Early in the fall semester, Jimmy Chen took his Bucknell University students on a couple of field trips: to a distribution center for a major retailer and to a local grocer’s distribution center.

“I heard them talking about, ‘hey, I didn't know that there are so many other operations behind just a supermarket’ that they often went into,” says Chen, who has a background in supply management. “The logistics, the supply chain, the operations management, they don't really seem to understand things don't just pop up in the retail store.”

Chen says his role is to introduce the concepts of business analytics to his students in the management school, and to make sure his students know the retail industry needs people from different areas. To help his students appreciate all the opportunities, he encouraged Bucknell (a school of about 3,600 mostly undergraduates in the small town of Lewisburg, in the middle of Pennsylvania) to join the National Retail Federation as a university member.

“Having a tie with the NRF as a university member, the students will have more resources, more information regarding this industry for job openings,” Chen says. “My goal is to bring these career paths to our students, so they know they have many choices.”

Bucknell and other new university members Ball State University and SUNY Buffalo State are preparing now for small groups of their students to go to the NRF Foundation Student Program in New York City in January 2020.

More than 1,000 students from universities across the country attend the program, which features a career fair, mentoring opportunities with CEOs of retail’s top brands and “Tours and Talks” with industry leaders at signature store locations across NYC. 

Ball State is sending four to six students this year, says Audrey Robbins, who teaches apparel design and fashion merchandising at the university in Muncie, Indiana.

“They have been really excited about learning more about the industry and networking with other students that will be working in the industry with them,” Robbins says. “Being located in the Midwest, we’re a little bit remotely accessible to some of these larger companies or to meeting with other industry professionals.”

Robbins, who is the advisor for the school’s Fashion Merchandising Association, says she advocated for Ball State to become a member after a couple of their students independently attended the NRF Foundation Student Program and returned to campus and told other students and professors about what they experienced.

She sees the NRF Foundation Student Program as a way for students to build on core concepts from the classroom.

“It gives real-world working examples of people in the industry who actually perform those functions, so it’s nice for them to have just an additional perspective they really didn’t get before we were members,” Robbins says.

The students at Ball State organized their own fundraising to pay for the $1,000 membership dues.

“It really pays for itself if you participate in the offerings,” Robbins says. “You make up for the cost of the membership by attending the event, between the faculty ticket and the reduced student rate as a member to attend.”

Universities can immediately see the value with the NRF Foundation Rising Stars Scholarship, which provides a $1,000 stipend for one freshman or sophomore from every member school to get to NYC for the program.

“The Rising Stars Scholarship is a fantastic opportunity to expose underclassmen to the vast career opportunities available in the retail industry,” says Annalea Soudry-Maurer, who coordinates scholarships and university relations for the NRF Foundation.  “The travel stipend allows students to attend the NRF Foundation Student Program at pivotal points in their academic careers, when key decisions on fields of study, internships and extracurriculars can still be made.”

All students at university member schools – not just students in a specific program or major – get access to a discounted rate to attend the NRF Foundation Student Program and the chance to apply for scholarships.

Universities that join as members in November will have time to select a Rising Star scholarship recipient by the Nov. 29 deadline. They’ll also get a free pass for an educator to attend the NRF Foundation Student Program and NRF 2020 Vision: Retail’s Big Show.

“I really need to know how to educate our students for the future because the whole industry is changing so quickly,” says SUNY Buffalo State professor Keunyoung Oh.  “The things we’ve been teaching in school I believe are soon outdated, so I really want to find new ways to revive the whole program through the NRF Foundation.”

Oh chairs the fashion and textile technology department at Buffalo State, the only university in the State University of New York system with a standalone fashion program. She’s using her school’s new membership to make sure they’re teaching the skills their students need to be prepared for the workforce.

She says about half of their fashion majors are from New York City and they want to return there to pursue their career after graduation. To do that, Oh knows they need to build networks with industry professionals and get experience while they’re students.

“Our students are very passionate about what they like, and we try to teach students up-to-date technology as well as fashion fundamentals,” Oh says. “But nowadays it is very hard for them to get a really nice, well-established fashion internship placement while they are in school.”

She says the NRF membership will help her re-establish an internship program to provide more opportunities for fashion students to start their careers. 

Oh also sees the benefits of the membership for students in all majors across campus. As the “retailing industry is turning into more of a tech industry,” Oh explains, all students have the potential to find their career in retail. 

There’s still time for universities to join as new members and make plans to attend the upcoming NRF Foundation Student Program, and Soudry-Maurer with the Foundation explains that any time is a great time for a university to join because of the year-round benefits of membership. The competition for the biggest dollar scholarships – Next Generation and Student Challenge – starts in early spring, so a university that joins now will be ready for their students to enter those competitions. Member-exclusive content, research and industry news are among the resources available throughout the year, along with recognition that the school is a top source for the next generation of talent.

More than 85 schools from across the country are NRF University Members. Educators can apply online to join the growing list of schools who have partnered with the world’s largest trade organization to help students launch their careers in retail.

Questions about university membership? Email Soudry-Maurera@nrf.com or call 202-626-8199.