Atwater Brewery, a craft brewery partner of Molson Coors, announced a $50,000 donation to Michigan State University on Nov. 16, 2022, to create an endowed scholarship program known as the Atwater Brewery Student Scholarship.
The endowment is funded by Molson Coors’ Tenth & Blake Brewing Education Scholarship Fund which seeks to address the lack of diversity in the craft industry. Scholarship recipients will have an opportunity to work full-time, paid internships at Atwater Brewery in Detroit, Michigan.
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“Diversifying the craft beer industry is an integral part of our mission and values,” said Katy McBrady, president of Atwater Brewery. “Providing financial support and career opportunities to the next generation of diverse craft brewers is an essential component to creating a more inclusive industry.”
The beverage science and technology minor provides students with fundamental knowledge of the production of fermented beverages. Nicole Shriner, a teaching specialist in the College of Engineering Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, teaches the core beverage minor courses and leads the Fermented Beverage Technology program and analysis lab at MSU.
“The Atwater Brewing Student Scholarship is an exciting opportunity for our future Spartans who are interested in pursuing careers in brewing sciences,” she said. “I am grateful to Molson Coors and Atwater Brewery for connecting with Michigan State in this way and excited to further this industry partnership.”
To be considered for this scholarship, applicants must be an MSU undergraduate student enrolled in the beverage science and technology minor under the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Special consideration will be given to ensure the scholarship supports the university’s stated mission of building and supporting a culture of diversity and inclusion.
“We are immensely grateful to Molson Coors for providing our students with the opportunity to advance their knowledge of the craft beer industry with an internship at Atwater Brewery,” said Leslie Bourquin, professor and chair of the MSU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. “The Atwater Brewery Student Scholarship fund will help MSU provide our diverse students with life-changing career opportunities, which further reinforces our mission to promote inclusion on our campus.”
The Tenth & Blake Brewing Education Scholarship Fund seeks to address the lack of diversity in the craft beer industry. According to a 2021 survey released by the Brewers Associations, 93.5 percent of brewery owners who responded were white, while 2.2 percent were Hispanic, 2 percent were Asian and 0.4 percent were Black. For gender, 75.6 percent of respondents were male, 23.7 percent were female and 0.2 percent were listed as non-binary/third gender.
The donation is part of Molson Coors’ larger Project Justice initiative and recent $1.5 million investment in creating equitable access to higher education, economic opportunity, and social justice for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) communities, bringing its total cumulative investment to $4.5 million since 2020.
Beyond Project Justice and its Tenth and Blake Brewing Education Scholarship Fund, Molson Coors’ social impact initiatives partner with organizations that aim to improve livelihoods, build resilient communities and empower the next generation of diverse leaders.
Story courtesy of the MSU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition.