The McNair Scholars Program will return to OU today following its loss of funding in February.
The Ronald E. McNair Baccalaureate Achievement Program is a part of the federal TRIO Scholars Programs, a collection of outreach programs providing academic assistance to underrepresented students. The McNair program is designed to prepare underrepresented undergraduates for graduate programs.
TRIO Programs are funded through federal grant competitions where consultants review grant proposals.
In February, the OU McNair program lost funding when its proposal failed its external review, according to Sophia Bolin-Dills, associate director of the TRIO Center.
The funding for OU McNair Scholars Program was restored after the U.S. Congress passed a bipartisan funding agreement that increased TRIO funding by 4.7%.
After a TRIO program is discontinued, it is given four months for participant support and administrative closeout by the U.S. Department of Education, which resulted in the OU McNair Scholars Program’s short absence, Bolin-Dills said.
Associate teaching professor, McNair alumni and Faculty Advisory Board member Eddie Malone said he is happy to see the program return, adding that it’s beneficial for students pursuing graduate school.
“OU can continue to serve minority and first-generation students who are bright and talented and have an inkling that they might want to pursue an academic career,” he said.
Malone also said he is concerned McNair could lose its funding in the future.
“The way funding is allocated seems precarious to me,” Malone said. “In this day and age where we as a society seem more committed to progressive causes than ever before, something like McNair should be a foregone conclusion in terms of funding.”
Jose Aguilar Escamilla, a 2022-23 McNair scholar, was in the middle of applying for programs to achieve his doctorate when McNair lost funding, leaving him to prepare applications by himself. He said previous scholars were able to work through the application process together.
“I found myself missing the structure the program provided, which caused intense pressure as I tried to complete my last year at OU,” Escamilla said. “Had I had McNair that last year, my stress would not have been as high and unhealthy as it was.”
Escamilla said he is also concerned for McNair’s future.
“I hope that the community realizes the great impact that McNair scholars have on students to avoid this from happening. I hope that no McNair students at OU have to go through what I went through when McNair was gone,” Escamilla said. “If that happens again, we will be ready to fight again to maintain this incredible resource.”
Bolin-Dills said McNair will serve up to 27 students once it is reinstated. Online applications will be available on Oct. 2.
This story was edited by Alexia Aston, Taylor Jones and Peggy Dodd. Grace Rhodes copy edited this story.
