Orr Fellowship expands to include partner companies in southwest Indiana
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Orr Fellowship, named for former Indiana Governor Bob Orr, is expanding to include partner companies in the Evansville region for the 2025-27 cohort. College students graduating by May 2025 can apply for two-year fellowships in southwest and central Indiana. The application deadline is Sept. 26.
“We wanted to continue to impact the state and find additional opportunities for these talented graduates coming out of these universities that were plugged into to find great jobs and build meaningful lives,” Steven Emch, president of Orr Fellowship, told Inside INdiana Business.
Pete Paradossi, president of the Evansville Regional Business Committee, said 15 businesses—including Old National Bank, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana, and Deaconess Health System—have signed on to offer fellowships to the inaugural class.
“We feel very optimistic about the number of businesses interested in supporting the Orr opportunity out of the blocks,” he said. “The success we have in year one will do nothing but enhance the number of businesses interested in year two.”
Orr Fellowship began in the Indianapolis area more than 20 years ago with a focus on tech companies and later expanded to include other types of businesses. The Evansville Regional Business Committee was behind the push to add southwest Indiana to the program.
“We put together a presentation, talked to the Orr board and convinced them that we’re willing to put our actions where our words are and create the environment that is going to be one that’s going to succeed,” said Paradossi.
About Orr Fellowship
Since 2001, more than 600 people have gone through the Orr Fellowship early career development program that pairs high-achievers with future-focused Hoosier businesses. Emch said most fellows remain in Indiana after the two-year stints.
“So you have a very robust and highly credible and qualified network that you’re getting straight out of college that’s tough to beat and build on your own. And we’ve cultivated that super intentionally across almost 25 years now,” he said.
The organization uses a four-step process to recruit, assess and match college graduates with empowered roles in evolving Indiana businesses.
“We host networking events for our partner companies where they can get to know each other and interact with each other, which is another key benefit because while we’re assessing the fellows; we also assess the companies to make sure it’s going to be a good fellow experience,” said Emch.
Currently, 120 fellows in the 2023-25 cohort work at more than 60 companies across central Indiana. At the end of the prior cohort, 66% of fellows received job offers and stayed at their partner companies while 84% remained in Indiana after their fellowships.
“That’s a high retention rate. If a business takes an Orr fellow, there’s a good chance the fellow is going to stay with the company beyond two years. It’s another avenue for businesses to attract high-quality candidates into their organization,” Paradossi said.
Integrating Southwest Indiana
Paradossi told Inside INdiana Business that the ERBC started a dialogue with Orr Fellowship a few years ago. The committee explained how southwest Indiana would be a great environment to expand into and flourish.
“Everybody’s fighting for talent around the country, not just Indiana,” said Paradossi. “We felt that what Orr was trying to do fit perfectly into what we were trying to do with Talent EVV, which is how do we attract talent and keep talent?”
The ERBC highlighted the Evansville area’s reputation for government, business and not-for-profit partnerships.
“That was a big selling point when we spoke to the board, that this isn’t going to get hung up in political issues or business-related issues. We came with a strong message about our whole regional philosophy around collaboration,” said Paradossi.
Emch said it was also fitting for Evansville to be the first Orr expansion since the city is the former governor’s hometown.
“Our founders—which were Bill Oesterle, Scott Brentron and Angie Hicks, the group of executives out of Angie’s List—intentionally called us the Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship, not the Governor Bob Orr Indianapolis Entrepreneurial Fellowship, because they thought the impact might one day be greater than just central Indiana. And so now feels like the right time,” he said.
Orr fellows
Emch said Orr fellows are exposed to more challenges and involved in more conversations than other career opportunities because of executive access to partner companies. This gateway to the C-suite attracts a unique type of student, according to Paradossi.
“It’s about the student that understands the value of leadership training earlier in their career and what that can do for them later in their career,” he said.
The program’s objective is to place fellows in positions where they’ll be responsible for meaningful work.
“We don’t necessarily want them placed in a corner just filing papers or plugging data into a spreadsheet. That might be part of a job, but we want them to be attached to business outcomes where they’re going to be challenged, and they’re going to be supported. But it’s going to push them, and they’re going to have to put the hours in to accomplish these tasks,” said Emch.
The post-undergrads also receive professional development resources and a support network from Orr Fellowship and its partner companies.
“The Business Leaders Speaker Series brings in local business leaders to share their stories and learnings with the fellows. We work with firms to do leadership and development coaching for them to grow as business leaders and managers of the future,” Emch said. “We have them work with nonprofits on consulting projects where they’ll support them on projects ranging anywhere from helping find a new executive director to volunteer engagement, fundraising, etc.”
Orr partner companies
When choosing partner companies, Orr Fellowship favors businesses with dynamic leadership teams that are looking past daily operations.
“Businesses that are thinking, what does the future of this business look like? What are the needs that are coming up? What does the future leadership bench look like? Where am I going to find future business unit leaders for this organization? How do I cultivate that talent? How do I find future high capacity, high talent for this organization that we can mold?” said Emch.
The program helps partner companies identify early career talent, which Emch said can be a challenge and a gamble.
“When somebody’s coming straight out of college, it can be tough to translate academic success to professional world success. Through our robust assessment process, we’re making sure we’re finding the best of the best and putting them in front of these organizations,” he said.
By offering Orr Fellowships, Paradossi believes Evansville area companies can share the opportunities that exist in southwest Indiana with colleges outside the immediate area.
“Expand it down to Murray [State University], expand it to Western Kentucky [University], expand it to the University of Southern Illinois. It expands the opportunity to bring high-quality students or graduates into the region,” he said.
How to apply
Interested college students can apply online for a 2025-27 Orr Fellowship in the Evansville and Indianapolis areas by September 26. Timelines for Central Indiana and Evansville Region action items and enrichment experiences can also be found online. Interested businesses can apply to become an Orr Fellowship partner company year-round. However, to be considered for the 2025-27 cohort, applications must be submitted in October.
While future Orr expansions in other parts of the state are possible, Emch said the current focus is on the southwest Indiana alliance.
“There’s obviously a lot of opportunity. There’s no shortage of need for talent in this great state, unfortunately. I wish that wasn’t the case, but it is. And we have had inbound inquiries already about potential. Right now, we are solely committed to making central Indiana and Evansville the best chapters they possibly can be before we start doing anything additional,” he said.