Greetings McNair Family & Supporters,
With great joy, I announce the exciting news that we, THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY (UMBC), have been selected to receive funding under the RONALD E. MCNAIR POSTBACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM! That's right, UMBC McNair is officially grant-funded through the Department of Education for 2022-2027!
I want to thank our staff team (Corris, Antoinette, and Ray), who often worked off the clock to assist in writing the grant proposal. This grant submission was a team effort, and I am grateful to each of them for their contributions! Just as importantly, we thank you, our scholars, Friends of McNair, alums, mentors, and Community of Supporters, because your lived experiences and unwavering contributions provided the framework for our funded grant proposal.
Receiving this news at the start of our 30th-anniversary celebration is highly moving. When I received the news, I immediately called the past directors, Corris Davis and Cynthia Hill, because I know we stand on their shoulders. Let me share with you some highlights of our scholars' achievements. Of our 331 UMBC McNair grads:
- 143 have Master's Degrees
- 58 have a doctorate
- 32 of those are research-based doctorates
This is only the surface of the story!
The work does not stop here! For the past two years, we have been working on expanding our program and our support of First Gen students across campus. We are still looking for partnership opportunities and additional funding to bolster the admirable goals of our scholars. For example, our staff salaries (director and coordinator) are fully funded through the grant. Thus, we have
budget constraints in assisting our scholars and Friends of McNair (those being recruited to the program). Our annual conference helps to bring in additional funds, but it is not a consistent profit-generating effort.
I don't want us to be in the position where, for whatever reason, the federal government decides not to fund our program, and then The UMBC McNair Scholar Program ceases to exist. Thus, our McNair Advisory Council [LINK] will be exploring ways to seek support for institutionalizing McNair at UMBC. If you have suggestions or resources that can help with this endeavor, please reach out to us.
Whenever I meet with a scholar or one of our Friends of McNair, I know that my living is not in vain and that McNair is indeed a worthy cause! Under my leadership, the UMBC McNair program seeks to dismantle systems that limit our scholars' opportunities to thrive while achieving their goals. I write this message to all us as a call to celebrate and rise to the challenge to continue seeking ways to create and maintain a community of inclusive excellence and opportunities for all our students from historically excluded populations!
The songwriter said best: "If I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living shall not be in vain." Your living is not in vain! Thank you for being an integral part of the success of the UMBC McNair Scholars Program!
#TRIOWORKS
Peace & Blessings,
Michael A. Hunt, Program Director
UMBC McNair Scholars Program