McNair program receives funding

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Students will keep getting guidance on their way to graduate schools, thanks to the Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program.

The McNair program, which targets juniors and seniors who meet the selection criteria and are interested in attending graduate school, recently received renewed federal funding, getting $220,000 each year for the next four years. The financing will help fund a series of workshops on topics related to research, teaching, writing and conference presentation skills. Scholars also receive a summer living allowance and travel support to help fund attendance at required conferences and graduate school visits.

McNair Program Coordinator Lynn Curry said she wants to explain to interested students the benefits of becoming a McNair scholar and how the program can make the transition to graduate school easier.

“Students who are selected would begin during the spring of their junior year, go through an intensive summer research program and then use their senior year to apply to graduate school,” Curry said. “Our goal is to get them excited and to help them see the reality of being able to achieve their goal of attending graduate school.”

Selection criteria for the program, which was named after one of the astronauts who died in the 1986 Challenger space shuttle explosion, focuses on top achievers who are from low-income households and the first in their families to attend college. It also helps students from traditionally underrepresented groups. The program has existed for six years at CMU and at least 49 students have completed the program.

Each CMU scholar will be paired with a faculty research mentor and a graduate student. The faculty research mentor supervises learning and research, while the graduate student will assist with peer mentoring.

“A student studying political science will be paired with a political science adviser who is actively researching within the field. That way that student can learn about the research process,” Curry said.

Melissa Strong, Auburn Hills senior and McNair scholar, said the McNair program helped her choose a field in which she can succeed.

“I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do and after going through the McNair program, I know what I want to do and I know I can do it,” she said. “The program really shows you what a graduate degree is all about and how to further pursue the degree correctly.”

Students who are interested can attend an informational meeting at 5 p.m. today in Grawn Hall’s Pierpont Auditorium.

Applications will be accepted until Oct. 6 and can be picked up in Foust 250 or online at www.mcnair.cmich.edu.

For more information call the McNair office at 774-1364.