Computer science students at George Mason University will benefit from a new donation by Deltek, the leading global provider of enterprise software and information solutions for project-based businesses, headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. A $100,000 investment from the company, establishing the Deltek Scholars Program, will provide scholarship support beginning in Fall 2022 to as many as eight graduate students pursuing their master’s degree in software engineering.
“We are honored that Deltek has chosen to invest in Mason students, and are eager to put these funds to use to advance our mutual goal of training a world-class tech workforce here in Northern Virginia,” said Mason President Gregory Washington.
The scholarship recipients can also gain access to internships at Deltek, networking and career-building opportunities, and funding for capstone projects. Recipients must be among the first generation in their family to attend college, thus contributing to the goal of bringing diverse talent to the tech workforce.
“Mason is a proven talent incubator for the Northern Virginia region,” said Mike Corkery, president and CEO of Deltek. “We’re looking forward to hosting interns from Mason, hiring more Mason graduates, and collaborating to advance Northern Virginia as a world leader in information technology.”
Deltek’s investment advances Mason’s participation in the Tech Talent Investment Program launched by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2019. That agreement calls for Mason to raise matching funds in order to receive up to $125 million in state funding to produce a cumulative total of more than 7,500 master’s graduates in technology fields by 2039.
Corkery is also a member of Mason’s President’s Innovation Advisory Council, made up of industry, community, and government leaders helping guide Mason’s initiative to spark further innovation centered in Arlington’s Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. On April 6, Mason will host the groundbreaking ceremony for a new, 345,000 square-foot innovation headquarters under construction on its Arlington Campus, now called Mason Square.
Deltek’s founder, the late Donald de Laski, was a board member and a leading supporter of George Mason University for many years. The de Laski Performing Arts Building on the university’s Fairfax Campus is named in honor of him and his wife, Kathleen.