Jewelers Mutual Pledges $10 Million for SCAD Bench Jeweler Education Program

Jewelers Mutual® Group announced a transformative $10 million, 10-year alliance with the Savannah College of Art and Design to support bench jeweler education, seeding the Bench Education Endowment (B.E.E.) and an annual scholarship program. The company’s newsroom posted the announcement on February 24, 2026 and PR Newswire distributed the release from Neenah, Wis. on February 25, 2026.

The endowment, referred to in coverage as the B.E.E. by Jewelers Mutual Endowed Scholarship fund, will fund annual scholarships and finance enhancements to academic programming and curriculum development at SCAD. Press materials and reporting specified upgrades to jewelry-making technology and equipment, expanded facilities to accommodate students, a naming gift to SCAD’s jewelry building, and initiatives to connect students with retailers, manufacturers, and designers for internships, apprenticeships, and permanent positions.

SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace framed the gift as a watershed moment for the school and the profession. “The future of jewelry just got brighter, thanks to this historic partnership between SCAD and Jewelers Mutual, which promises to transform the lives of so many Bees—and the entire jewelry profession, now growing four times faster than any other luxury sector,” Wallace said. “The biggest and best jewelry design program on the planet is now even better: with more elite resources and scholarships and more SCAD brilliance in the talent pipeline. The jewelry industry is in very good hands!”

Jewelers Mutual cast the commitment as part of a workforce development strategy intended to address a long-running bench-jeweler shortage; FashionUnited reported an industry estimate that “an estimated 4,000 bench jewelers are needed annually to maintain capacity.” Jewelers Mutual, founded in 1913 and described in its release as an insurer and business solutions provider dedicated to the jewelry industry, positions the B.E.E. as an impact investment to produce commercially ready graduates who can enter repair, fabrication, and restoration roles.

The announcement included an explicit enrollment goal: company materials and INSTOREMAG coverage referenced a stated aim to double SCAD’s jewelry program enrollment by 2030. Jewelers Mutual CEO Scott Murphy emphasized the human side of that strategy when he said, “Supporting the future of the jewelry industry means investing in the people who will sustain it. We are committed to helping close the bench-jeweler talent gap by supporting education that prepares students for real-world careers and strengthens the industry for generations to come.”

Visuals accompanying the distribution included a PRNewsfoto credit to Jewelers Mutual Group and a photo credit to Jessica VandenHouten on the company newsroom page; Rapaport captioned an image “Jewelry making at Savannah College of Art and Design. (Jewelers Mutual).” Over the next decade, the $10 million pledge will be judged by tangible results: scholarship awards, upgraded bench and digital equipment, named space at SCAD, and whether the program can measurably expand the pipeline of trained bench jewelers by 2030.