UD hosts McNair Scholars
McNair Scholars Research Conference draws national audience
2:44 p.m., Nov. 2, 2011--More than 100 students from institutions around the country attended the annual National McNair Scholars Research Conference and Graduate School Fair, recently hosted on campus by the McNair Scholars Program at the University of Delaware.
The annual National McNair Scholars Research Conference gathers participants from across the nation to experience a simulated professional research conference, as well as an opportunity to network with fellow scholars, faculty and graduate school recruiters.
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Named in honor of Dr. Ronald E. McNair, the late physicist and NASA astronaut, the McNair Scholars Program is designed to prepare low-income, first-generation college students and underrepresented students of African American, Latino and Native American descent for academic success as undergraduates onward through the earning of a doctoral degree.
The 111 McNair scholars who attended the conference came from 25 institutions from around the country in addition to the University of Delaware. Some made the journey from as far away as California to participate.
“The University of Delaware is proud to host this event,” commented Provost Tom Apple. “McNair programs around the country make a huge impact on the lives and careers of their participating scholars. Events such as this enhance the students’ opportunities to achieve success in graduate school and beyond.”
This year’s event, the ninth such gathering at UD, began with pre-conference activities, giving early arriving conference attendees an opportunity to learn from McNair alumni as they participated in panel discussions on networking and branding themselves as McNair scholars. Kyle Hackett was among the McNair alumni who participated. “When I was invited back to University of Delaware to participate in the pre-conference activities, I became eager to reunite with my McNair family and use this opportunity to pay it forward,” said Hackett, now a master of fine arts student at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. “With confidence, I can say my experiences in the McNair Scholars Program have been the fundamental route to my academic and professional growth. Only after looking back, I realize what I learned has intuitively become part of my character and everyday life in graduate school.”
McNair students from around the country began the competitive process of submitting proposals for the oral or poster presentation portions of the conference during the summer. Over 60 students were selected to give presentations in education, business, sciences, the humanities, social sciences and public policy at the conference. Topics ranged from engineering education for early elementary students to attitudes toward genetic testing among women of color.
At the conclusion of the conference, winners of the competition for the best student research presentation were announced. Three UD students were among the winners: Brenna James, a senior political science and history major, for her oral social and public policy presentation on President Barack Obama’s role in the Arab-Israeli conflict; Ken Chen, a senior neuroscience major, for his poster in the science category titled, “Assessment of bdnf DNA Methylation in the Developing Amygdala Associated with Caregiving;" and Thomas (Cody) Prang, a senior anthropology major, for his social science poster on the lateral tarsal morphology of the gorilla. Other award recipients were McNair Scholars from Temple University, Tougaloo College, Hunter College – CUNY, Sam Houston State University and Howard University.
“The McNair Scholars program provides underrepresented students an opportunity to explore opportunities in research and creative scholarship,” said Lynnette Overby, director of UD’s Undergraduate Research Program. “They also become part of a national network of scholars. The recent National McNair Conference brought both of these benefits together as McNair Scholars from across the United States shared and connected their research with their peers. The conference not only benefitted the McNair Scholars, but with the inclusion of the Graduate School Fair, students from throughout the campus were given the opportunity to interact with representatives from over 70 different graduate school programs.”
The Graduate School Fair was open to all students at UD and other regional colleges and universities. In addition to UD graduate programs, more than 60 other universities sent representatives to recruit McNair scholars and other attendees for their programs. The many prestigious universities that participated included Boston College, Bryn Mawr, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Penn State, Virginia Commonwealth, and many more.
The banquet keynote speaker at this year’s conference was Freeman Hrabowski, president of University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). In 2009, Time magazine named him one of America's 10 Best College Presidents. In 2011, he received the TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence, recognized by many as the nation's highest award among college and university presidents. Hrabowski’s keynote address empowered the McNair Scholars as he shared key characteristics of success and challenged the scholars to develop and portray strong character.
Co-sponsors for the keynote banquet included the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education, Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN) and the National Science Foundation EPSCoR program.
Attendees at the conference also had the pleasure of attending the Bill Cosby comedy event at the Bob Carpenter Center on Friday night of the conference.
“Campus-wide support and collaboration were key ingredients making this year’s conference successful,” said Kimberly Saunders, director of the UD McNair Scholars Program. In addition to the UD McNair staff, a team of more than 40 faculty, staff, alumni and graduate students served as conference volunteers, judges, moderators and workshop speakers. Conference workshops focused on networking, cultural competency, UD graduate school opportunities and social media etiquette. “It was rewarding to coordinate a forum where outstanding McNair Scholars could showcase their research, learn new skills, and network ‘In the Spirit of Excellence,’” Saunders said.
Photos by Evan Krape and Kevin Quinlan