Rutgers University-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor announced Wednesday that Prudential Financial has committed $10 million to the Honors Living-Learning Community at Rutgers-Newark to create the Prudential Scholars Program for Newark residents.
Cantor
The gift will create cohorts of Newark residents in the HLLC known as Prudential Scholars and provide them with scholarships to cover tuition and fees, as well as room and board, during their full-time study at Rutgers–Newark. The Prudential Scholars will have access to resources to help them build their entrepreneurial skills and the social networks to empower them to become agents of positive change in the city.
Joined by Prudential Vice Chairman Robert Falzon, Rutgers President Robert Barchi, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka before a standing-room-only crowd at the Great Hall on Washington Street, Cantor said that a partnership between Prudential and the HLLC, which serves as a national model for identifying and cultivating local talent, is a natural one.
“There’s no better example of an organization with an eye for innovation and a commitment to developing local talent than Prudential,” Cantor said. “We’ve learned that seeing talent sometimes takes new lenses and that educating effective change makers takes bringing people together from diverse backgrounds to work on complex challenges together. We could not be more grateful for this gift and the opportunity to partner with Prudential in this new way.”
“As a company founded and headquartered in Newark, we have a responsibility now more than ever to work together, as public-private partners, and provide local Newark students with access to the knowledge and resources they need to succeed. HLLC is that solution for the City of Newark and the next generation of leaders that will come from our city,” Falzon said. “Prudential’s support of this program helps us stay true to our mission of helping individuals achieve financial and social mobility, while also investing in the future workforce that the world needs.”
