STATE FARM CONTRIBUTES $100,000 TO INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY, NAMES IT A "PRIORITY SCHOOL" FOR MIS
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Thanks to a $100,000 contribution by the State Farm Companies Foundation, Indiana State University's College of Business will be able to build on the strong reputation of its Management Information Systems (MIS) program and further enhance the levels of education and experiential learning opportunities for students preparing for financial services careers.
In addition to its monetary support for initiatives within the College of Business, State Farm also has named ISU a "Priority School" in regard to its MIS program. This falls on the heels of another big achievement for the College - being honored as one of only four "Systems Schools" in the country earlier this year.
"For nearly 20 years, State Farm has enjoyed a great partnership with ISU," said Barb Wanthal, assistant vice president of systems at State Farm. "That partnership has led to success for State Farm's systems department through our internship program and ability to recruit and hire the best and brightest from ISU."
The $100,000 gift will be split equally between the Insurance and Risk Management (IRM) and MIS programs. One-fourth of the gift will go to support IRM scholarships; one-fourth will support the development of the Financial Trading Room in the outreach center at Fifth and Cherry streets; and $50,000 will support MIS-related projects and initiatives.
"We appreciate the support State Farm has and continues to provide Indiana State University," said ISU President Lloyd W. Benjamin III. "Their generosity will enable the university to take these experiential learning, program and scholarship opportunities to the next level and assist in attracting even more academically talented students to these nationally recognized programs."
As a result of the State Farm gift, the MIS program will receive additional scholarship and promotional support, along with dollars for student development and funding for technology needs and MIS-related student organizations. Also included in the funding, are dollars for MIS to host an annual high school competition to increase awareness of the program and to attract more students to ISU and the MIS program as a whole.
"I am extremely gratified that the quality of our program has been recognized by an industry leader like State Farm. Very few programs in the country have been included in this group," said Joe Harder, associate professor and program coordinator for management information systems at ISU. "ISU and State Farm have had a long and mutually beneficial relationship, which we hope to continue well into the future."
One-fourth of the gift will go to support the future Financial Trading Room in the ISU outreach facility at 5th and Cherry streets. The trading room is expected to include 15 to 25 student trading stations and two 64-block ticker boards to display up-to-date trading feeds from Reuters, Bloomberg and the exchanges. In addition, large LCD screens will provide connectivity to national and international financial news and enable the location to be a vital part of the university's video conferencing network and a state-of-the-art financial services learning center.
The remaining $25,000 will extend the insurance and risk management program's State Farm Scholars program for another two years, providing scholarships for a dozen academically talented IRM majors and minors each year.
"State Farm's investment in Indiana State is extremely significant," said Ron Green, dean of ISU's College of Business. "This gift touches so many areas, from MIS to insurance and from student scholarships to experiential learning. It's a wonderful example of how our areas of expertise and State Farm's specialties go hand in hand, making our strong partnership even stronger."
State Farm and Indiana State have had a long, prosperous partnership. In addition to this gift, the State Farm Companies Foundation has contributed a total of $378,000 to Indiana State initiatives over the past few years. These dollars have supported the formation of the College of Business' Career Experience Center, its Executive-in-Residence program, the MIS computer lab, student scholarships and insurance best practices research, among other things.
"Today's donation is a great investment in Indiana State University, in our own people, in our own industry, and in the Terre Haute community," said State Farm Agency Field Executive Dave Champ.
ISU's College of Business enrolls nearly 1,200 students in both undergraduate and graduate programs. The college is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the highest level of accreditation for colleges of business worldwide. In addition to its outstanding on-campus programs and majors, the College offers the final two years of both insurance and risk management and business administration online via distance education to better meet the needs of adult learners.
For more information about ISU's College of Business, go to www.indstate.edu/business, call (812) 237-2000 or email us at business@indstate.edu
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CONTACT: Ron Green, dean, College of Business, Indiana State University, (812) 237-2000 or bssgreen@isugw.indstate.edu or Ellen Paxton, director of corporate and alumni relations, College of Business, (812) 237-2672 or epaxton@indstate.edu
WRITER: Maria Greninger, associate director, Communications & Marketing, Indiana State University, (812) 237-4357 or m-greninger@indstate.edu
ISU Communications and Marketing: (812) 237-3773 or http://www.indstate.edu/news
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