The Kelley School of Business selected 28 incoming IU freshmen to serve as William R. Fry Scholars.
Incoming freshmen who are directly admitted to the business school are eligible for the scholars program. Preference is given to students who are traditionally underrepresented in the business field as a whole, according to an IU Newsroom press release.
Fry Scholars receive standard tuition and fees and a stipend for living expenses. They also receive support in the form of an advisor and a “Fry Buddy.” This person serves as a Kelley student mentor during the scholar’s first year at IU.
Students in the program also have the option of residing in the Kelley Living-Learning Center, a residential program that focuses on both academic and professional development, according to the release.
“The Fry Scholarship not only benefits these talented students, but it also affects the student body as a whole. Diversity is important in all settings,” said Idalene “Idie” Kesner, dean of the business school and the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management, in the release. “Several studies have shown that groups that are ethnically diverse outperform groups that are not.”
The late William R. Fry, a Kelley School alumnus, donated a gift of $15 million to start the scholarship program initially. The gift and resulting program are helping the Kelley School pursue an initiative toward more all-inclusiveness and enlarged enrollment of underrepresented minorities, according to the release.
The application includes a transcript, a personal statement, essays and a resume.
A native of Winamac, Indiana, Fry made a number of significant contributions to improve life in communities where he lived. Fry said in 2008 that he especially liked the effect his business school gift would have on young minds, according to the release.
Fry attended IU and was president of his senior class in 1958, president of his fraternity, Sigma Chi, and a member of the campus’s ROTC program. After graduation, he served for five years in the United States Army in South Carolina and in South Korea.
Following his time in the military, Fry joined American Fletcher National Bank. After a five-year stint as a stockbroker with Merrill Lynch, Fry returned to American Fletcher National Bank, where he remained until 1983 and ultimately became senior vice president and chief investment officer of its trust department, according to the release.
After American Fletcher, Fry started an investment management firm, Progressive United Corporation, in Indianapolis. Seven years later, he began a successful career in radio, according to the release.
Alyson Malinger
