Fordham has received a grant of nearly half a million dollars from Santander US to expand study abroad scholarships and support paid internships and green job creation in the Bronx over the next two years.
The grant will support Fordham’s study abroad program in Granada, Spain; Serving the City, a paid internship program; and the forthcoming Bronx Green Jobs Center.
Collaborating with Industry Leaders
Holly Curtis, Fordham’s assistant provost for corporate relations, said the partnership exemplifies Fordham’s growing commitment to collaborating with industry leaders.
“The areas they’re funding are mission-aligned with both Fordham and Santander, and because it’s been such a collaborative process with the Santander team, it feels like we’re building a longer-term partnership,” said Curtis, who assumed her newly created position last year and has been looking to partner with organizations that share Fordham’s commitment to experiential learning and entrepreneurship.
The $495,800 grant was received in October. For study abroad, it will provide $6,000 scholarships to roughly 35 students over a two-year period in the Granada program. For Serving the City, it will provide 26 students with $3,300 stipends over the same timeframe.
The Bronx Green Jobs Center, set to open in 2026, will receive $200,000 in the second year of the grant. The funds will be allocated to the center’s “First Check” Entrepreneurship Support program, which will award checks ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to local entrepreneurs.
A rendering of the Bronx Green Jobs Center
A Focus on Future Leaders
The grant is part of Santander’s recent $25 million commitment to support education, employability, and entrepreneurship. That includes over $10 million in university grants and national scholarship funding through the Santander Universities program.
Leah Daly, Santander’s head of corporate responsibility and sustainability, lauded Fordham’s “profound focus on preparing our next generation of leaders.”
She noted that the Serving the City program complements Santander’s efforts to stimulate career advancement, while the study abroad program offers a powerful learning experience that connects to the bank’s global reach. The Green Jobs Center combines a focus on workforce development with supporting the transition to a lower-carbon economy, both of which are priorities for Santander, she said.
“In Fordham, Santander is excited to have found a willing partner to commit the necessary resources to cultivating a future workforce prepared for an evolving economy.”
Santander has been an active partner of Fordham’s in the past, supporting career services and the Center for Community Engaged Learning in recent years.
New Online Resources for Students
As part of the new grant agreement, all Fordham students will be invited to open an account on Santander’s e-learning platform, Open Academy. The site offers courses and content ranging from data science and AI prompting to effective communication and leadership skills, which students can utilize to enhance their career prospects.
Curtis said the academy is another example of how Santander is investing in student success.
“It’s another resource for students to take advantage of that complements their coursework and directly supports their employability prospects,” she said.