Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story.
A $500,000 gift from FedEx to Jackson State University will go toward helping business students gain professional development opportunities and expanding academic programs in the College of Business.
The unrestricted money will also be used to expand the business school’s supply chain management center and data analytics lab. During an announcement of the gift Wednesday on campus, officials also said they plan to support student scholarships and research and development for faculty.
“This investment from FedEx not only reestablishes the partnership with the university, but it will support programs and better prepare students to be day-one-ready for the workforce,” Business School Dean Nicholas Hill said. “Their preparation matters, their talent matters and their futures matter.”
FedEx gave Jackson State $1 million in 2021 to support educational opportunities and scholarships for students. The corporation has also invested in a $500,000 FedEx-JSU Endowed Scholarship Fund and FedEx HBCU Student Ambassador program.
Rose Jackson Flenorl, FedEx’s global citizenship and human resources manager, spoke to event attendees about the importance of investing in programs to expose students at historically Black universities to internships, leadership training and other opportunities to gain skills to enter the workforce before graduating.
Flenorl, who grew up in Clarksdale, said mentorship and opportunities were very rare. Now that she has accomplished her dream, she recognizes the importance of giving back and supporting students with their career development.
“It’s really about providing a pathway for success to students,” Flenorl said. “All corporations are looking for top talent, and we know that there’s top talent at HBCUs.”
Felecia Stewart-Seard, vice president of Internal Audit International at FedEx, graduated from Jackson State’s College of Business in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Returning to the university and celebrating the gift with students is a “full circle moment,” Stewart-Seard said.
“Everybody believes in taking care of home,” Stewart-Seard said. “And it is so important for me to give back because all that Jackson State has poured into me has led me to where I am today,”
