Michael McSurdy, vice president of program services for the Oasis Center, which helps more than 3,000 young people and their families in the greater-Nashville area every year, is this year’s recipient of a full tuition sponsorship to the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management Executive MBA program. The award is financed by Owen and a winner is chosen through a partnership with the Center for Nonprofit Management.
Owen and the Center for Nonprofit Management launched the program last year, offering tuition to one executive or senior staff member of a Middle Tennessee 501(c)3 organization per year to enable nonprofit executives to earn an MBA at Vanderbilt. The sponsorship will pay tuition for the full 21-month program and is valued at about $77,000.
McSurdy said he takes a unique approach to his job at the Oasis Center. He’s not only responsible for all programs; he helps create avenues to empower young people, so they can help themselves. Right now McSurdy and the Oasis Center staff are focusing on five main programs: crisis services, such as a hotline and youth emergency shelter; transitional living services to homeless children and teenagers exiting foster care; counseling services for children and their families; youth leadership development training through civic programs, volunteerism, and AmeriCorps; and prevention services.
“These programs do more than deal with the surface problems, they help kids create positive change in their lives,” said McSurdy. “We need to change the cycle of despair in these children’s lives and Oasis helps do just that.”
McSurdy started his career as a therapist in the Metro-Nashville mental health system. “I found that children and families, who are the ones most in need of support, had the fewest resources and opportunities for participation,” said McSurdy.
McSurdy is dedicated to, among other concerns, bettering child welfare. He was a consultant and program director at the University of Tennessee, then a director of foster care services for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. He organized the first Tennessee Youth Advisory Council, which is a council of young people from the foster care system, and he developed a statewide newsletter for kids in foster care.
McSurdy is a former president of the Davidson County Child Sexual Abuse Council and has also been elected to the executive committees of the National Foster Care Association and National Association of Foster Care Directors. He is also a member of the Foster Care Review Board and the Executive Board of the Southeastern Network for Youth Services.
“Michael has found unique ways to help Nashville’s most vulnerable children and empower them to become vibrant, successful adults,” said Lewis Lavine, president of the Center for Nonprofit Management. “This sponsorship will help him gain valuable tools to enhance his nonprofit career.”
“We’re confident a Vanderbilt Executive MBA will help Michael better serve those who need his help the most. That’s what makes this program so worthwhile,” said Jim Bradford, dean of the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management.
Tami Fassinger, the associate dean of executive programs at Owen, said McSurdy’s energy and enthusiasm toward helping disadvantaged kids is contagious.
“Michael also sees the clear value a business education could bring to make Oasis a more effective nonprofit and that’s why he’s a perfect candidate for this sponsorship,” said Fassinger.
McSurdy said nonprofits need to have a business mindset.
“Sound financial management is crucial for the survival and the growth of any nonprofit. Funders must be impressed by an agency’s attention to the financial impact of decisions related to program expansion, mergers and endowment management,” said McSurdy. “That’s why an Owen business degree will be so beneficial. And ultimately, good business decisions will help the children who need it most.”
McSurdy and all the candidates for the sponsorship met the rigorous standards set for students admitted into Owen’s EMBA program. Before applying for the tuition sponsorship, the candidates took the GMAT, provided transcripts and went through the application and interview process. Those admitted to the EMBA program were then considered for the tuition sponsorship by a selection committee.
The first recipient of the tuition sponsorship was Robyn Minton, director of the YWCA’s Domestic Violence Services program.
The Center for Nonprofit Management is an organization committed to helping advance Middle Tennessee nonprofits by providing education, consulting, research, performance evaluation and recognition. The Center was established 20 years ago and currently has more than 600 member agencies.
The Executive MBA program at the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management is considered one of the worlds’ premier programs. BusinessWeek rated the Vanderbilt Executive MBA program no. 3 in strategy and no. 24 overall in its most recent rankings. The Owen EMBA program, which began almost 30 years ago, meets on the Vanderbilt campus on alternate weekends, so professionals can earn their degrees without interrupting their careers.
“This sponsorship is just one of the many programs that helps bring Vanderbilt and the greater-Nashville community together and we are thrilled to be a part of it,” said Bradford.
For more news about the Owen School, visit www.owen.vanderbilt.edu. For more on Vanderbilt, visit VUCast – Vanderbilt’s News Network at www.vanderbilt.edu/news.
Media Contact: Amy Wolf, (615) 322-NEWS
amy.wolf@vanderbilt.edu