At Duquesne University’s Palumbo-Donahue School of Business, corporate partnerships do more than connect students with employers. They bring business education to life.
Through the School’s Corporate and Community Partner Program, students gain access to organizations that help expand what is possible in the classroom, in their careers and in the communities they will serve. These relationships support a signature approach to business education rooted in experience, professional preparation and purpose.
A Growing Network
The School has long drawn on Pittsburgh’s business community and Duquesne’s alumni network to connect students with real-world learning opportunities. That work reached a new milestone in 2020, when EY partnered with the First-Year Innovation Experience and helped lay the groundwork for a more formal corporate engagement model.
In 2021, the School formalized the Corporate and Community Partner Program with founding partners Wesco International and MSA Safety. By 2026, the program had grown from two partners to nearly 30 corporate and community organizations.
That growth reflects the School’s reputation as a trusted partner in business education. Employers invest in Duquesne because they see value in its students, faculty and hands-on approach to learning. In return, students gain access to meaningful professional experiences, expanded networks and a clearer understanding of how their education connects to the world of work.
Partners in Student Success
Today, organizations can partner with the School as a whole or align with one of its nationally recognized centers and institutes. Corporate and community support helps advance scholarships, student competitions, experiential learning, technology and personnel. Many partnerships also provide ongoing support for the Center for Excellence in Supply Chain Management, the Center for Leadership in Professional Selling, the Investment Strategy Institute and the Small Business Development Center.
Each partnership is tailored to meet an organization’s goals while creating meaningful opportunities for students. Through tiered sponsorship levels, companies can participate in recruiting events, networking opportunities, classroom engagement and thought leadership initiatives while increasing their visibility across the School.
The School’s growing partner network includes global organizations such as EY, Howmet Aerospace, Kraft Heinz, Northwestern Mutual, U. S. Steel and Wesco International, as well as regional and national leaders including Ally Financial, Dollar Bank, enGen, Excelitas Technologies, Federated Hermes, First Commonwealth Bank, MSA Safety, SC&H and Schneider Downs.
Career Pathways With Purpose
The greatest measure of the program’s success is its impact on students.
These partnerships have helped open doors to internships and careers with organizations including JPMorgan Private Bank, SpaceX, The Walt Disney Company, BNY, EY, PNC Bank, PPG and others. Wesco alone has hired more than 100 Duquesne graduates. Ally Financial recently reported that half of its internship class came through its engagement with the Center for Leadership in Professional Selling, with two Duquesne students earning positions in DRIVE, the company’s highly competitive two-year rotational leadership program that selects just six participants nationwide.
Corporate partners also play an important role in the School’s Cornerstone-to-Capstone experiential learning model. Every business student completes multiple client-based consulting projects, developing solutions to real business challenges and presenting their work directly to industry professionals.
For students, the result is more than career preparation. It is confidence. It is connection. It is the ability to enter the workplace prepared to contribute from day one.
Together, the School and its corporate and community partners are opening doors, building career pathways and bringing the Business of Difference Making® to life for Duquesne business students.
Become a Corporate and Community Partner
Learn how your organization can support student success while building meaningful connections with the School of Business. To learn more about partnership opportunities, contact Martin Black, Director of Corporate Relations.
