The International Council of Shopping Centers Foundation has renamed its graduate scholarship program the Charles Grossman Graduate Scholarship, after the late Charles Grossman who served as the Foundation's chairman from 2006-2007. Grossman was very instrumental in taking the Foundation in its current direction.
"Charles had a keen vision for the Foundation to support more educational scholarships, to award more shopping center or shopping center companies for their community service work and to find ways for its charitable giving to reflect well on the retail real estate industry," said Valerie Cammiso, executive director of the ICSC Foundation. "The Foundation, along with its board of directors, is very proud to rename this scholarship after Charles," she added.
The Foundation recognizes that there are aspects of the shopping center industry that cannot be learned in the classroom. The opportunity to attend a conference like RECon, the largest retail real estate conference in the world, is an invaluable experience that will expose these students to networking opportunities as well as current innovations and changes in the industry. As a result, the money collected under Grossman's name will be used as a grant for travel expenses for the two scholarship recipients to attend RECon and be honored at an awards ceremony.
This added benefit of the Charles Grossman Graduate Scholarship optimizes the award, giving future industry leaders a chance to prepare for the challenges that are present today and prepare them for the opportunities of tomorrow.
Each year two $10,000 USD scholarships are available to full time graduate students, who are also ICSC members and indicate a preference for a career in retail real estate. The recipients of these scholarships are known as ICSC Foundation Student Scholars.