Event celebrates 60 years of the Scholarship Fund and highlights its transformative impact on students' careers.
On November 4, 2025, FGV EAESP celebrated the 60th anniversary of its Scholarship Fund , a milestone recognizing six decades of contribution to the training of leaders and the expansion of academic opportunities. The ceremony brought together students, alumni, faculty, and donors, highlighting inspiring stories and the social impact of the program over time.
Created in 1965 by Decree No. 5 of the Getulio Vargas Foundation , signed by Luiz Simões Lopes, the Scholarship Fund was a pioneer in the country in offering educational credit to students admitted to undergraduate programs but with financial constraints. Since then, it has become one of the pillars of the school's inclusion policy.
During the celebration, professors Roberto Carvalho Cardoso , volunteer president of the Advisory Committee between 1975 and 2010, and Arthur Ridolfo Neto , the current volunteer president, were honored. In his speech, Roberto Cardoso recalled that the Fund's model inspired national public policies: "Former Minister Paulo Renato Souza visited the school to learn about the Scholarship Fund model and apply it in the federal government," an initiative that would later become consolidated as FIES (Student Financing Fund).
The data presented by Camila Cheibub Figueiredo , Alumni Coordinator at FGV EAESP, highlighted the program's growth trajectory. In 1968, three years after its creation, the Fund reached 630 students. Since then, more than 25,000 benefits have been granted to students with proven economic need.
Testimonials from former students also marked the event. Nicole Lins (CGAP 2023) highlighted that the support she received transformed not only her professional trajectory but also that of her family. Eduardo Gonçalves Silva (CGAE 2024) emphasized the program's role in reducing inequalities, stating that the Fund "has the power to break the perpetuity of poverty" by expanding access to excellent education.
The program also included a lecture by Rodrigo Hübner Mendes (CGAE 1998 / CMAE 2005) , founder of the Rodrigo Mendes Institute. He discussed how plasticity, the ability to adapt to the unexpected, can transform adversity into opportunities, relating the concept to the stories of overcoming challenges made possible by the Scholarship Fund over six decades.
Throughout its history, the Fund has also benefited from special contributions from alumni and partners, which have broadened the reach of scholarships and enabled international opportunities and social mobility. These include the support of Vitor Ornelas , which made possible the exchange program of student Marcos Maximiano at Babson College; the donation from Lourdes Liske , intended to benefit female scholarship students; and the contribution of Flavia Buarque de Almeida , who supported the trajectory of Livia Gomes Lima (CGAP 2025) .
SOMA FGV and the Partners Club expressed their gratitude to the more than 10,000 donors who contributed to the continuity and expansion of the Fund over the past 60 years. The stories gathered demonstrate, in a concrete way, the impact of student support initiatives on building academic and professional trajectories.
Learn more:
Education Transforms
Scholarships: Lourdes Liske
Scholarships - Donations to the Scholarship Fund
