FIT receives $300,000 endowment
Allows students to study globally
-- Home Accents Today, 8/1/2005
The Fashion Institute of Technology has received a $300,000 endowment, named in honor of home products innovators Dr. Leonard Florence, founder of Syratech Corporation, and Sy Stewart, a pioneer in lighting.
The Dr. Leonard Florence and Sy Stewart Global Scholars Endowment was created with two $150,000 donations, one from Michael Fux, president and CEO of Sleep Innovations, and the other a matching challenge grant from the Peter J. Sharp Foundation. Foundation director Dan Lufkin was instrumental in securing funds for the endowment. Established in perpetuity, it will enable Home Products Development students to participate globally in trade shows and to study abroad.
The Dr. Leonard Florence and Sy Stewart Global Scholars Endowment will be awarded to a full-time Home Products Development student who is a citizen of the United States or a legal resident alien and meets the established academic criteria. The student must demonstrate a need for financial support and have done volunteer work at the college, or in the industry or community. Recipients will be selected by the faculty in the Home Products Development department.
FIT's Home Products Development department was launched in 1997. Students in the bachelor's degree program study such topics as production methods, sourcing and marketing, merchandising, and packaging of housewares, home lighting, and furniture. They graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree and enter careers in product development, marketing, sales, and management with major corporations, specialty manufacturers, and retailers.
