While some university outreach programs are facing cutbacks in
light of state budget cuts, the Riordan Programs at the UCLA
Anderson School of Management plan on continued growth.
“We are now thinking about ways to triple its size. We
have major growth ambitions,” said Professor William Ouchi,
who co-founded the programs with California Secretary of Education
Richard Riordan.
Offering mentoring and management training to high schoolers
known as Riordan Scholars, and current and recent undergraduates
deemed Riordan Fellows, the Riordan Programs celebrated its 17th
year of outreach to underrepresented students Saturday.
Since its inception, over 1,500 students have gone through the
program, with 100 percent of the scholars going on to attend
college and fellows currently at all of the nation’s top 25
graduate schools.
Since the programs cannot shoehorn anyone into a particular
school, Ouchi said the goal is to enlarge the pool of minority
applicants.
“We are one of the biggest providers of minority students
to the undergraduate college at UCLA and at Berkeley,” said
Ouchi.
In addition to steadfast financial support from the Riordan
Foundation and major corporations such as Goldman Sachs & Co.,
Sony and DirectTV, the programs receive about 25 percent of their
funding from the chancellor’s office of the chancellor.
Faced with potential budget cuts, Ouchi said he is not worried
because he plans to increase fund-raising efforts through his
position as a faculty member.
“That’s what professors do. We raise money all of
the time. Whether it be for research or special projects like
this,” he said, emphasizing that it is important for the
success of the programs to have a faculty lead.
Linda Baldwin, director of MBA admissions at the Anderson
School, has been involved with the programs since they began. She
notes that the creation of an infrastructure of human capital
resources has also significantly contributed to the growth of the
programs.
Top business professionals and Anderson School professors
volunteer their time to educate students about how to pursue their
career goals.
“If you are a managing director of a company, your time is
expensive. … To have the best and brightest share how one
progresses to where they are is extremely valuable,” Baldwin
said, adding that 70 percent of the Anderson School’s faculty
and staff have also been involved in the programs.
The programs offer career-based mentoring in the management
field, but participation is not limited to those interested in a
future in business.
Baldwin said students use the programs’ educational
platform to take on leadership roles. Participants have
matriculated into a variety of fields such as law, medicine and
politics.
She referred to the programs as a “pipeline” for
students because an expanding network of program alumni provides
participants with contacts to supplement the assistance they
receive through mentoring.
Jennifer Ortiz, president of the board of directors for the
Riordan Fellows Alumni Association, said it is challenging to keep
track of everyone because fellows disperse to different schools and
professions throughout the country and sometimes internationally.
It speaks volumes of the program that so many people make a
conscious decision to stay connected by volunteering or attending
events, she said.
Second-year business economics student Sueyn Tang applied for
the Riordan Scholars program after she saw a presentation from
Anderson School graduate students at her high school.
She said after completing the mentoring she plans on staying
involved with the program as a volunteer and possibly as a Riordan
Fellow.
This reinforces Ouchi’s expectations for a strengthened
outreach network.
“This is long-range planning. We are expecting the
students to return … and they do because we have a warm place in
their heart,” he said.