Hennessy makes $10 million available for graduate-level scholarships at HBCUs

Hennessy, the Cognac, yesterday announced that it has committed $10 million to fund graduate scholarships at historically black colleges universities.  The Hennessy Fellows, as the scholarship program will called, is designed to create a “diverse pipeline of highly qualified talent and flood the market with young leaders from HBCUs who are fully prepared to take on leadership roles at major organizations”, the company wrote in an announcement.  

Hennessy is funding the new fellowship program at $1 million a year over the next 10 years through the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which supports public HBCUs.  The Hennessy Fellows Program will select ten high-achieving, high-potential students per year and offer grants of up to $20,000per year, a $10,000 annual stipend, 1:1 executive coaching, corporate development experiences, including training forums and networking to enhance the exchange of ideas and provide direct exposure to the inter-relatedness of corporate, social and economic systems.

The program is open to students enrolled at accredited HBCU or PBI graduate programs. Hennessy Fellows will accept applications through May 5, 2019. The 10 selected fellows will be announced in June to receive benefits ahead of the Fall 2019 term.