The Leslie Rudd Investment Co. (LRIco Services) has partnered with Wichita State University and Arizona State University to establish the LRIco Scholarship Program, a tuition reimbursement opportunity for the firm’s employees and their children. The program supplies up to $5,250 per year toward earning a college degree.
LRIco is a family-owned holding company based in Wichita that owns and manages numerous companies and interests, including: Standard Beverage Corp. of Kansas; PRESS Restaurant, St. Helena, Calif.; Rudd Oakville Estate Winery; Rudd Farms and Oakville Grocery, Oakville, Calif.; and Rudd Properties.
“This partnership with the Leslie Rudd Investment Company aligns perfectly with our plans to make Wichita State University more user friendly for returning adults by giving them more flexible paths to obtaining a degree,” said WSU President John Bardo.
“As part of our applied learning mission, we are working with companies to customize courses and programs to meet workforce needs,” Bardo said.
The program will enable Rudd Group employees and their children to pursue a degree in any of Wichita State’s 16 online degree programs, or in person. WSU combines more than 60 undergraduate degrees and 50 graduate degrees in over 200 areas of study with a broad base of certificate programs to offer largest cooperative learning opportunity in the state of Kansas.
While the LRIco program was created in partnership with WSU and ASU, it will be available to qualified students at any institution.
“We at LRIco believe in the promise and pursuit of the American Dream,” said Chief Executive Officer Leslie Rudd, a Wichita State alumnus. “We see education as the cornerstone of this dream of success, both personal and professional. LRIco is proud to help its employees build a bright future – whether they aspire to shape a career at LRIco or beyond.”
According to an LRIco representative, the program will be available beginning January 2015. Recognizing that money is often the barrier that keeps people from achieving their dreams – but not the only barrier – the program has been designed to meet the needs of working students by ensuring they receive a personal level of support, including dedicated enrollment coaches, financial aid counselors, adult learning specialists and academic advisors.
“The LRIco Scholarship Program is just one of the ways LRIco is committed to the success of its employees and to supporting the future they create for themselves,” the representative said.
The program will be managed by Dee Bielenberg, former history professor at the University of California, Berkeley. She will be available to help employees and their children with applications and advice through the LRIco office in Oakville, Calif.
“We believe that when a company invests in the quality of life for its employees, it c
