Alpine – The McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program grant at Sul Ross State University has been re-authorized in the amount of $261,888, according to an announcement from the office of U.S. Senator John Cornyn.

According to the announcement, funds are awarded through competition to institutions of higher education to prepare eligible participants for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities. Participants are from disadvantaged backgrounds and have demonstrated strong academic potential. Institutions work closely with participants as they complete their undergraduate requirements and encourage participants to enroll in graduate programs.

Progress is tracked through the successful completion of advanced degrees. The goal, said the announcement, is to increase the attainment of Ph.D. degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society.

After his death in the Challenger Space Shuttle accident on January 28, 1986, members of Congress provided funding for the program named for Dr. Ronald E. McNair, a physicist who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

“McNair is family and we are here to remind our students they belong,” said Kathleen Rivers, the director of the program at SRSU. “Often first-generation students think they aren’t smart enough or don’t belong. What they don’t realize is that everyone feels that way in graduate school.”

The McNair Scholars Program at SRSU provides personalized research opportunities, presentation opportunities, sponsored trips to academic conferences, symposia and graduate programs, graduate school application fee waivers and enhanced opportunities for graduate school admission, all with funding.

“You can afford graduate school through McNair and planning,” said Rivers. “Our scholars are sought after by large research programs at major universities and are often paid to attend their schools.”

Eligible students must be first-generation, indicate financial need or be a member of an underrepresented group, be enrolled full-time at SRSU, have a degree plan on file in the appropriate dean’s office, have completed 30 credit hours before May, have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and be recommended by at least two faculty members.

For more information or to apply, visit https://www.sulross.edu/mcnair-scholars-program/ or call 432-837-8019.