Gift expands international learning opportunities for business students
Alumni Peter and Carol Walters create endowed fund in the Eli Broad College of Business
February 16, 2021
The Eli Broad College of Business has received a generous gift from Peter and Carol Walters to support its education abroad programs. The Walterses’ gift is the largest MSU has ever received to directly support its education abroad programs.
“It is critical that MSU graduates are prepared for the complex world that awaits them—one that is increasingly defined by rapid change and a need for global connection. Maintaining MSU’s margin of excellence in this area is made possible through the generous support of alumni and friends,” says President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D. “We are grateful to the Walterses for this significant gift, which will expand opportunities for business students that make their MSU education truly exceptional.”
Through this gift, the Broad College Director of Education Abroad becomes an endowed position, ensuring that the person in this role will be 100% dedicated to supporting and expanding international learning opportunities and programs for students, for generations to come.
“MSU’s highly ranked Education Abroad program is a cornerstone of our global education portfolio, equipping students with important perspective and experience as they become engaged global citizens,” says Steven Hanson, associate provost and dean for International Studies and Programs. “This gift will help us strengthen and expand these opportunities and allow us to reach more students.”
In addition, the gift will support other programmatic needs for education abroad, such as additional staff support and student scholarships.
The Broad College’s current director of education abroad, Dr. Sarah Scott, has the esteemed privilege of becoming the inaugural Walters Family Director of Education Abroad. In this position, Scott will be able to grow and sustain the education abroad program to meet its strategic goals.
“Education abroad is one of the most powerful, transformational experiences many students have at MSU,” Scott says. “The world has never been more interconnected or more interdependent, and studying abroad opens students’ eyes to that reality, in many cases for the first time.
“This gift will allow the Broad College to expand the depth and breadth of education abroad opportunities in ways that otherwise simply wouldn’t have been possible,” she continues. “I’m incredibly energized and excited to think of the generations of Spartan students who will benefit from the Walters’ tremendous vision for Broad College education abroad.”
Both Peter and Carol Walters are Spartan graduates who have a strong bond to their alma mater. They each hold a Master of Human Resources and Labor Relations degree from MSU, where Carol also earned her bachelor’s in social work. The Walterses have previously made gifts to the Broad College to enable students to learn and grow through a space in the Edward J. Minskoff Pavilion and through its entrepreneurship program.
“Both Carol and I firmly believe that study abroad programs should be a part of every business school curriculum, and we are delighted to support the Broad College offerings,” Peter says. “We desire to see Spartan business graduates known for their well-rounded capabilities, which includes international experience.”
The Walterses’ gift helps to further the Broad College’s strategic priority of increasing student participation in its education abroad programs, aimed at growing from roughly 20% of the undergraduate business student body to at least 50%.
“We believe pursuing meaningful education abroad opportunities is the surest way to build our students’ global mindset, a key attribute in the talent businesses seek to attract as they increasingly operate in a world that transcends borders and geographies,” Eli and Edythe L. Broad Dean Sanjay Gupta says. “To address this business priority, the Broad College has committed to expanding education abroad opportunities for all Broad students. The extraordinary generosity of alumni like Peter and Carol Walters provides the margin of excellence to help our college advance in our ongoing quest of being a top-of-mind business school.”
In conjunction with this gift, the Broad College is developing a variety of new programs around the world, from West Africa to Southeast Asia, many of which will allow students opportunities for service learning and international internships.
“From meeting with Israeli entrepreneurs to floating in the Dead Sea, my semester abroad was nothing short of amazing,” Maxwell Gates, finance senior, says of his trip to Tel Aviv University in Israel. “The education abroad opportunities that MSU and the Broad College of Business provide are life changing. I urge every student to develop their global mindset and see the world as a Spartan.”
