Contact:
Eric Christopher Webb, DDiv., CPLC
Director of Communications
/Editor of The Sphinx
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Cell: 443-635-5911
May 31, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Partners With The University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management
BALTIMORE, MD – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. is partnering with the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management ensuring more of its members pursue graduate degrees in business and management to accelerate their current career or pivot into a new industry.
As part of the partnership, Alpha Brothers receive application fee waivers and an opportunity for no less than three full tuition fellowships for those admitted to Carlson’s Full-Time or Management Science MBA program each year. Carlson’s MBA program, which is typically completed in 21 months, offers a strong focus on academics, professional and career development, and experiential learning, including global learning and leadership development opportunities.
“Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. is renowned for its development of global leaders across every field, including business,” said General President Willis L. Lonzer, III, Ph.D. “As the world’s first and leading intercollegiate Fraternity founded by African American men, our organization is excited to partner with the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and is uniquely equipped to realize its goal of increasing African Americans’ pursuit of business and management graduate degrees.”
The Fraternity ensures at least 10 Alpha Brothers apply and three enroll each Fall semester in the Carlson MBA program. Program applicants, which are notified within eight weeks, are reviewed based on prior academic performance, standardized test scores, English proficiency scores, video essays, interviews, and professional experience.
“Alpha Phi Alpha’s history of excellence and commitment to global leadership development aligns with the Carlson School’s mission to educate students to think critically, act ethically, and lead confidently in today’s global economy,” said Jamie Prenkert, dean of the Carlson Schools and Investors in Leadership Distinguished Chair. “We’re very proud to partner with Alpha Phi Alpha and look forward to welcoming brothers to our Twin Cities campus and thriving business community for years to come.”
The program will also offer webinars and opportunities targeting the Fraternity’s College Brothers about business careers and graduate business education at Carlson as well as special sessions with Alumni Brothers to assist in the business school application process, the agreement stated.
The current partnership runs through June 30, 2026, with both parties set to review the success of the program and consider renewal.
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About Alpha Phi Alpha
The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African American men, was founded on December 4, 1906, at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY and is headquartered in Baltimore, MD. The Fraternity has long stood at the forefront of the African American community’s fight for civil rights through Alpha men such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; late former Congressman Adam Clayton Powell; late former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; legendary activist, actor and performer, Paul Robeson, former Ambassador Andrew Young; late former Senator Edward Brooke; scholar, Cornel West; Senator Raphael Warnock; Congressman Steven Horsford, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus; General CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; six other members of the U.S. Congress, numerous state, and local lawmakers across the United States, as well as President of Liberia Joseph Boakai, Sr. The fraternity, through its more than 720 college and alumni chapters and general-organization members, serves communities in the United States, and other parts of North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.