The University has received a McNair grant of $220,000 per year for the next four years. The grant, established by the U.S. Department of Education, will be used to help first-generation college students, and students from under-represented minority groups, pursue and prepare for post-graduate study. The program will also include a series of presentations to give students exposure to high-level research projects. The McNair program was established to honor Dr. Ronald E. McNair, an African-American physicist and astronaut who was killed in the Challenger disaster.
The program will classify students under two categories, according to class year. McNair Fellows will be juniors and seniors who do research with a faculty mentor, and then present their work at professional conferences. The Fellowship program prepares University students to go on to graduate school for academic study, but not for professional training. The program also provides academic support to these Fellows. Freshmen and sophomores will be eligible for the McNair Scholars program, which assist in helping them become Fellows.
Laurel F. Appel, director of the University’s McNair program, said she is very happy to have received the grant this year, adding that these Scholars and Fellows benefit “close-knit group of peers to work with, who share common goals, and understand what their peers are going through.”
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