Two UB School of Management Students Awarded ABWA Scholarships

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Two students in the University at Buffalo School of Management have been awarded scholarships by the American Business Women's Association (ABWA).

Michelle Bligh of Spokane, Wash., a doctoral student, received a $5,000 Stephen Bufton Memorial Scholarship from the national chapter of ABWA. First-year MBA student Elizabeth Welker of Buffalo was awarded a $2,000 Bufton Scholarship from the group's local chapter.

Bligh, who is studying organizational behavior, plans to teach at the university level. She has taught organizational behavior courses at the undergraduate level at UB and has lectured in UB's Executive MBA and Professional MBA programs. She is a research assistant in the School of Management, conducting research projects in the areas of culture, leadership and communication. Bligh earned a master's degree from UB and a bachelor's degree from Pomona College in California.

Welker is enrolled in UB's 3/2 MBA program, which enables students to earn both a bachelor's and an MBA degree by completing three years of undergraduate work followed immediately by two years of graduate studies. She expects to graduate from UB in 2003 with a concentration in finance.

ABWA has provided workplace skills and career-development training for more than 545,000 members. ABWA's scholarship trust, the Stephen Bufton Memorial Education Fund (SBMEF), has contributed more than $11 million to women's professional success through education.