Bentley University Receives $50,000 Gift from Grant Thornton LLP for Global Initiatives
Funding Supports Student Internships with NGOs in Ghana including the Ongoing Bentley-Mmofra Trom Project
Bentley University received a $50,000 gift from Grant Thornton LLP to create and expand partnerships between Bentley and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) in Ghana including the Mmofra Trom Center, an established partner of the university. Grant Thornton specializes in auditing, management consulting, corporate finance, and risk management and information technology. Recipients of Grant Thornton Global Social Responsibility (GSR) Internship awards will work in a variety of business consultant roles, including helping NGOs improve transparency of their accounting systems.
The first group of four Bentley student interns completed an eight-week internship in summer 2009. Jay Garneau and Andrew Josuweit (Class of 2009) worked at microfinance NGO Chapter 58 Trust. Brian DiPasquale, who is completing a master's degree in finance, delved into microfinance at ACCION International. Sophomore Jacqueline Le worked with the Mmofra Trom Center, which provides access to education, health care, job skills training, and employment opportunities for orphans and their extended families.
The Bentley-Mmofra Trom partnership began in 2006. Since then Bentley students and faculty have worked with the center in Ghana to help develop the economic, educational, and health-care infrastructure needed to support orphans in the region. Bentley's central role is to contribute to the center's goal to become self-sustaining, while furthering the education of Bentley students through service-learning projects that benefit the center.
"The expense of international travel, coupled with the missed opportunity to earn summer income, can be a real show-stopper for students - even for those with a deep interest in global social responsibility," explains Professor of Management Diane Kellogg, program director of the Mmofra Trom Project. "We hope that this strong support from Grant Thornton inspires students to take advantage of meaningful internship opportunities in Ghana."
"This gift allows us to support Bentley in a way that is creative and somewhat 'outside the box,'" says Andrew Wilson, Grant Thornton partner and 1986 Bentley alum. "The global aspect also builds awareness and gives students a flavor for businesses that operate in a multinational environment."
On a local level, the grant also helped fund and create the Grant Thornton Beta Alpha Psi Treasurers Training Program to provide basic skills and best practices education to students who have taken a financial leadership role in campus organizations.
The people in the independent firms of Grant Thornton International Ltd provide personalized attention and the highest quality service to public and private clients in more than 100 countries. Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global audit, tax and advisory organizations. The company builds on its roots as a small firm with a family mindset to embrace global values that promote collaboration, leadership, excellence, agility, respect and responsibility (CLEARR).
BENTLEY UNIVERSITY is a leader in business education. Centered on teaching and research in business and related professions, Bentley blends the breadth and technological strength of a university with the core values and student focus of a close-knit campus. Our undergraduate curriculum combines business study with a strong foundation in the arts and sciences. The McCallum Graduate School emphasizes the impact of technology on business practice, in offerings that include MBA and Master of Science programs, PhD programs in accountancy and in business, and custom executive education programs. Located minutes from Boston in Waltham, Massachusetts, the school enrolls approximately 4,000 full-time undergraduate, 250 adult part-time undergraduate, 1,400 graduate, and 30 doctoral students. Bentley is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges; AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business; and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), which benchmarks quality in management and business education.
