Connecting donors with the students who benefit

UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Office of Advancement hosted its seventh annual Donors & Scholars Celebration, an event where fellowship and scholarship donors meet their student recipients. More than 245 people attended the 2017 celebration at Chapel Hill’s Carolina Club, including donors, faculty, staff and more than 160 student scholarship and fellowship recipients.

Along with a reception and dinner, the evening featured a program with welcoming remarks from UNC Kenan-Flagler Dean Doug Shackelford.

“We hold this event because it is so important for our donors and recipients to meet each other,” says Shackelford. “Donors can see their investment in the next generation of business students, and our students learn, as recipients of someone else’s philanthropy, the importance of paying it forward.”

Shackelford acknowledged first-time attendee James K. “Kenny” McLean Jr., whose family’s study abroad scholarship – The James K. McLean Scholarship Fund – has supported 482 students since the fund was established in 1996 – more students than any other scholarship fund at UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Sridhar Balasubramanian, senior associate dean for MBA programs, highlighted the full-time MBA Program and introduced donor speaker Sailash Patel (MBA ’00), CEO of Meryx, Inc. Patel and his wife established the Sailash and Bhavna Patel MBA Fellowship Fund.

Student testimonials featured the following scholarship and fellowship recipients:

• Theo Onigbinde (BSBA ’17) – The Helen Craig Wardlaw Fund & The James K. McLean Scholarship Fund
• Leila Terzic (BSBA ’19) – The Wayland H. Cato Jr. Merit Scholars Endowed Scholarship Fund
• Hailey Glover (MAC ’17) – The Carl Clinton Scott Scholarship Fund
• Marques McPhail (MAC ’17) – The Charles E. Sams Jr. MAC Scholarship Fund
•  Zach Spencer (MBA ’18) – The Michaux Family MBA Premier Fellowship for Real Estate Students
•  Josephine Manlangit (MBA ’17) – The T.W. Lewis MBA Fellowships Fund

“People decide to establish scholarships and fellowships for many reasons, and every reason is a heartfelt one, for the donor as well as for us at UNC Kenan-Flagler,” says Shackelford. “These scholarships and fellowships help us compete for top students, provide unique study abroad opportunities and better prepare our graduates for career success.”