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CMU's McNair Scholars Program receives five-year funding from U.S. Department of Education
CMU’s program receives $1.1 million despite cutbacks to other universities
February 28, 2013 —
Central Michigan University’s McNair Scholars Program was recently awarded more than $1.1 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The five-year funding agreement comes on the heels of news that more than 50 McNair Scholars Programs are being cut across the nation due to reduced federal funds.
The McNair Scholars Program, named in honor of astronaut Ronald E. McNair who died as a result of the explosion on space shuttle Challenger in 1986, works to assist low income, first generation and underrepresented college students in pursuing their doctorate degrees. Since CMU’s inaugural class in 1999, the program has served more than 140 students.
“It takes a certain kind of student to be a McNair scholar,” says Ruth senior Jennifer Messing, who joined the McNair program in 2011. “If you’re the type of person that thrives on being challenged, it’s definitely something to check out.”
Nearly half of CMU’s McNair scholars go on to their master’s degrees with approximately 20 percent enrolled in doctoral programs across the nation. To date, four McNair scholars have received their doctorates with more than 25 students currently enrolled in doctoral programs.
Three current CMU students and McNair scholars, including Messing, were recently accepted into fully funded doctoral programs this year. Messing will begin her joint dietetic internship and doctoral program at Cornell University in the fall, which she says would not have been possible without the McNair program.
“McNair gives you so much support,” Messing said. “In addition to financial support and Graduate Record Examination preparation, we had the opportunity to work with really great mentors who we could talk to about anything. Having that support was really important in building my confidence and assuring me that I was prepared to succeed in a program like Cornell’s.”
CMU alumna Donnesha Blake, ’12, joined the McNair program in 2011. Now pursuing her doctorate in women’s studies at the University of Maryland, Blake says she owes a lot of her success in her new program to the skills she learned while being a McNair scholar at CMU. She says the program is about more than helping students pursue their doctorate.
“The McNair program specializes in the smaller details,” Blake said. “It’s the finer details you’ll need in order to prepare for graduate school. When students decide to pursue graduate school, they may need a little tweaking and structure. That’s what the McNair program does.”
Rebecca Mercado Thornton, 2008 CMU and McNair Scholars Program alumna, completed her doctoral program in communication at Ohio University and is recently employed as a tenure-track assistant professor at Oakland University. Thornton says the McNair program prepared her for the next step in her academic career.
“I know that I would not be a tenure-track assistant professor at my age without the McNair program,” Mercado Thornton said. “The McNair program and my faculty advisor not only gave me the skills to get in to and survive graduate school, but also the confidence to even apply. The McNair program exposes students to something most other students at CMU would not otherwise have access to.”
Recent McNair Scholarship Program inductees are:
- Bruce Barnes, sociology major from Erie
- Amanda Clark, biochemistry major from Buchanan
- Andy Derry, neuroscience major from Rogers City
- James Dunn, biochemistry major from Houghton Lake
- Matt Forbes, political science major from Mount Pleasant
- Rhianna French, psychology major from Evart
- Robert Fritchman, sociology major from Lansing
- Shantell Johnson, psychology major from Fort Gratiot
- Nicole Lynn-Bell, biology major from Mount Morris
- Leah Mays, mathematics major from Flint
- Ashley Pollock, geography major from Park Forest, Ill.
- Amanda Slezsak, health sciences major from Freeland
- Jayson Smith, biology major from Port Huron
- Tara Vancil, biomedical sciences major from Cheboygan
- Mickey Wong, linguistics major from Clinton Township
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CMU’s McNair Scholars Program
Bruce Barnes (second left) is one of 15 newly inducted McNair Scholars at Central Michigan University this spring. Barnes is a sociology major from Erie.