 
SLU Wins Ronald McNair Grant |
The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program will prepare 25 undergraduate students each year for post-graduate success and eventual teaching careers in higher education. The Ronald E. McNair program is named for the renowned physicist and astronaut killed in the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster. The grant is one of several federal TRIO programs that help students pursue higher education.
"This is great opportunity for Saint Louis University," said Provost Sandra Johnson. "This means so much to our pledge to create opportunities and open doors for our students. It also is an important recognition of our efforts."
The program will assist a variety of students: those who have low-incomes, those who are first-generation college students and those who are African-American, Hispanic, Native American or Alaskan native.
"Members of these groups are typically under-represented in American colleges and universities in graduate programs," said Assistant Provost Dr. Celerstine Johnson, director of the McNair program at SLU.
Through the McNair program, sophomore students will begin to receive faculty mentoring, help in preparing for the GRE, and assistance in applying to graduate schools and for financial aid. As juniors, they also can participate in intensive eight-week summer research projects, which pay a $2,800 stipend. Students will be tracked throughout their academic careers, even if they leave the University.
Saint Louis University's McNair program will strive to retain students in the program, promote academic excellence, provide research and publishing experience and sustain enrollment in post-graduate programs.
To be eligible for the program, a student must be at least a college sophomore and have a grade point average of 3.0 or better. Students also must show a commitment to pursuing a doctorate and then teaching on the college level.
In addition to serving as mentors, teachers are being asked to recruit promising students from their classrooms. Mentoring professors will be encouraged to stay in close contact with their students if they leave the University.
The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program gives Saint Louis University an important opportunity to influence higher education, said Sandra Johnson. With a greater representation of minority groups and first-generation college students, university faculties can grow in diversity.
"We want to make a mark on higher education in the United States," she said. "Winning the McNair grant is a real prize for Saint Louis University and its students."
For more information about the McNair program, call Mitchell Lee, program coordinator, at 977-2930.
  |