LMU, Deloitte, Announce Scholarship to Help Increase Diversity Within the Tax Profession

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Apr 26, 2022, 08:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Loyola Marymount University and Deloitte today announced the creation of the Deloitte Tax Diversity Scholarship to help fund the cost of tuition for ethnically and racially diverse students seeking a Master of Science in Taxation degree from LMU College of Business Administration.

Through the Deloitte Tax Diversity Scholarship — in which selected students will see half of their tuition paid for by Deloitte and the remaining half paid for by LMU — Deloitte hopes to ease the financial burden to pursuing a degree in tax, with the aim of opening doors that previously might have remained closed to racially and ethnically diverse students.

"There is tremendous demand in the accounting profession today for tax talent, but in my experience I've observed that many Native American, Latinx and Black students are often unaware of the career paths afforded by a degree in accounting or think the barriers are too great," said Stephen Metoyer, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Deloitte Tax LLP. "By establishing the Deloitte Tax Diversity Scholarship at LMU, we hope to strengthen the pipeline of racially and ethnically diverse professionals seeking careers in the tax field while also allowing them to network and build relationships with members of the Deloitte community."

This scholarship is part of the broader Deloitte Tax Scholars initiative through which Deloitte has had tremendous success working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to increase the number of diverse students who are pursuing a career in tax. Because many HBCUs are located on the East Coast, Deloitte is excited by the opportunity to collaborate with LMU to offer similar scholarship support in the west region.

"National hiring and promotion data demonstrates a lack of diversity in the accounting profession, and the numbers are particularly striking for Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino/Latina communities," said Lawrence Kalbers, LMU College of Business Administration associate dean of faculty and academic programs and R. Chad Dreier Chair in Accounting Ethics. "The goal of integrating LMU's new master's program with the Deloitte scholarship is to increase access, improve skills and knowledge, and enhance career opportunities for participants. LMU's location in the culturally and ethnically diverse city of Los Angeles, and its proximity to Hispanic-serving institutions in L.A. and on the West Coast, makes it ideally suited to create a new pathway for underrepresented students interested in the profession."

Today's announcement, which follows news of a similarly-purposed scholarship gift at Louisiana Tech University, complements the investments Deloitte has made to date through its Making Accounting Diverse and Equitable (MADE) initiative to address the major barriers faced by racially and ethnically diverse students, grow the population of diverse talent, and create more leadership pathways for the next generation of certified public accountants (CPAs).

Students who are interested in learning more about the program requirements can do so here.

About Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is an elite top-ranked national university by U.S. News and World Report, which places LMU among the top five Jesuit universities in the country and in the top six private universities in California. Founded in 1911, LMU is a Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount university with more than 6,500 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate and law students. LMU offers 55 undergraduate majors and 59 minor programs, along with 47 master's degree programs, three doctorate programs and 13 credential/authorization programs. LMU's intercollegiate athletics teams compete in the West Coast Conference with 20 Division I and varsity sports.

LMU news and events are found at: www.lmu.edu/news.

About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 7,000 private companies. Our people come together for the greater good and work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today's marketplace — delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthier society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Building on more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's more than 345,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com.

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SOURCE Deloitte