ServiceNow Invests $1 Million to Establish A SOFTWARE Academy Partnership at Benedict College

Benedict College announced a $1 Million investment from ServiceNow to establish a SOFTWARE Academy partnership program. The strategic collaboration will equip traditionally underrepresented students with the digital skills needed in today’s workforce.

“Our partnership with ServiceNow presents a tremendous opportunity for Benedict students, who will soon join the skilled workforce driving our nation’s economy,” said Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, president and CEO of Benedict College. “Benedict College is at the forefront of fueling education and innovation in STEM, and our efforts are in lockstep with ServiceNow’s goals to bridge the widening digital skills gap and grow a more diverse workforce. We applaud ServiceNow’s leadership in creating invaluable exposure to the tech ecosystem and establishing critical college-to-corporate pathways for underrepresented talent.”

The partnership will provide access to technology and resources which will include a state-of-the-art ServiceNow Tech Center, scholarships for Benedict students, internship opportunities, a ServiceNow Tech Scholars Program that focuses on success in the tech sector, and a ServiceNow NextGen Academy - a two-month program designed to help participants actively take part in the digital economy and move directly into employment.

The ServiceNow Tech Scholars program will equip students at Benedict College and other South Carolina HBCUs with technology skills that will prepare them potential careers at ServiceNow or the broader technology industry. All Tech Scholars will have the opportunity to meet with a ServiceNow adviser, visit the ServiceNow headquarters in Santa Clara, California, and apply for internships at ServiceNow. Recent South Carolina HBCU graduates and former students will have the opportunity to apply for the ServiceNow NexGen Academy.

“Embedding diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the fabric of everything we do at ServiceNow is essential to who we are as a company, how we grow, and how we innovate,” says Cheick Camara, senior director of platform engineering at ServiceNow. “HBCUs have impressive graduate rates in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and there is an incredible amount of HBCU-produced talent that often goes overlooked or untapped. ServiceNow is the defining enterprise software company of the 21st century and this partnership, among others, will help us continue to ensure a more diverse workforce.”

ServiceNow is a software company based in Santa Clara, California that develops a cloud computing platform to help companies manage digital workflows for enterprise operations. The tech company is committed to strengthening its relationship with HBCUs and harnessing the outpouring of diverse talent. The partnership with Benedict College will provide ServiceNow the opportunity to expand its diverse workforce pipeline across the ServiceNow ecosystem.

About Benedict College

Founded in 1870 by a woman, Bathsheba A. Benedict, Benedict College is a private co-educational liberal arts institution, offering 26 competitive baccalaureate degree programs. The Midlands HBCU welcomes students from all 46 counties in South Carolina, 30 states across America, and 26 countries around the world.

Benedict offers several high-demand fields of study in STEM, Cyber Security, Mass Communication, Sport Management, Business Administration, Engineering, Computer Science, Biology, and Education. The College also has a diverse faculty and importantly, 80 percent of courses are taught by full-time faculty.

Over the past ten years, three out of five Benedict College graduates have attended professional or graduate schools. There are over 18,000 proud Benedict Tigers throughout the nation. Benedict College has been a community leader for over 150-years and is a significant contributor to South Carolina and the region. Contributing $130 million and 1,218 jobs in total local and annual economic impact, a Benedict graduate working full-time throughout his or her working life can expect to earn $1.1 million in additional income because of their Benedict College degree.

The College made front-page news in the spring of 2018 when it became the first South Carolina college to lower its tuition by 26 percent. Cutting tuition drew praise from the Commission on Higher Education, South Carolina’s education oversight body. The commissioner noted that the move Benedict College made should be applauded because it offers families affordability and students greater access to higher education.

Benedict College has been highly regarded and exceptionally ranked for its programs by several academic and traditional publications.  For example, Benedict College was ranked as one of the top baccalaureate colleges in the nation by Washington Monthly magazine for creating social mobility and producing cutting-edge scholarship and research.  In 2019, Benedict College received the 2019 ACE/ Fidelity Investments Awards for Institutional Transformation and was named the HBCU of the Year by HBCU Digest.

Benedict College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and masters degrees. Five of the College’s degree programs hold national accreditation: The School of Education, Social Work, Environmental Health Science, Arts and Sciences and the Tyrone Adam Burroughs School of Business and Entrepreneurship.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is the fastest-growing enterprise cloud software company in the world above $1 billion. Founded in 2004 with the goal of making work easier for people, ServiceNow is making the world of work, work better for people. Our cloud-based platform ad solutions deliver digital workflows that create great experiences and unlock productivity for more than 6,200 enterprise customers worldwide, including approximately 80% of the Fortune 500. For more information, visit www.servicenow.com.