The ACFE Foundation has awarded 30 college and university students with Ritchie-Jennings Scholarships worth $1,000 each for the 2009-2010 school year. This is the 15th year the ACFE has sponsored the scholarship program.
The ACFE Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises funds to support the scholarship program for the education of collegiate accounting and criminal justice students around the globe. ACFE Foundation Board members are: Martin T. Biegelman, CFE, ACFE Fellow; Nancy S. Bradford, CFE, CPA, CIA; Joseph R. Dervaes, CFE, CIA, ACFE Fellow; Dennis F. Dycus, CFE, CPA, CGFM, ACFE Fellow; and Marilyn B. Peterson, CFE, CCA, ACFE Fellow.
“Once again this year, I want to thank my fellow committee members – Vicky Murphy, Larry Marks, and Norm Gierlasinski – and the ACFE staff for their tremendous work,” said Christopher J. Rosetti, CFE, CPA, chairman of the ACFE’s Continuing Education Committee, the group that reviews scholarship applications.
Rosetti said the Continuing Education Committee evaluated 71 applications for scholarships – 56 from North America and 15 from outside the continent. The committee then selected 20 applicants from North America and 10 from outside.
“The applications represented a broad geographic distribution, throughout both the United States and international countries including West Africa, China, Vietnam, Nepal, the Bahamas, and Japan,” Rosetti said. “I was very impressed by the applicants’ interest in fraud prevention and its impact on our global society. I was equally impressed with the applicants’ ability to maintain outstanding grades while being actively involved in community outreach programs.”
Each recipient was selected on several factors: overall academic achievement, a short essay on why he or she deserves the award and how fraud awareness will affect the student’s professional development, and several recommendation letters including one from either a local ACFE chapter member or a Certified Fraud Examiner.
Rosetti thanked the ACFE chapters and CFEs who helped market the scholarship program on a local level and wrote recommendation letters for applicants.
In addition to funds raised by the ACFE Foundation, ACFE members help underwrite the scholarships by contributing donations when they send their annual membership dues.
The ACFE’s Board of Regents voted to name the scholarship program the Ritchie-Jennings Memorial Scholarship Fund in 1998. Tracy Ritchie, CFE, and Larry Jennings, CFE, CPA, were killed Nov. 12, 1997, in Karachi, Pakistan, when terrorists fired on their vehicle during a business trip.
Visit www.ACFE.com for information on the upcoming 2010-2011 scholarships’ program: go to the Membership & Certification and then Student Membership.