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UD’s McNair program sets the pace nationwide 4:46 p.m., Dec. 9, 2005--The University of Delaware’s Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program continues to enjoy the highest success rate in America among similar programs, according to a recent U.S. Department of Education report. Named for Ronald E. McNair, an African-American astronaut who died in the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle in 1986, the UD program is among 179 nationwide helping students from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds get into graduate programs of their choice and obtain funding. The University Undergraduate Scholars program is modeled on the McNair program. The report profiles McNair program achievements nationwide and in Region III, which includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, and covers the years 1997-98 through 2001-02. Originally funded in 1999 by a four-year U.S. Department of Education grant, the McNair program at UD has achieved a 100 percent success rate for student who have applied for and been accepted to graduate school. This compares to a 22.5 percent acceptance rate nationwide and a 20.6 percent among grantee institutions in Region III. “The University of Delaware’s McNair Scholars Program has set and sustained the highest standard of success in the nation, and the University Undergraduate Scholars program was created to enable more UD students to prepare for graduate study,” Provost Dan Rich said. “The University is proud of the continuing success of the students in matriculating for graduate study.” The 100 percent rate of McNair scholars at UD enrolling in graduate study compares to a 12.1 percent enrollment rate nationwide and a 9.9 percent rate among Region III grantees. “UD McNair Scholars are impacting higher education and the community through research, academic success and civic engagement,” Maria Palacas, director of the McNair Scholars and University Undergraduate Scholars programs at UD, said. “Our scholars truly reflect the spirit of excellence that marked the program’s namesake, Dr. Ronald E. McNair.” McNair scholars also have earned a 100 percent rate of persistence in graduate study among Region III cohorts. Nationwide, 77.3 percent of McNair program participants persisted in graduate study compared to 77.2 percent among their Region III cohorts. The McNair program at UD also has garnered individual and group honors. Simone Delerme, a McNair scholar from Wilmington, won a prestigious Truman Scholarship. The $30,000, merit-based award for graduate study recognizes college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to public service careers. The McNair program at UD also received the University’s 2003 Louis Lorenzo Redding Diversity Award. Named for the late civil rights attorney and the first African American to be admitted to the Delaware bar, the award is given annually to a UD individual, unit, department or organization that promotes, enhances and implements diversity that results in a significant change in the campus climate. In recognition of this success, the McNair program at UD received an additional five-year, $1.1 million grant in 2003 that continues to support a number of students in a variety of McNair programs, including a summer internship program geared towards simulating the graduate school experience. “The UD McNair program has been so successful that the University has added funding through the Undergraduate Scholars Program to enable more students to participate in the experience,” Rich said. The McNair report was prepared for the U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education Federal TRIO Programs 2005 by the American Institutes for Research. The Federal TRIO programs are educational opportunity outreach programs designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Article by Jerry Rhodes |
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