NEW YORK — Oct. 24, 2006 — The Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund Inc. (TMSF) has presented its highest award to Microsoft Corp. in recognition of the company’s sustained support of public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and African-American students. Microsoft was honored with the Corporate Leadership Award at the fund’s annual awards dinner on Oct. 23 in New York City.
The Thurgood Marshall Corporate Leadership Award is presented annually to a corporate entity whose record of commitment to public HBCUs, education and diversity has advanced the overall mission of developing a new generation of leaders. This award is the highest annual award presented by the TMSF and serves as a model for others to emulate.
“Microsoft is honored that the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund has chosen to recognize our commitment to help diverse students achieve their full potential,” said Lisa Brummel, senior vice president of Human Resources at Microsoft. “We hope that our contributions of over $15 million to the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund will continue to provide HBCU students with access to technology tools, skills and innovation to be competitive in the changing global economy.”
“The Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and Microsoft share a common vision for HBCUs,” said Dwayne Ashley, president of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. “Microsoft is one of our largest donors, and its support is critical in ensuring that African-American students have access to well-equipped learning environments and staff regardless of their economic status.”
The Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund was established in 1987 to promote Justice Marshall’s legacy of equal access to higher education by supporting exceptional merit scholars attending America’s HBCUs. Justice Marshall successfully argued the 1954 landmark case Brown v. Board of Education before the U.S. Supreme Court. He later became the first African-American appointed to serve as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Since 2003, Microsoft has donated over $15 million in cash and software to the TMSF. The Technology Leadership Grant has provided the TMSF and its member institutions with much-needed software and technology upgrades to expand their use of information technology to support the mission of HBCUs, and to support student learning. Monetary contributions have benefited college programs and students.
“Microsoft has made a comprehensive commitment to diversity and to ensuring that underrepresented communities gain access to technology,” said Claudette Whiting, general manager, Microsoft Global Diversity and Inclusion. “Our alliance with the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund exemplifies how private and public sectors can work together to help diverse communities realize their full potential.”
About the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund
The Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, headquartered in New York City, provides merit-based scholarships and programmatic and capacity-building support for the nation’s 47 historically black public colleges and universities and historically black public law schools. The Fund’s member institutions serve nearly 80 percent of all students attending the nation’s historically black colleges and universities.
About Microsoft Citizenship Efforts
Microsoft and its employees have long recognized the importance of being engaged in supporting communities around the world. Last year the company donated $69 million in cash and $331 million in software to 12,000 nonprofit organizations. A majority of the company’s community investments go toward matching employee contributions of cash and time and in support of Unlimited Potential, a global program that supports community technology centers in IT skills training. Unlimited Potential is part of the company’s commitment to broaden digital inclusion and enhance work-force development to a quarter of a billion people underserved by technology by 2010.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
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