MEDIA RELEASE

Ernst & Young LLP to Create Advancement Center for Accounting,
Information Systems Students at University

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Feb. 13, 2008) — Cal State Northridge alumni and friends of the university, all professionals from Ernst & Young LLP, will match a $500,000 gift the firm has made to CSUN’s College of Business and Economics. Through the gift and the $500,000 from Ernst & Young personnel, the university will receive in excess of $1 million over the next five years.

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.

"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."

The Ernst & Young Center for Career Advancement will offer advice and support specifically tailored to those students seeking careers in accounting and information systems. The Ernst & Young Center’s offerings will include career coaching, resume writing, interviewing and job-search skills training. It also will provide placement services, including career days, on-campus interviews, an online job and resume database as well as 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.

Further cementing the relationships between the professional services firm and the university, two Ernst & Young partners have agreed to teach tax and audit courses at CSUN. Additionally, the firm has committed to fund up to five "Ernst & Young Tax Fellows" at Cal State Northridge annually. The fellows will receive funding for their master’s degrees in taxation, as well as mentoring and additional scholarships.

"We are excited to provide CSUN with these critical resources," said Ernst & Young Vice Chair Peter Griffith. "We have been extremely happy with the quality of CSUN students and are looking forward to having even more of them join our firm in the years ahead."

Ernst & Young and its employees have a long relationship with the university. Last fall, CSUN’s Department of Accounting and Information Systems, with a $150,000 Community Engagement Initiative Grant from the professional services firm, launched a two-year community college outreach program to increase the diversity pipeline of accounting and information systems students at CSUN.

California State University, Northridge has more than 35,200 full- and part-time students and offers 62 bachelor’s and 50 master’s degrees as well as 28 teaching credential programs. Founded in 1958, CSUN is among the largest single-campus universities in the nation and the only four-year public university in the San Fernando Valley. The university serves as the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Valley and beyond.

Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to enhancing the public’s trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 130,000 employees in 140 countries pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism in providing a range of sophisticated services centered on our core competencies of auditing, accounting, tax and transactions. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited does not provide services to clients. Ernst & Young LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, is a U.S. client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.