Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and Aegon Transamerica Foundation Collaborating to Support Underrepresented Minority Students

Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and the Aegon Transamerica Foundation are collaborating to promote business education to underrepresented minority students. The new collaboration will include support for Carey’s annual Summer Business Academy, its ongoing leadership development mentoring program, and a new scholarship for graduate students.

“At Carey Business School, we shape leaders who seize opportunities to create lasting value in an ever-changing world. To truly have a lasting impact, we must continue to expand business opportunities to people from diverse backgrounds,” said Alex Triantis, dean of the Carey Business School. “We are pleased to be working with Transamerica in helping our students build for what’s next both as individuals and for society as a whole.”

Launched in 2019, Carey’s Summer Business Academy exposes rising college juniors and seniors, particularly those from underrepresented communities, to the latest management and leadership theory and applications. The week-long program provides students with foundational business concepts including an introduction to design thinking and corporate networking. Students also participate in industry-focused case competitions and panel discussions with business executives. The program is offered at no charge to students in collaboration with Transamerica, as well as additional support from AT&T, Stanley Black & Decker, and Verizon.

Carey’s Leading a Diverse Society Mentoring Program was developed in 2018 to support underrepresented students in Carey’s part-time graduate degree programs. The program matches students with alumni from diverse experiences, backgrounds, and business sectors.

The Aegon Transamerica Foundation is also funding an endowed scholarship at Carey, which will be available beginning in fall 2021, and is intended for students from underrepresented communities.

Since its establishment in 1994, the Aegon Transamerica Foundation has supported nonprofit organizations that promote the arts and culture, civic engagement and community development, education and financial literacy, health and human services, inclusion and diversity, and the overall wellbeing of the communities where Transamerica’s employees live and work.

“Our purpose at Transamerica is to help people achieve a lifetime of financial security, which is why we are thrilled to support Carey Business School’s Summer Business Academy and the Leading a Diverse Society Mentoring Program,” said Karyn Polak, General Counsel at Transamerica and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Aegon Transamerica Foundation. “Providing more opportunity in the communities we serve—while enhancing diversity and inclusion in our industry—is an effort we care deeply about. Transamerica is proud to help inspire the next generation of business leaders and to help underrepresented students build the business experience they need to thrive.”

In 2020, Transamerica donated over $8 million to nonprofit organizations, including approximately $1.8 million toward programs that provide and promote education and personal development opportunities, especially in the areas of financial literacy.