Meinders School of Business received two donations from alumni during the summer that will help improve the operations of the school and provide scholarships to more students.
The donations came from philanthropist and trustee Herman Meinders, who the school is named after, and oilman Ronnie K. Irani. The donations are to be used this fall for the new academic year.
Meinders donated a multimillion, full-tuition scholarship intended for four-year students. The scholarship itself will be used for up to 18 students that will attend OCU this year and in the future.
Meinders, best known for his founding of the American Floral Services, donated the money to encourage students to attend Meinders School of Business who could not do so otherwise for financial reasons.
Irani donated $1 million to the Economic Research and Policy Institute (ERPI), which helps business and finance majors learn about Monte Carlo analysis optimization, machine learning, forecasting, and special modeling.
ERPI is a separate entity of Meinders that helps conduct research for private parties not involved with the school, such as businesses, governments and non-profit organizations. OCU students involved with ERPI do all of the research, and then present their research to the separate parties that hire them.
MaKenzi Fox, marketing sophomore, said any scholarship opportunities are great.
“Education is definitely not the cheapest, and I know that the scholarships I was given helped me tremendously in being able to go to OCU,” she said.
Shannon McKenrick, entertainment business senior, said she’s grateful for the donations.
“I think it is amazing that alumni are donating,” McKenrick said. “Their gifts will allow more students the opportunity to attend OKCU, who may not have had the option otherwise.”
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