CDW Announces Legacy Excellence Program
Partners with Thurgood Marshall College Fund and four premier Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to help foster digital equity and create a pathway for diverse students towards careers and leadership in the technology industry
CDW, a leading multi-brand provider of information technology solutions to business, government, education, and healthcare customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, today announced the CDW Legacy Excellence Program™ (CDW LEP), a new partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and four premier Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including Alabama A&M University, Florida A&M University, North Carolina A&T State University and Southern University and A&M College.
Along with investment and participation from CDW partners including Lenovo, CDW’s Legacy Excellence Program is designed to deliver support in four key areas, including technology investments in the form of infrastructure and programmatic solutions for the four participating HBCUs, a fellowship opportunity for students attending the four institutions, a scholarship program for full-time students attending any publicly funded HBCU and the formation of an HBCU-dedicated vertical team at CDW to support the unique needs of all HBCUs.
“The digital divide is very real, and the need for our students to have access to technology and technical skills is as important as ever,” said Dr. James H. Ammons Jr., executive vice president, Southern University System and chancellor of Southern University at New Orleans. “Our motivated and highly talented HBCU students represent an often-overlooked pool of talent for organizations, and the CDW Legacy Excellence Program represents an exciting opportunity for putting the concepts of diversity, equity, inclusion and digital equity into action, while helping our students excel.”
The CDW Legacy Excellence Program is also intended to help create sustainable IT infrastructures, support HBCU student educational expenses and technology needs and create a pathway towards leadership for diverse students. The program’s fellowship component will provide 16 students from the four participating HBCUs with financial assistance in the form of a paid tuition scholarship, a housing and textbook stipend, paid 10-week summer internships including housing and transportation to Chicago, prior to the students’ junior and senior years, leadership empowerment development courses and an opportunity to interview for full-time employment with CDW upon completion of the program.
“CDW is excited to continue leveraging and elevating our partnerships to make an even bigger collective impact in the communities where we work and live,” said Aletha C. Noonan, senior vice president, product & partner management, CDW. “Through this program, we look forward to developing long-standing partnerships with HBCUs to help them ensure student success through technology and by creating a pathway for career and leadership opportunities for a diverse workforce.”
TMCF has a history of success supporting nearly 300,000 students that attend HBCUs and PBIs and creating pathways to economic mobility through degree attainment and lucrative careers. Since its founding in 1987, TMCF has awarded over $300 million in scholarships for students and boasts a 97% graduation rate for students in its programs.
“The funding from this donation will provide more talented minority students with a clear pathway from college to career,” said Dr. Eric D. Hart, chief programs officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. “We applaud CDW for this initiative.”
TMCF will assist with the fellowship selection and evaluation process as well as scholarship management. Full-time students from the program’s four participating HBCUs interested in applying for consideration or learning more about the program requirements including eligibility criteria, can do so here. Fellowship applications will be accepted February 14, 2022, through March 14, 2022.
Students from any publicly funded HBCU can apply for consideration for the program’s scholarship component, which will grant an additional 20 students with a $5,000 scholarship, a priority interview for a CDW internship as well as other benefits. Scholarship applications will be accepted beginning in late February 2022.
To learn more about the CDW Legacy Excellence Program, please visit CDW.com/legacyexcellenceprogram. For more information about CDW career opportunities including internships for students and recent graduates, please visit CDW.com/careers.