Partnering With Thurgood Marshall College Fund Is a Winning Strategy

NOTE: This op-ed was featured in the Summer 2023 issue of HBCU Times magazine.

by ROB KNOX

Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) has prided itself as being a national leader in helping companies achieve their Diversity, Inclusion & Equity goals. The organization’s mission has always been to carry forward the legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall, who was a champion of HBCUs and creating access and opportunity for the talented students who attend them.?

Major companies partner with TMCF because they understand that it provides them with a competitive advantage and allows them to become more profitable. It’s a strategic pillar of the Fortune 500 corporations who intentionally engage with TMCF. They understand that a diverse and inclusive workforce based on purposeful hiring makes the world a better place.

One of the major outcomes when companies are committed to DEI is they advance a more equitable future for their communities and enhance pathways toward economic mobility for HBCU students.

When companies prioritize equity, diversity, and inclusion everybody triumphs because it is vital to achieving superior business outcomes.

In 2022, there were 4,571 recipients/participants of TMCF scholarships, programmatic opportunities, and internships. TMCF student talent has an average starting salary of $66,000. That was a 50 percent increase from 2021. Since 2020, there’s been 11,027 recipients of TMCF opportunities.

Engaged and empowered students help companies, change lives, and pay it forward because their personal and professional development was enriched in a diverse and inclusive environment of care. Helping companies with their DEI initiatives allows TMCF to make an impact beyond the $300,000 million in scholarships the organization awards to its students annually.

While, TMCF has a well-earned reputation for providing employer partners with direct access to top HBCU talent, those same allies understand that making DEI a core value provides an opportunity to?improve employee engagement?while strengthening their team.

According to a 2021 McKinsey study, companies with the most diverse executive teams are?36% more likely to outperform their peers on profitability.

Most of the Fortune 500 have limited, if any, recruitment presence at HBCUs.?With more than 300,000 students attending the 47 member schools, TMCF provides an essential link between corporate America and HBCU talent.?Once companies partner with TMCF, they are provided direct access to HBCU talent prepared to change the world thanks to the numerous programs and unique opportunities offered.

In 2022, Boeing and TMCF announced a new $8 million, multi-year partnership to support campus recruitment initiatives, career immersion activities, and experiences for students from HBCU’s. TMCF has partnered with Medtronic, and Google to create career pathways in the MedTech Industry and technology for HBCU students.

Students who may have remained unseen are now software engineers at Apple and Microsoft, mechanical engineers at Boeing, and business leaders at Wells Fargo.

Another one of TMCF’s partners, Medtronic Foundation has made an intentional and committed effort to grow representation of underserved and underrepresented populations within the STEM workforce by supporting scholarships for HBCU students and being a presidential partner at the Leadership Institute.

This partnership has helped Medtronic create a stronger, more diverse STEM pipeline for the future workforce in health and technology, which benefits the world.

During TMCF’s annual Leadership Institute in New York, over 90 companies had access to more than 400 students to interview and recruit for job opportunities. Several students who attended Leadership Institute walked away with potential job and internship opportunities.

TMCF has worked hard to build a framework to accelerate societal change while collaborating with leaders who understand that intentionally diversifying their teams is a long-term solution for success. In accomplishing desired DEI outcomes, TMCF enjoys being a leader in providing access to talented HBCU students.

DEI is important because it allows companies to walk in their purpose and help our students create the legacies they desire. The path to progress is measured in inches and milestones.

?Consistent small actions lead to change.

?Partnering with TMCF is an easy step to begin with.

Rob Knox is an award-winning professional. A member of the Lincoln (Pa.) Hall of Fame, Knox currently serves as the Senior Director of Strategic Communications for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Knox enjoyed a distinguished career as an athletics communicator for Lincoln, Kutztown, Coppin State, Towson, and UNC Greensboro. He also worked at ESPN and for the Delaware County Daily Times. Recently, Knox was honored by CSC with the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award and the NCAA with its Champion of Diversity award. Knox is a graduate of Lincoln University and a past president of the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA).