Indian American finance professor at University of New Orleans establishes scholarship

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Tarun Mukherjee, an Indian American finance professor at the University of New Orleans has established a scholarship in honor of his parents, called the Kali Charan Mukherjee Endowed Scholarship in Finance.

The scholarship will renewable for $1,000 a year for students majoring in finance, the university said in a press release.

Mukherjee was one of 10 children born to his parents who are now deceased; however they sacrificed a great deal to see that he and his siblings received the best education that the family could afford.

“They inculcated in all of their children that education was the most valuable asset of all. The award is a very small way to pay tribute to all the sacrifices they made so that their children are where they are in their lives,” Mukherjee is quoted saying in a press release.

To be eligible for the scholarship students must be a first-semester freshman who is enrolled as full-time student at the university and have an ACT score of at least 24 or a SAT score of 1260, as well as a 3.0 GPA or higher.

The student must also be a first-semester freshman with a declared major in finance and must submit an essay on why they’ve chosen to pursue a degree in finance.

The scholarship award of $500 will be given at the start of the fall and spring semesters and is renewable for eight undergraduate semesters, excluding summer sessions, however students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA and remain as a finance major.

Mukherjee, who has been working at the university since 1981, said that the scholarship is designed as a recruiting tool for the Department of Economics and Finance in the College of Business Administration at the university, to attract high-achieving students.

In fact, Mukherjee had first majored into History of India and planned to earn a doctorate in the subject, but ended up in an M.B.A. program and received a doctorate in finance from Texas Tech.

According to his bio on the university’s website, Mukherjee has authored 60 refereed publications, served as chair/co-chair of more than 20 dissertations and as committee member of over 20 committees.