TRIO restructuring
Saunders to lead restructured TRIO student success initiative at UD
1:09 p.m., April 8, 2015--Kimberly A. Saunders has been named executive director for TRIO Pre-College and Student Success Programs at the University of Delaware as part of a restructuring move combining all TRIO programs under one unit.
The University houses four TRIO programs, including the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program, Upward Bound Classic, Upward Bound Math-Science and Student Support Services.
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Nationally, the TRIO programs are federal outreach and student success programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from underserved backgrounds. TRIO includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist low-income first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities as they progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs.
A University alumnus, Saunders most recently served as director of the McNair and University Undergraduate Scholars programs at UD.
“My appointment as executive director for UD’s TRIO Program portfolio reaffirms the institution’s commitment to sustain and elevate the student diversity access, retention and student success impact provided by these programs for our campus and secondary education partners,” Saunders said. “In the spirit of scholarly excellence, I look forward to working with the talented TRIO family of staff and students in building a strategic vision that forges ongoing collaborations with campus departments, secondary school partners, TRIO alumni and community stakeholders toward ensuring the continued efforts of motivating and assisting diverse students to persist through multiple levels of college degree attainment.”
Nancy Brickhouse, deputy provost for academic affairs, noted that TRIO programs are a critical component in enhancing diversity by providing underrepresented individuals with access to institutions of higher education, including UD, and helping to assure the success of students from middle school through graduate school.
“Kim is perfectly situated to bring this kind of strategic thinking to our TRIO programs,” Brickhouse said. “She is passionate about the work and has a great track record of success with McNair. By having Kim lead all our TRIO programs, she can be much more strategic in creating programs that support student success.”
Avron Abraham, director of the Center for Academic Success and University Studies, said that bringing all the TRIO programs together provides an important opportunity to build on their past successes at UD.
“This also will help ensure the smooth transition of students, especially Delawareans, from underrepresented groups moving from pre-college to higher education and beyond,” Abraham said. “This new structure at UD optimizes the potential for collaboration among programs and will encourage the development of leaders from within the programs.”
Iain Crawford, faculty director of undergraduate research and experiential learning, said Saunders’ appointment will serve the TRIO programs and the University extremely well.
“It brings Kim’s outstanding experience and leadership to TRIO and will allow for new synergies between the TRIO programs," Crawford said. " It also offers Kim herself an important opportunity for professional growth into a new area, even as she will continue to sustain the McNair program’s connections to undergraduate research and experiential learning.”
Saunders hold a master’s degree in counseling and college student personnel from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania and a doctorate in higher education administration and community college education from George Mason University.
Before coming to UD in 2011 to direct the McNair Scholars Program, Saunders served as director of student diversity at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
Saunders previously held several positions at George Mason University and Lebanon Valley College, including acting director of Diversity Programs and Services, director of the Student Transition Empowerment Program and ombudsman and inaugural director of Multicultural Affairs.
TRIO programs at UD
Upward Bound, which serves 66 students, is a pre-college program designed to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education.
Also a pre-college program serving 66 students, the Upward Bound Math-Science Program helps students recognize and develop their potential to excel in math and science, and encourages them to pursue postsecondary degrees in math and science, and ultimately careers in math and science professions.
Student Support Services works to increase the college retention and graduation rates of the 175 students it currently serves at UD.
The goal of the McNair Scholars Program is to increase undergraduate retention and encourage participants to enroll in graduate programs and to track their progress through the successful completion of advanced degrees. The program currently serves 25 students.
“Overall, TRIO programs provide post-secondary preparation, academic tutoring, personal counseling, mentoring, test preparation, financial guidance, research opportunities, post-baccalaureate preparation and other support services necessary for educational access and retention,” Saunders said. “The collaboration of TRIO programs with other UD student success initiatives will continue to enhance access to college opportunities for first-generation and other underrepresented student populations.”
Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson