Stephen F. Fry Business Scholars Program

Education, Leadership, and Service

Program Overview

The Stephen F. Fry Scholars Program is a premier immersive experience in the School of Business for qualified incoming undergraduate freshmen who are exceptional scholars that have demonstrated leadership through service.

With gratitude for the generosity of alumnus and Board of Trustee Stephen F. Fry, the Stephen F. Fry Scholars Program awards four-year, renewable scholarships to each Fry Scholar that include:

  • $5,000 per year, $20,000 total University of Indianapolis tuition scholarship

  • Funding for extracurricular activities for educational business and service learning opportunities.  Students will be able to participate in national conferences, case competitions, experiential learning, internships and other immersive experiences, individually mentored by alumni and other community leaders.

  • Opportunities to participate in mentoring, work internship, and leadership speaker series that will further develop each student.

The Stephen F. Fry Scholars Program develops students who showcase leadership, lifelong learning, technical aptitude, community and global awareness, and professionalism challenging them to the highest standard of excellence through the program. Scholars will learn the principles of constant learning, serving and leading, not only in business environments, but also in their communities.

  • Minimum 3.20 GPA
  • Resident of the U.S.
  • High school senior
  • Seeking a bachelor's degree
  • Studying business
  • Planning to attend the University of Indianapolis 
  • Participation in community service or leadership
  • Participation in Case Competition
  • Invitation only

The following are the minimum Program application requirements.

The applicant must be:

  • A 2025 high school graduate
  • A declared business major on their submitted application to the University of Indianapolis
  • Invited to apply to the University of Indianapolis Fry Scholars Program via Case Competition & follow up steps outlined below:
    • Upon invitation, applicants must submit the Fry Scholars Program Agreement

About the Scholarship

The Stephen F. Fry Scholars Program provides educational support to exceptional students planning to study business at the University of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, IN. High school seniors who have demonstrated excellence academically and demonstrate leadership and service are invited to apply.

  • essay-required: no
  • need-based: no
  • merit-based: yes

The Stephen F. Fry Scholars Program offers a renewable scholarship for outstanding students who are qualified and invited following a case competition, regardless of family or economic situation. It covers University of Indianapolis tuition for four years. 

The scholarship also provides stipends for travel and funds a majority of the leadership and service experiences within the Program.

Fry Scholars will:

  • Receive academic funding to be used towards tuition expenses
  • Learn from local and national business leaders and the companies they run
  • Lead within the School of Business
  • Provide service within the communities where we serve

Fry Scholars Program Events

  • School of Business Case Competition: February 16, 2025
    Scholars will be chosen amongst those competing for the UIndy School of Business Case Competition. There will be a group and individual component of the event including an interview process. The top candidates from this case competition will be invited into the Fry Scholars Program. In Fall of 2025, we will be inviting 4 Fry Scholars into the program. The UIndy School of Business Case Competition is a day-long competition where students compete by building out a business case and strategy and subsequently presenting their work as a team and individually throughout the course of the day. Judges will judge each group, but also judge the students individually for their contributions as we select the top candidates for this scholars program.
  • Day of Service
  • Speakers
  • Special Events the Scholars Plan

Scholar Agreement

Each Scholar will complete a participation agreement outlining their commitments to the program.  

This will include commitments in the following areas:

  • Maintain academic standing of at least a 3.2 GPA while in the Program
  • Participate in ALL Fry Scholars Activities:
    • Monthly-Service
    • Monthly-Leadership
    • Monthly-Mentorship and Planning
  • Showcase leadership through various initiatives that the group will define and pursue
  • Participate in ALL Fry Scholars service-learning opportunities

This agreement will be executed annually, but renewable for up to four years to mirror the scholarship term.

Fry Scholars Purpose & Mission

At the UIndy School of Business, the Fry Scholars are at the intersection of three key tenets: Education, Leadership, and Service. These tenets will be core philosophies of building new business leaders within our programs.

Excellence in academics is a key area the scholars will be required to maintain. Additionally, the students will have opportunities to learn in various environments to be able to apply their course learning to their specific path within the School of Business.

The scholars will meet on a regular basis with the Director of the program. This regular meeting will become a mechanism for mentorship, learning, sharing, and planning for the service and leadership development the team will pursue each year. The initiatives will largely be driven by the scholars with supervision by their director. The scholars will have opportunities to meet with businesses, business leaders, and a variety of guest speakers to ensure they have a clear picture of the business world as it is today. They will also gain skills like professionalism, networking, etiquette, and communication.

Each year Fry Scholars will participate in onsite business visits in the local and out-of-state areas with organizations like: Eli Lilly, OneAmerica, Roche, Fastenal, among others. They will be challenged to understand those businesses and ask questions. This will enable the students to begin to build relationships within the business community that could turn into internships and future jobs.

The Fry Program exists to build leaders in our community. This will be achieved through a variety of activities, speaking events, and internships where students will be able to apply their knowledge and prepare for their career through the course of their time at UIndy.

Students will have opportunities at local companies such as:

  • Allison Transmissions
  • Lilly
  • OneAmerica
  • Fastenal
  • Roche
  • Goodwill

We are actively seeking business partners both locally and nationally that we can work with, learn from, and potentially visit onsite. Please contact us at fryscholarsprogram@uindy.edu for more information and to get started.

At UIndy, "Service for Learning" is a key philosophy and part of our mission. Our Fry Scholars will participate in service learning projects where they will be able to apply skills and leadership tools they are learning, but also learn about the impact they can make within the communities they serve.

Each year, the Fry Scholars will work to determine the organizations they will partner with to accomplish this learning. From there, they will build a plan to engage and provide service on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

About Stephen F. Fry

Stephen F. Fry headshot

Stephen F. Fry ’87 (computer information systems)

He has served on the UIndy Board of Trustees since 2013 and is currently the senior vice president of human resources and diversity for Eli Lilly and Company. Steve began his career at Eli Lilly in 1987 after completing an internship that he secured with the help of a UIndy School of Business faculty member. As a first-generation college graduate, Steve is dedicated to continuing the transformational opportunities he received for both current and future students.

Contact

For more information, please contact the Director of the Fry Scholars Program, Carissa Newton at fryscholarsprogram@uindy.edu and 317-788-3316.
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