The Importance of Funding Fellowships

By Nathan Moorman

There’s more work to be done, according to Dean Judy Olian, who spoke at this year’s Fellowship Reception while dozens of fellowship donors and recipients enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, sipped on wine and chatted with one another in the Fowler Museum courtyard.

Olian announced that 78 donor fellowships — some worth up to $25,000 — were awarded to 111 recipients and totaled $1 million. She also stressed how important fellowships are in the face of the egregious debt that student loans can cause. In the U.S., 40 million people are currently in debt from student loans, adding up to a staggering $1.2 trillion. At Anderson, the average student debt load upon graduation was nearly $90,000 in 2015. Olian also expressed her desire to do more, mentioning Into the Next: The Campaign for UCLA Anderson, whose goal is to raise a minimum of $300 million, with $80 million set aside for student aid and fellowships to help lessen the burden on students. Thus far, the school has raised $188.3 million.

Brian Farrell (’78), former chairman and CEO of THQ and a member of Anderson’s Board of Visitors, took the mic and mentioned the difference in tuition costs when he attended UCLA (about $200) compared to his daughter’s time here in 2014 (about $50,000). He stressed how important it was to give back to the community in order to keep it strong. With a smile, Farrell shared that he hopes that one day his daughter would be back at UCLA as a donor just like him.

Amy Barth (’16), president of UCLA Anderson’s Net Impact chapter, ended things by talking about her decision to leave Kenya to pursue her MBA at Anderson. Barth, who received three fellowships in her first year, explained how helpful they were in giving her the opportunity and time to be a better student. According to her, fellowships gave her the freedom to get involved in campus life and also pursue career opportunities without being overloaded with debt.