The W. P. Carey School of Business has created a comprehensive and free “bridge program” intended to aid underrepresented and economically disadvantaged high school students in their transition to college.
The Fleischer Scholars Program, possible through donations from local entrepreneur Morton Fleischer and his wife, Donna, will provide students with workshops designed to prepare them for success in college, as well as inform them of the available opportunities at the business school.
“Middle class to upper-middle class families ... they got the money to go to school, or if they don’t they come from cultures where they know going to school is important,” Fleischer said. “Whereas in the other sectors, like at-risk [youths], sometimes it isn’t as clear.”
The W. P. Carey School of Business accepted 30 applicants into the program’s inaugural year, and will host them this week for the program’s inaugural event. The students, about to begin their senior year of high school, will spend the week working with business school students and faculty members as well as business representatives. They will stay with supervising mentors in Barrett, the Honors College for the week.
“We’ve been developing this over the course of the last several months, almost the last year, but we’ll be launching it this coming week, so we’re pretty excited about it,” said Tim Desch, assistant dean of undergraduate admissions for the W. P. Carey School of Business.
“These are not students who are admitted or even applied to ASU. We would hope that they would be,” Desch said, “and of course that’s part of our intent is to familiarize them with ASU and the business school so that we’ll at least be on their radar screen.”
The Fleischer Scholars Program plans to guide them throughout the entire process, helping them get into and find success at the W. P. Carey School of Business — should they choose to go there — and provide financial assistance.
“Mr. Fleischer was particularly interested in investing in a program that could potentially make a difference for perspective students,” Desche said. “It’s really taking kind of an idea that a donor has for how he can make a difference through his generosity and turning it into a program that can have some real impact on some young people who may not have these opportunities otherwise.”
The Fleischer’s donation and philosophy gave Desch and his team the guidance to create such a program.
“It takes a dean and a staff like Tim and people that understand this concept to want to do it,” said Fleischer. “What I admire so much about ASU is when I broached the idea, Dean [Robert] Mittelstaedt says 'That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about.'”
The inaugural week of the Fleischer Scholars Program will close with a luncheon, at which Fleischer himself will speak.
“These youngsters in this sector really need help,” Fleischer said. “And ASU recognizes, clearly recognizes that the job of an educator is to get all sectors, and I admire that. That’s why I’m willing to help.”
Reach the reporter at joseph.schmidt@asu.edu
