Fellowship Establishing a Southwest Indiana Chapter in Partnership with Evansville Regional Business Committee

Program set to launch in fall of 2024, hosting 15-20 fellows in year one

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (February 21, 2024)  –  Orr Fellowship, a premier two-year post-graduate program for entrepreneurial and business-minded young professionals, is putting down roots in the Evansville region.

Founded in 2001, Orr Fellowship recruits rising college seniors from across the nation and matches them with dynamic companies and executives for a two-year fellowship program. The program is focused on developing these high-potential graduates as the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs. To date, 550 aspiring business leaders have completed a fellowship since the organization’s inception, with 150 Fellows currently in the program.

In partnership with the Evansville Regional Business Committee (ERBC) and the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (E-REP), Orr Fellowship has taken a significant step toward deepening its impact across the state of Indiana by expanding to the Evansville region.  This is the Orr Fellowship’s first expansion outside of central Indiana.

“We’re thrilled to be taking this next step in our organization’s growth and impact on the great state of Indiana. We’ve been focused on recruiting and developing the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs since 2001 and we now have the opportunity to broaden that impact, by starting our first chapter outside of the Indianapolis area. A chapter in the Evansville region never would have been possible without the great partnership of ERBC and E-REP,” said Steven Emch, President of Orr Fellowship.

“I know first-hand the tremendous impact that Orr Fellowship has had on attracting and developing early career talent in Central Indiana,” said James Ryan, Chairman and CEO, Old National Bank and Vice Chairman, Evansville Regional Business Committee. “Expanding Orr Fellowship to the Evansville Region will certainly help shape the future leaders of the region.”

“Orr Fellowship is the premier post undergraduate experience in the nation,” said Lloyd Winnecke, CEO, Evansville Regional Economic Partnership.  “It aligns perfectly with our Talent EVV goal to grow our young adult population.”

Orr Fellowship will begin accepting applications in both the Indianapolis and Evansville regions for Fellows and partner companies in the fall of 2024. The Evansville Region chapter will welcome its inaugural class in June of 2025.