The funds will be used to establish the Ernst & Young Center for Career Advancement, which will provide career counseling and placement services to more than 1,300 students in CSUN's College of Business and Economics who are pursuing careers in accounting and information systems.

The center will offer advice and support specifically tailored to those students seeking careers in accounting and information systems, including career coaching, resume writing, interviewing and job-search skills training. It also will provide placement services, such as career days, on-campus interviews, an online job and resume database, a Web site and placement assistance in internships and full-time positions.

The Ernst & Young gift also will establish the Winter Accounting Internship Program, which will enable students to participate in a full-time internship during the school year. The program will allow participating students to continue to accumulate academic credits toward their degrees by funding faculty to teach them accelerated upper-division accounting classes.

"This takes CSUN's accounting and information systems program to a new level of excellence and significantly enhances our students' profile within the upper echelon of the accounting profession and business community," said college Dean William Jennings. "It is particularly meaningful to have CSUN alumni who are Ernst & Young professionals become stewards to the next generation, helping our students see first hand their own potential."

Last fall, CSUN's Department of Accounting and Information Systems, with a $150,000 grant from E&Y, launched a two-year community college outreach program to increase the diversity pipeline of accounting and information systems students at CSUN.

The university has 35,200 full- and part-time students.