A Partnership to Help Create the Next Generation of Leaders
Advancing the mission of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund is one more way in which Booz Allen supports diversity.
The legacy of Thurgood Marshall includes successfully arguing the case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, resulting in the desegregation of public schools. Soon after that, in 1967, Marshall was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Johnson, becoming the first African American in history to serve as an associate justice.
Twenty years later, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) was established in his name and with his support. Booz Allen Hamilton has partnered with the TMCF for more than 10 years to help continue Justice Marshall’s commitment to ensuring equal access to higher education.
The TMCF supports merit scholars who attend public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) throughout the nation. Forty-seven schools, including five law schools, are TMCF members, including many of the country’s most prestigious institutions of higher education.
Dwayne Ashley is the executive director of the TMCF, which is headquartered in New York. “TMCF measures its success by its impact in the community. Because of Booz Allen’s advice, TMCF has increased revenues by 700%, allowing us to increase our funding for scholarships, seminars, internships, and many other career-focused instruments.”
The firm’s support spans a wide range of activities, including sponsoring an annual mentoring workshop and bringing students to McLean campus headquarters to introduce them to career opportunities in consulting. In addition, staff members often speak to TMCF scholars about leadership topics at recruiting events, and TMCF scholars have been hired at the firm.
“Booz Allen’s involvement in our Leadership Institute and its continuous recruitment of students has given students access to internships and careers in one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the country,” Ashley says.
Senior vice president Reggie Van Lee has sat on the TMCF board of directors for eight years, and sums it up this way: “We’re applying our experience in diversity issues to help to create the next generation of leadership.”
Ashely adds, “Reggie Van Lee and [principal] Joe Suarez’s wealth of business consulting experience and commitment to our mission has helped increase our fundraising success.”
Booz Allen is involved at all levels, notes senior associate Michael Fields. “With our ongoing support, thousands of TMCF scholars have graduated and are making valuable contributions in science, technology, government, human service, and education.”
“We Want To Be a Part of All that TMCF Is Doing to Drive Leadership”
Since its inception, the TMCF has awarded more than $50 million in scholarship, capacity building, and program support to more than 5,000 students with financial needs who pursue degrees at TMCF member schools. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA. Funds can be used for tuition, room, board, books, and fees.
Among his contributions to the TMCF, Van Lee has helped review TMCF’s branding process and formulate a new strategic plan when the institution was considering a name change. “Students had become less interested in scholarships,” he says, “and instead wanted help in preparing for work environments. Also, in the summer, some students go home to challenges which can include family members who are incarcerated or addicted to drugs. The TMCF recognized that students need more than money—they need mentoring, networking, and support.”
To reflect its new focus, the fund recently changed its name from the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. “Booz Allen has been very instrumental in helping TMCF reposition its structure from strictly a scholarship fund into a talent source organization,” Ashley says. “The biggest challenge TMCF faces is trying to continue our innovation and relevance in the marketplace. With the help of Booz Allen, however, TMCF’s new direction has positioned us for a sustainable future.”
“The TMCF addresses the gap that exists beyond scholarships, grants, and private schools,” Van Lee says. Unlike The United Negro College Fund, which supports only private HBCUs, TMCF funds public HBCUs as well. “There is a need to educate not just the best and brightest; TMCF also assists students who have potential but limited opportunity. Our nation needs students who aspire to become CFOs and other executives, but we also need skilled graduates who will be running the operations of a corporation or nonprofit or serving as mid-level managers.”
The firm also benefits from the relationship. “Our goal is to continue to be fully contributing partners to the work that the TMCF is doing,” Van Lee says. “We want to be a part of all that the institution is doing to drive leadership and develop capabilities in people. Our involvement with TMCF helps advance the work that Booz Allen does.”
For Van Lee, the TMCF has increased his own awareness about U.S. education for both minority and majority populations. His experience with TMCF motivated him to join the New York City charter schools board of excellence. “I’ve learned more about the key leverage points to solving education challenges in America,” he says. “We need to start the process earlier, in elementary school, so as to create a pipeline into TMCF schools.”
story posted February 20, 2007
