2020-2021 Endowment Report
THE MERAGE SCHOOL STAFF SCHOLARSHIP Prepared for Mrs. Melissa Beck
Table of Contents 4
A Message from Dean Williamson
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Philanthropy with Purpose
6
The Impact of Scholarship
7
The Merage School Staff Scholarship
13
Charitable Contributions
14
Merage School Endowment
THANK YOU You are making the difference.
It is a great honor to join the UCI Paul Merage School of Business as your new dean. The Merage School experience goes far beyond a traditional classroom education. Students are developed into digitally–driven leaders, they build invaluable relationships with faculty and mentors and join an elite alumni community that spans across the globe. We are in a period of great disruption for higher education, and the Merage School is in a tremendous position to provide innovative solutions for the student experience through online and in-person course delivery and our ability to increase access to a world class education. This is where dedicated scholarship donors come in. Your generosity enables students with financial insecurities to receive a premier business education as well as access to a myriad of opportunities that the Merage School community provides. Your impact does not end with our student body. Endowed scholarship funds have become, and will continue to be, increasingly vital to the future of the Merage School. When you support the Merage School, you understand that what we do matters. Thank you for joining me in the mission of The Paul Merage School of Business.
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PHILANTHROPY WITH PURPOSE At The Paul Merage School of Business, we are committed to providing scholarship support for our diverse student body to ensure that the best and brightest receive a top-tier education, regardless of wealth or background. The Merage School’s ability to recruit gifted individuals in this competitive environment depends on financial support. Scholarships at the Merage School are designed to reward, encourage, and assist students in pursuing academic excellence and leadership roles in our digitally-driven world. Monetary awards enable the Merage School to recruit highly qualified students with the potential to have a positive impact in business, as well as in society as a whole. We are fortunate to benefit from the generosity of our alumni and community members whose dedication to providing scholarship opportunities serve as a philanthropic priority.
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THE IMPACT OF SCHOLARSHIP
Scholarship opportunities keep the Merage School strong and allow us to attract students throughout the world. Your investment directly impacts what is at the core of our mission – to provide a diverse student body with the leadership skills to thrive in this digitally-driven world. The 2020-2021 scholarship figures below reflect the private philanthropic support of our Merage School donors.
2020-2021 Graduate Scholarship Awards
17+
Graduate students awarded scholarships
$558,126+
600
Total scholarship dollars
Students enrolled in Merage School graduate programs
awarded from philanthropic contributions
2020-2021 Undergraduate Scholarship Awards
8+
$16,750+
Total scholarships awarded to undergraduate students
Total scholarship dollars awarded from philanthropic contributions
23
Endowed Scholarship Funds
130% 6
increase during the Brilliant Future Campaign
THE MERAGE SCHOOL STAFF SCHOLARSHIP In fulfilling the mission to increase access to higher education, The Paul Merage School of Business implemented a staff scholarship program in 2006 to provide a world-class business education to staff members. In 2019, the Merage School Staff Scholarship endowment was created by our 2010 Staff Scholar, Melissa Beck EMBA ‘12. Because of her commitment to the Merage School, she chose to fund this award which supports the idea that education and scholarship for our staff benefit us all. During the 2019-2020 academic year, Levi Eastwood and Nick Shaffer were awarded the Merage School Staff Scholarship. Both Levi and Nick are members of the Class of 2021 MBA for Executives Cohort. Levi began working at UC Irvine in 2017 and transferred to the Merage School in 2018 where he is the Director of Marketing and Communications. Nick began his UC Irvine career at The Paul Merage School of Business in 2017 as the Director of External Relations in the Office of Executive Education. For the 2020-2021 academic year, the Merage School Staff Scholarship was given to Amanda Pham, a member of the 2022 Fully Employed MBA Cohort. In 2016, Amanda joined UC Irvine as a member of the Counseling Center. She later joined the Merage School in 2017 where she is currently the Program Manager in the Office of Education.
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THE MERAGE SCHOOL STAFF SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS 2006 RECIPIENT MERAGE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT GABOR MESTER COMPUTING 2008 RECIPIENT KEITH YEUNG MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS 2009 RECIPIENTS SARAH RAMSEY FTMBA PROGRAM THUY THIRAWANKANOK ACADEMIC PERSONNEL 2010 RECIPIENT MELISSA BECK
DEAN’S OFFICE
2011 RECIPIENT JASON TOMPKINS EMBA PROGRAMS 2013 RECIPIENT ERIC WU COMPUTING 2016 RECIPIENT LINA TRAN MPAC PROGRAM 2017 RECIPIENTS BRYAN HUA COMPUTING LINDA KANG ACADEMIC PERSONNEL 2018 RECIPIENT SARAH LINK
UG PROGRAMS
2019 RECIPIENTS NICK SHAFFER EXECUTIVE EDUCATION LEVI EASTWOOD MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS 2020 RECIPIENT AMANDA PHAM EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
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A LETTER OF APPRECIATION Dear Mr. and Mrs. Beck, As a recipient of the Merage School Staff Scholarship, I want to express my gratitude for your generosity to fund this scholarship. I am grateful to have the opportunity to pursue a degree at the Merage School, which has the 21st ranked MBA program in the US. I am a first-generation Vietnamese American and the first in my family to pursue an MBA. I am proud that I will be able to hold two degrees from UC Irvine by next summer. My goal is to pursue a profession in operations, and the Merage School courses in operations and decision technologies not only reinforce my interest in this field, but also develop the core analytical and technical skills needed to succeed in this profession. Since beginning the Fully Employed MBA program, I am much more confident in my ideas and I feel more comfortable problem-solving and proposing new initiatives at work.
The 2020-2021 Merage School Staff Scholarship Recipient:
AMANDA PHAM
I treasure the new friendships I have made during this program and would not have been able to meet the intelligent and passionate individuals of my cohort without the Merage School Staff Scholarship. Thank you for your investment, not only to the School, but to my personal career. I hope to be successful enough to invest in another student’s education in the future.
MBA CANDIDATE CLASS OF 2022, FULLY EMPLOYED MBA PROGRAM
Warm regards, Amanda Pham
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LEVI EASTWOOD The 2019-2020 Merage School Staff Scholarship Recipient Tell us about your background before you became a student at the Merage School? My parents both made it to high school graduation and were able to support my sister and me. We struggled financially for most of my childhood, but it was full of strong values and great direction. The last decade has been a lot of bumping into walls as I navigated through the world of business, and building my skills in marketing. I came to the Merage School hungry and wanting to make sense of the career that I had lived thus far.
How did the Merage School Staff Scholarship change your career path? It hasn’t changed my career path yet, but I am certain that it will open many doors for me in my future.
How has this award impacted your experience at the Merage School?
How did the Merage School help you achieve your goals?
This award was the only way that I was going to get my MBA. Truly, if it was not for this opportunity, I would have gone through life always wondering what it would have been like if I had gone back to school to earn my MBA. I am so grateful to have been awarded this opportunity.
The Merage School has helped me in more ways than one. My goal five years ago was to move to Orange County and find a community of people who were making things happen for OC and the world beyond. I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself. I found that community at the Merage School and those who I have met along my journey have certainly helped me achieve this goal.
What opportunities are you most grateful for? I am so impressed by the caliber of my classmates. To be able to learn alongside them is an honor. It has given me greater confidence and ambition for the future ahead. With positive hungry people like this in my life, I am certain to make life grand.
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NICK SHAFFER The 2019-2020 Merage School Staff Scholarship Recipient How did the Merage School Staff Scholarship change your career path? It is going to open my career path to new possibilities that I would never have been able to take on beforehand. I am now comfortable in aspects of business such as finance and accounting that were a serious shortcoming. I now know I can be a strategic asset to any company I work for and be comfortable in a leadership position. How did the Merage School help you achieve your goals?
moving the School’s mission forward. While sales can be lucrative, I wanted more self-fulfillment and my role at the Merage School has really helped me feel better about my career.
It unlocked the possibility of going beyond what I have done in the past. As someone who has spent their career in sales, there is typically one path. Upon receiving my degree in 2021, I can take on more of a management and strategy role like I have always wanted. I may stay in sales, but will now have the ability to lead a team and drive the organization in the right direction. I would have never been able to do that before beginning the EMBA program at the Merage School.
How has this award impacted your experience at the Merage School? I would not have been able to have this experience if not for this scholarship. Making it affordable for someone that is ready to take the next step, but not currently at the salary level of an executive allowed me to join the program and flourish.
Tell us about your background before you became a student at the Merage School?
What opportunities are you most grateful for?
I was born and raised in Hawaii, a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, spent a number of years working for a non-profit in Washington DC, and then landed in sales positions for two construction companies here in Southern California. I have worked at the Merage School for over three years and enjoy
I am grateful to have the opportunity to see that I am just as capable and smart as my classmates. This gives me confidence that it is not too late to change my career path and be extremely successful. With the right focus and attitude, I can do whatever I want.
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THE MERAGE SCHOOL STAFF SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT GROWTH As of Decemeber 2020, the Merage School Staff Scholarship endowment is valued at $16,123. Because of the Dean’s commitment to our generous donors, the Merage School will fully fund the Merage School Staff Scholarship until the completion of the endowment.
+
Projected Growth With Pledged Dollars
$40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 2019
2020
2021
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2022
2023
SUMMARY OF CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PAUL MERAGE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
100 100 +H + H
Your generous support to The Paul Merage School of Business allows us to continue our mission to increase access to a world-class education. We hope you feel proud to know that your philanthropy makes an impact each year as we award scholarships to our student body.
100+H
The Merage School Staff Scholarship
$30,000
$5,000
Dean’s Leadership Circle
$10,250
The Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Cumulative Commitments to the Merage School
$45,250 13
THE MERAGE SCHOOL STATE OF ENDOWMENT $29,602,006
Growth, Market Value and Breakdown As of March 2021 $35,000,000
$29,602,006
$30,000,000 $25,000,000 $20,000,000 $15,000,000 $10,000,000 $5,000,000
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
$0
23+40+289D Research 9%
Department Support 23%
Student Support 28%
Chairs 40%
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LOOKING AHEAD The Paul Merage School of Business is grateful for the generosity of staff, alumni and community members as we continue to support our student body at the highest level possible. During the course of our comprehensive capital campaign, Brilliant Future, UCI seeks to increase its philanthropic gifts through private resources. An investment in the Merage School is an investment in the future of your community. Your commitment and your generosity ensures our three campaign priorities are achieved.
Access
Scholarships and Fellowships
Innovation
Faculty and Student Research
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Legacy
Leave your legacy for the next generation
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