Iota Phi Theta Signs Its First HBCU Educational Partnership, Creating an MBA Pathway at Kentucky State University

Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. has signed its first educational partnership with a historically Black college or university, giving eligible alumni a 10 percent tuition reduction toward a Master of Business Administration at Kentucky State University.

The three-year agreement was signed Monday, Aug. 31, during a ceremony at Hume Hall on Kentucky State’s campus in Frankfort, Kentucky, and took effect that day. It falls under KSU Edge, the University’s program connecting eligible participants from partner organizations to educational opportunities at Kentucky State. Along with the tuition reduction, participating alumni get added guidance through admissions, registration, financial aid, and scholarship review.

Founded Sept. 19, 1963, at Morgan State College, now Morgan State University, Iota Phi Theta promotes scholarship, leadership, citizenship, fidelity, and brotherhood, and has chapters across the United States and abroad. The fraternity’s ties to Kentucky State run through the Alpha Omicron Chapter, chartered on the campus March 31, 1981.

“This partnership brings together two institutions with a shared commitment to education, leadership, and service,” Kentucky State University President Dr. Koffi C. Akakpo said in a statement. “By creating a more accessible route to graduate education, we are helping professionals strengthen their knowledge, advance their careers, and expand the difference they make in their organizations and communities.”

Orlando O. Grant, international grand polaris of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., said in the release that Kentucky State “shares our commitment to scholarship, leadership, and service, and we look forward to helping our alumni take advantage of this opportunity to prepare for the next stage of their careers.”

Fraternity leaders toured the campus before the signing and met with Kentucky State students over lunch in the Carl M. Hill Student Center.

To take part, eligible alumni must identify their Iota Phi Theta affiliation when applying to Kentucky State and provide a membership qualification letter or other documentation confirming eligibility. Admission is not guaranteed, and all applicants must meet University and MBA program requirements. The reduction applies to tuition only. Fees and other non-tuition costs remain the student’s responsibility, and the benefit cannot be combined with another Kentucky State scholarship awarded through the partnership.

More information about the program and the application process is available on the KSU Edge webpage.

For a fraternity built on scholarship and leadership, the agreement puts a graduate credential within closer reach for the men who have already carried those principles into their careers.

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