Stephen Fry, a University of Indianapolis alumnus and Board of Trustees member, speaks at the university’s May 2023 commencement. Fry recently gave a $5 million gift to the university which will establish new programs and help first-generation students. Photo provided by UIndy
A $5 million gift from a University of Indianapolis trustee will establish new programs and help first-generation students.
UIndy alumnus and Board of Trustees member Stephen F. Fry has given $5 million to establish a trio of endowed programs. University officials say the funds will position the UIndy School of Business as one of the elite institutions in the country.
The gift, announced Friday by the university in a news release, comes from a first-generation college student from rural Indiana who wants to ensure that future scholars feel the same support and community that he did.
“I would not be where I am today without my experience at the University of Indianapolis,” Fry said in the news release. “Coming from a small town of 150 people, the intimate feel of UIndy where I knew everyone and everyone knew me, was vital to my success as the first one in my family to go to college. Higher education is just as important as it ever has been and students need those same types of connections now more than ever.”
The bulk of the $5 million gift creates the Stephen F. Fry Business Scholars Program, which university officials say will be the premier undergraduate immersive experience in the School of Business. Based on academic credentials and financial need, an annual cohort of Fry Scholars will receive an exceptional curricular and co-curricular experience supervised and mentored by a director. Students will have funding to participate in national conferences, case competitions, experiential learning, internships and other immersive experiences, individually mentored by alumni and other community leaders, according to the news release.
The gift also establishes the Stephen F. Fry Distinguished Lecture Series to bring thought leaders and industry pioneers to the university each year. The program will place UIndy at the forefront of conversations concerning Indiana business as well as the entire Midwest. It gives the opportunity for the university community and scholars to have a front row seat to today’s most pressing industry topics and issues, and even help advance the discussion, the news release says.
The monies will also establish the Stephen F. Fry Faculty Innovation Fund, which will support curriculum and program innovations to ensure that the School of Business is at the forefront of delivering an applied education that reflects the needs of the business world. Faculty and staff will be inspired to pursue transformative curricular and co-curricular efforts to benefit students. The fund will also help attract and retain talented faculty and staff to the business school, according to the news release.
“Graduates from the University of Indianapolis don’t just leave with a degree — they are prepared to have a successful career thanks to the experiential and hands-on learning that is the hallmark of a UIndy education,” said Tanuja Singh, UIndy’s president, in the news release. “This gift from Stephen F. Fry only deepens and solidifies those opportunities for our business students and faculty. I am thrilled for what this means for future Greyhounds.”
Fry grew up in Millhousen, a Decatur County town of 149 people where the nearby community of Greensburg was referred to as “the big city.” He retired as Lilly’s executive vice president and chief human resources officer in 2022 after more than 35 years at the company, the news release says.
University officials say Fry never would have dreamed that’s where he would have ended up. His tenure began after a frantic scramble as a college student. His internship at a bank in Cincinnati fell through at the last possible second so his professor made some phone calls, helping him land a replacement internship at Lilly so that he could still graduate in 1987. The rest is history.
Fry’s feelings of being unprepared for what the real business world was like inspired his first major contribution to the University of Indianapolis in 2020. His $1 million was given with the purpose to invest and strengthen the career development center on campus, now known as the Stephen F. Fry Professional Edge Center. Pro Edge meets with every single student on campus and makes sure they are ready for interviews, helps them find jobs and internships and even has business clothing they can borrow for interviews—something Fry realized he needed on his very first day at his Lilly internship, according to the news release
“I’m proud to support the next generation of students and faculty through this gift,” Fry said. “To understand the impact of what one internship or one professor can mean, just take a look at the career path of this small-town boy from Millhousen."
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