A gift to the University will support scholarships for local high school students invested in STEM disciplines.
On Monday Duke announced a $1 million gift to endow scholarships for graduates of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics who attend the University. The gift comes from Sean Fahey, T’93 and a 1989 graduate of NCCSM in 1989, and will establish the Fahey Scholarship Fund, according to a Duke News release. The fund will provide one student demonstrating academic achievement and financial need a whole or partial scholarship. The award will be given annually to one student from each class.
“The intent of this scholarship is to give back and help kids… ensure that they can take advantage of the education Duke has to offer and enjoy Durham, where I spent some of the most important years of my life,” Fahey said in the release.
The donation is the largest gift of its kind to support NCCSM graduates toward any university in North Carolina.
It also helps the University move toward its $420 million fundraising goal for endowed scholarships and fellowships, part of the seven-year Duke Forward campaign that seeks to raise $3.25 billion across a variety of schools and programs.
Fahey, who lives in New York City, received a full academic scholarship to Duke upon his graduation from NCCSM and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in economics. He founded Claren Road Asset Management in 2005, where he is now the co-chief investment officer. Prior to that, he worked as managing director and global emerging markets external debt training of Salomon Brothers/Citigroup.
NCCSM, which is located in on Broad Street Durham near East Campus, opened in 1980 and was the first public residential high school established especially for students invested science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The curriculum is designed for juniors and seniors who succeed in STEM across the state. Thirty-eight current Duke students are NCSSM graduates.
NCCSM Chancellor J. Todd Roberts praised Fahey’s leadership and generosity in “strengthening the bonds” between Duke and the local high school.
“We are also grateful for the close working relationship we have had with Duke during our 35-year history, and especially for the way in which they welcome and nurture so many of our graduates during their higher education careers,” Roberts said in the release.
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