An expectation of excellence is the basis for Saunders Jones endowed scholarship
As chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation, she leads the Company’s philanthropic commitment to education. Under her leadership, The Coca-Cola Foundation in the decade of the 1990s, contributed more than $100 million to education including scholarships and programs for students of color in higher education, and initiatives to increase the academic success of students in public and secondary schools. In addition, she serves on the board of The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, which provides scholarships to high school students from across the country.
In the classic corporate offices of The Coca-Cola Company headquarters in Atlanta, is a Spartan alumna who wields power with a deft hand and a natural grace that speaks to her ability as leader, educator and visionary. She is Ingrid Saunders Jones, senior vice president of Corporate External Affairs and chairperson of The Coca-Cola Foundation.
Ingrid Saunders Jones, (BA Education’69) recently made a gift of $1 million in endowed scholarships to Michigan State University, $300,000 of which will support the Multicultural Business Programs (MBP) in the Broad School. Made in part with the MSU Black Alumni Association’s scholarship fundraising of $1 million, her scholarship was established to perpetually support the education of graduates of Detroit Public Schools. Saunders Jones is a graduate of Northwestern High School in Detroit, and taught in Detroit schools in her early career.
“It is imperative that we think about the future of our youth within a construct of opportunities that will provide the framework for their lives. As a youngster, I was empowered by adults who encouraged and then sustained my penchant for being successful,” says Saunders Jones. “They framed me with an expectation of excellence, and my education at MSU broadened that framework.
“My gift of endowed scholarship support to graduates of Detroit Public Schools ensures that same basis of opportunity and expectation of excellence for these young adults. MSU can be the demarcation point for them into a realm of genuine opportunity for success. It was for me.”
Ernest Betts, assistant dean for Multicultural Business Programs, says, “This gift anchors our fundraising efforts for MBP and ensures that one of our most important constituencies, Detroit Public Schools, has perpetual access to the academic and support systems we provide to students through MBP,” he says. “The gift communicates not just her financial support, which is critical to our future, but it also demonstrates a commitment to giving back and underscores the impact of doing so for those who most benefit from her generosity,” he added. The Dr. Ernest S. Betts Endowment for Multicultural Business Program has a goal of $3 million and has raised nearly $500,000 to date.
Saunders Jones serves as a member of the President Lou Anna K. Simon’s President’s Campaign Committee. She led the Atlanta-based Carter Center Board of Councilors in 2006. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree by MSU in 1995, when she shared commencement speaking duties with President Bill Clinton.
She is also a board member of the Apollo Theater Foundation, Clark Atlanta University, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Girls Inc., The Ohio State University President’s Council on Women, the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University and the Woodruff Arts Center (Atlanta).
To learn more about MBP, or to establish an endowed scholarship fund of your own, contact the Broad School Development Office at 517-353-4340.