Inc.
Reaching Out MBA, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has a singular purpose to empower LGBTQ MBA students to become professionals who will lead the way to equality in business education, in the workplace, and throughout society. Through its programming anchored by its annual conference, Reaching Out MBA, Inc. educates LGBT MBA students about the opportunities and challenges of being an LGBT MBA student and business leader, how to capitalize on those opportunities, and how to overcome those challenges. Reaching Out MBA, Inc. facilitates the formation of communities between and among students and the corporate sector in an ongoing effort to create the next generation of LGBT business leaders.
For more information, visit www.reachingoutmba.org.
SOURCE Reaching Out MBA, Inc.