Skip to main content

Donor-Funded Awards

Alumni and friends of Yale SOM enrich our students’ learning experience in many ways—including by supporting experiential opportunities in the U.S. and globally. These donor-funded awards enable students to directly apply classroom lessons to complex on-the-ground challenges. Awards support student work projects and entrepreneurial endeavors that promote inclusive economic well-being, environmental and social impact, as well as cross-cultural respect and cooperation.

Entrepreneurship

Student presenting in front of a screen
Henry F. McCance Entrepreneurial Award

Established in 2003 by Henry McCance, Yale College Class of 1964, this award supports summer opportunities for Yale School of Management students to pursue entrepreneurial activities.

Image: Hil Moss '22 MBA/MPH presenting on VivorCare, her virtual survivorship platform for survivors of critical illness

Tony Cisneros ’21 MBA/MEM and Caroline Ebinger ’22 MEM/MBA

Nancy Pfund ’82 Social Impact Award

Established in 2014 by Nancy Pfund ’82 MPPM, this award promotes social entrepreneurship by supporting first-year students pursuing summer internships at mission-driven, social sector organizations with double bottom lines.

Image: Tony Cisneros ’21 MBA/MEM and Caroline Ebinger ’22 MBA/MEM founded Mesa Foods. Their goals and values are supporting sustainable farmers and food suppliers practicing core planetary health principles.
 


Students standing in a group
Morris and Miriam Pozen Entrepreneur Award

Established in 2001 by Robert C. Pozen, Esq., Yale Law School Class of 1972, in memory of his parents, this award supports summer opportunities for Yale School of Management students to pursue entrepreneurial activities.

Image: Summer, a tech startup launched by Yale SOM alumni Will Sealy ’17 MBA and Paul Joo ’18 MBA, helps college graduates navigate repaying school loans

A person giving a presentation, with a TV screen showing several people on Zoom in the background

Selby Family Entrepreneurship Innovation Award

Established in 2024 by Thomas Selby ’16 MBA,’16 MEM and Meaghan McGrath ’15 MBA,’16 MEM, along with their family, this award provides funding to pursue entrepreneurship activities that work on market-based solutions – particularly by creating and building economically viable startup businesses – to problems issues facing our society and planet, including climate change and the degradation of the natural world, healthcare, education and more, recognizing that solutions to these issues in the future may make some of these preferences unnecessary.

Image: Nick Callegari ’25 MBA presenting on Impact3D, his venture to develop a construction 3D printer that creates sustainable, affordable housing solutions

Business and Environment

Student and farmers
Rosemary Ripley Family Award for Internships in Business and the Environment

Established in 2006 by Rosemary Ripley, Yale College (Class of 1976) and the Yale School of Management (Class of 1980), this award supports opportunities for Yale SOM/YSE students to pursue summer projects in business and the environment. Projects must be carried out internationally with a focus on emerging markets. Preference given to students from emerging economies who wish to return to their home countries upon completion of studies.

Image: Thoko Changufu ’23 MF visiting with farmers during her internship with Community Markets for Conservation in Zambia

General

Students and teachers in a meeting
Judith Bernstein (SOM 1980) Memorial Award

Established in 1992 by friends and classmates of Judith Bernstein ’80 MPPM in her memory, this award supports opportunities for Yale School of Management students to pursue summer internships in family planning and reproductive rights, or in basic human needs.

Image: Erica DeMond '23 MBA participating in an operations internship with Impact Public Schools, a charter school network in Tukwila, Washington

Student standing in a field

Linnie and Michael Katz ’76 Award for SOM Student Travel and Research

Established in 2013 by Linnie and Michael Katz, Yale College Class of 1976, this award supports travel and research opportunities for Yale School of Management students seeking work experiences at non-governmental philanthropic organizations focusing on welfare, humanitarian, or economic issues in developing countries. Projects must be carried out internationally.

Image: Reid Jackson '23 MBA and recently planted trees in Khokhwa, Malawi, during his internship with the World Food Programme

Business and Cross-Cultural Understanding

Student smiling
Victor H. Frank, Jr. Fellowship for U.S. and Muslim World Relations

Established in 2012 by the Asian Programs Foundation, this award provides support for students in any degree program at the Yale School of Management who are working to identify ways in which the business community can contribute to enhanced relations between the Muslim world and the United States.

Image: Winnie Jiang ’19 PhD in Management, Yale; Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour, INSEAD

While a doctoral student, Winnie was awarded this fellowship to support her research, which focuses on understanding how organizations can facilitate the development of fulfilling careers and meaningful work experiences for individuals. Her funded project was published in "Administrative Science Quarterly," a top management journal. “The fellowship provided enormous support for my research into how Muslim refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, and Sudan rebuild their lives and careers in New Haven…and through my work, I have been inspired by their resilience, perseverance, and compassion.”