Rosemont Realty CEO Dan Burrell met with leaders of New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico this past spring to sign a memorandum of understanding outlining a partnership with the Rosemont Leadership Institute that will benefit New Mexico high school and college students.

The Rosemont Leadership Institute, a Santa Fe-based nonprofit organization founded by Burrell, is intended to increase the leadership capacity in New Mexico by better preparing students to compete in the global market place.

“Significantly improving high school graduation rates should be the number one strategic goal of New Mexico over the next decade,” Burrell says. “That is why I am launching Rosemont Leadership Institute, an innovative new program that in conjunction with our state’s two flagship universities, NMSU and UNM, will provide exceptional high school leaders from across New Mexico with the financial resources, global awareness and professional networks required to succeed in a competitive and knowledge-based economy.”

The MOU establishes a plan for NMSU and UNM to partner with the institute, which will launch in summer 2013 with its first class of 30 high school students, to be known as Rosemont Fellows.

The summer before their senior year of high school, the fellows will participate in leadership training sessions at both NMSU and UNM. After returning to their communities throughout the state, fellows will work through leadership challenges.

Following their graduation from high school, the Rosemont Fellows will receive a $25,000 scholarship. The scholarship will be spread over four years and require the students to maintain a 3.0 GPA, take at least one leadership course per year, belong to a student organization on campus, participate in a program to shadow a leader and mentor high school students who are following them in the program. In addition to their initial $750,000 investment for the first class of fellows, Rosemont indicated that it is committed to the program for the long term.

Rosemont Realty is a fully integrated market leader in commercial property acquisition and asset management operating in more than 28 states.