With a gift of $500,000, Hasbro Inc. last week said it is establishing the Hasbro Scholars Fund at the University of Rhode Island to provide financial aid to business and engineering students who want to study or pursue internships in China, as well as to support related programs.
“We believe that students with cross-cultural backgrounds, especially those who speak Chinese and understand its culture, will be better equipped to become leaders at companies with international operations,” Hasbro President and CEO Alfred J. Verrecchia said in a news release announcing the gift, which was made as part of URI’s ongoing capital campaign.
“We do a lot of business and have been doing business in China for a while,” Verrecchia said in an interview. “So for us to put together a scholarship program teaching engineering and business and providing an internship, it was an easy sell. It fits our business needs, as well the school’s.”
Hasbro’s gift – given through its charitable division, the Hasbro Children’s Fund – played a part in URI’s being selected as the host of Rhode Island’s second Confucius Institute (READ MORE).
The scholarship fits with URI’s International Engineering Program and with the International Business Program slated to begin this fall, both of which couple the study of foreign languages such as Chinese, French, German or Spanish with overseas internships and study programs.
This summer, the Hasbro-endowed scholarship will support several students in a six-week trip to China to study the language, culture and industry. And in the fall, two URI engineering students will be the first to spend an academic year in China.
But the endowment isn’t just for student scholarships. “Part of the funds will go to operating dollars for professors to visit China and develop the program,” Verrecchia said, adding that the idea is to put together a well-developed program so it “stays relevant to students over the next several years.”
In the news release, URI President Robert L. Carothers said Hasbro’s gift “will dramatically expand opportunities for our students to experience other cultures by living, working and studying abroad.” He added: “This gift will have a lasting impact on the lives of our students.”
