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McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program

Overview

The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program was initiated by the US Department of Education in 1989. Authorized under the Federal TRIO Programs, the program has grown nationally, and currently serves thousands of students. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was one of the first of fourteen universities in the country to receive funding for this program.

The purpose of the McNair Program is to increase the number of students from underrepresented backgrounds who enter graduate studies leading to the doctorate. At least two-thirds of the students must be low-income individuals who are first-generation college students; the remaining participants must be from a group that is underrepresented in graduate education. Students must also agree to participate in program activities during the academic year and summer.

The McNair Program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee provides tutoring, academic advising, and career counseling for juniors and seniors during the academic year. Eligible students are provided workshops that emphasize library research, writing, and computer skills; selected juniors and seniors receive research internships and stipends, primarily during the summer. During the internship, each student is paired with a faculty mentor and receives individualized attention in completing a research project. A total of 15 internships is offered each year. The program is open to students in any major discipline.

To further expose students to academia, McNair provides travel to conferences, graduate schools, professional meetings, and forums, where mentors and students present research findings. In addition, the program assists students in finding avenues for publishing.

Scholar Research Projects

Download research papers of past and present McNair scholars.

--Select a research paper-- Muneebah Abdullah--Religiosity and Anger Management: Buffers of Cortisol Response to Psychosocial Stress? Cynthia Amaihe--"There are a lot of Good Doctors out There": Women with HIV Talk About their Doctors Elena Amarandei--Toward Classifying the Conditions Where the Deming Management Approach Would Produce the Best Societal Outcomes for US Hospitals Serena Cisneros--Soul Wound, Warrior Spirit: Exploring the Vocational Choice of American Indian Law Enforcement Officers Working for Non-Tribal Agencies Mallory Davis--The FLN's Strategy for Gaining an Independent Algeria, 1954-1962 Mei Guan--Meaning of Food in Asian Culture Crystal Hampton--Gambling and Alcohol Expectancy Among College Students Celeste Jantz--Journey House: The History of a Community Based Organization Rebecca Juarez--What are the Experiences/Perceptions of White Pre-service Urban Educators and those of Pre-service Urban Educators of Color Schooled in a Predominately White Institution (PWI)? Edgar Mendez--Home Loan Practices and their Relation to Latino and Black Segregation Patterns in America Erica Metcalfe--A Legacy Overshadowed: The Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa Alice Muehlbauer--Understanding How Cultures and Societies within a Culture Cognitively View their Cities JZ Outlaw--Determining the Role of the Ras-related small GTPase isoform Rap1b Edgard Rincon--Families Coping with HIV: The Impact of a Mother's HIV infection James Carviou--The Opinions of College Students about Mock News Shows Janna Knight [Beloit College]--Barriers to Adequate Prenatal Care for African American and Hispanic/Latina Women in the United States: A Review of the Literature Drew Labelle--American Indian Traditional Values, Beliefs, and Teachings: Correlations with Positive School Behaviors Sabrina Nettles--Predictors of Consistent Condom Use in Female Adolescents Lucia Stubbs--Understanding the Racial Achievement Gap in US Education Tahniyath Ara--Genetic Inheritance of Cancer Cells Willie Flores [Ripon College]--The In's and Out's of the Sun Margaret Katana--Gene Expression of SOD2 and Prdx6 in LED Treated EAE Murines Fernando Orozco--Synthesis of 2-[2-(2-tert-Butoxycarbonylamino-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethylamino}-acetic acid Nicole Wesley--Depression and Alcohol Use Among College Students: The Role of John Henryism and Socioeconomic Status Tiarra Bonner--How Effective Are Tutoring Software? Jenise Estrada--What are the Molecular Abnormalities in the Developmental Stages of Ethanol Treated Zebra Fish? Jamie Garcia--Understanding Binding Interactions between Cyanoborane and Amino Acids: Using a Computational Chemistry Approach Julio Guerrero--Daniel Soto and the Peter Cooper Corporation: Understanding the Experience of Mexican Workers in the Peter Cooper Gelatin Factory in the 1960s Barbara E. Alvarado—Integrating Fair Trade in the Architectural Design of a Self-Sustaining Shelter for Women in Blantyre, Malawi James Carviou—A Content Analysis of The Colbert Report Silvino Jose Castillo—City Image of the World Heritage City of Guanajuato, Mexico: Resident's Perception of the City and its relation to City Preservation and City Development Jennifer Etim—Breastfeeding in the Workplace: An Examination of Facilitators and Barriers to Breastfeeding Faced by Working Mothers Malori Hinchen—Obstacles to Prenatal Care amoung African-American Adolescents: Comparisons between a Focus Group of Young Mothers and Focus Group of Milwaukee Public School Nurses Drew LaBelle—Native American Traditional Values, Beliefs, and Teachings: Correlations with positive school behaviors Josie Lunar—Prospectives of Bilingual Education: A Review of Current Literature Elsa Mercado—Midwest Latino Veteran Epxeriences from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf Wars Sabrina Nettles—The Relationship Between Religious and More Traditional Assessments of Coping Style Tiffany M Pufahl—Your Relationship and Your Future: The Correlation between Possible Selves and Relationship Satisfaction Yolanda Purdy—An Analysis of Freedom: Black Loyalists and Sierra Leone Amanda L. Smith—The Relationship between Self-Efficacy, Academic Stress, Connections with Teachers and Peers on Student's Perceived Importance of School Lucia Stubbs—Development and Evaluation of "Protect Yourself: You are a Phenomenal Woman": A Culturally Specific Video Intervention for African American Women Aimed at HIV/STD Prevention Katayon Tabatabaei—Barriers to Health Care and Perceptions of Social Stigma: Experiences of a Sample of HIV-Infected African American Men Catherine Van Leer—Evaluating Strategies for Confronting Inner-City Poverty: Increasing the Earned Income of Poor Residents Yesenia Cervera—Hispanic/Latino Parental Involvement in K-12 Education Ricky DeVoe—Gravitational Waves Radiated by Binary Black Hole Merger Dynamics Maria C. Fanning—The Relationship Between Adequate Pre-Natal Care and Incidence of Low Birth Weight Among African American Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis Zach Orr—Globalization Impact on Wage Differentials Jennifer Osburn—Feminist and Traditional Women's Reaction to Date-Expense Sharing Hannah Serrano—Out of the Ruins: The Rise of Contemporary Chinese Art Shawn Thompson—Social and Communication Deficits and Behavior Problems in Prescholars with Developmental Delays Becita J. Fields—Identifying Barriers and Facilitators of Online Weight Management Participation Joshua Harwell—Investigation of Hip Abductor Fatigue Protocols Jz Outlaw—The Inhibitory Effects of ôCAMK-II Upon in vitro Embryonic Cells Samantha J. Perry—Health Care Disparities Amoung Pregnant Hispanic/Latino Women: The Barriers They Face Oluwatosin Thompson—Does Estrogen have an Effect on the Metamorphosis and Sex Determination of the Frog, Xenopus Laevis? Melissa Blue Agoro—The Man-Made Origins of AIDS: An Exploration into the Inception of the Epidemic Lila Ali—The Employment of Muslims in the Healthcare Industry Jenny Burke—The Value of Teams to Learning in a Large Lecture Environment Daniel Byrd—Effects of Race and Political Affiliation on Emotional Reactions to Politicians Yesenia Cervera—Latinos/Mexicans in the Midwest: Reasons for Migration and Work Experience Kate Erickson—Eleazer Williams: A Missionaries Role in the Oneida Split Maria Fanning—Obstacles to Adequate Prenatal Care among African American Adolescents: The Perspectives of Health Professionals Quiana Kern—Toxicological Effects of Ethyl Mercury Brad Kroupa—Sahnish Identity and Cultural Renewal: Efforts to Maintain an Individual Entity in the Twenty-First Century Alisha Leight—Gorbachev, Perestroika and Glasnost: An evaluation of Aspirations and Tribulations Isaac McMillian—Twenty Common Numerical Analysis Algorithms Zach Orr—Globalization on Racial Wage Differentials Between White and Black Workers Jennifer Osburn—Body Image as a Function of Positive and Negative Comments from Peer and Familial Sources Lilliann Paine—Is the Hippocampus responsible for Declarative Conscious Memory? Anthony Rick—Environmentally Induced Variation: Hsp90 Hannah Serrano—Mother Jerónima de la Fuente: A Woman Religious and Reflection of Christ James Sokolowski—Literacies of Color: Analyzing the Dynamics of a Community and School Based Initiative of an Urban, Charter, Middle School Lionel Sona—Studies on the interaction between Human Serum Albumin And Lead ions [Pb2+] Vinthany Souvannarath—Social Service Use by Women Living with HIV in One Midwestern State: What's Really At Stake in Reauthorizing the Ryan White CARE Act in 2005 Nicole Stroobants—Fourteen Pedagogical Strategies for Urban Indian Education and The Indian Community School Shawn Thompson—RUNNING HEAD: Socio-Communication Deficits Of Children With Williams Syndrome: Overlap With The Autism Spectrum? Lila Ali—Employment of Muslim Women in the Healthcare Industry Lisa Bemus (CIC)—The Influence of Social Class and Gender on Alcohol Expectancies Among Heavy Drinkers Terri A. Birt—Barriers to Adequate Prenatal Care Encountered by African American Adolescents Ike Butler—Propagation of Electromagnetic Plane Waves Karina Cruz—Identifying Controversies that ALAS has Caused in its Conceptual Phase Trinh Duong—Memory and the Synthesis of New Proteins in the Hippocampus Megan Feifer (CIC)—The Politics of the God of Small Things: The Literary Prose and Political Essays of Arundhati Roy Angela R. Fernandez (CIC)—A Vital Link to Care: Relationships Between Women Living With HIV/AIDS and Case Managers Carolyn R. Gibert (CIC)—Adolescent Depression: Involving Middle School Teachers Kewonia Hogans—Professional Perceptions Regarding Paternal Involvement Among Assaulted Youth Claudia J. Hough—The Surrentine Villa of Pollius Felix: Statius' Silvae 2.2 Brad Kroupa—Sahnish Doctors: A Central Component of the Sahnish Religious System and Society Jordan McGee (CIC)—"Mammy:" How Legacy Takes Form Into the Imagery of the Present Sharla McIntosh—The Complexity of Child Caregivers' Language during Joint Book Reading with Toddlers Valerie Moua—A Novel Method for Producing Nitric Oxide in Microseconds, to Probe Subsequent Biological Interesting Fast Reactions Lilliann Paine—The Relationship Between Maternal Distress and Youth Distress Among Assaulted Youth Jelena Plavsic—Studies on Design of Safe Antianxiety Agents Devoid of Adverse Effects Harrison Schultz—The Body and the Social World of Capoeira James Sokolowski—Small High School Reform: A National Perspective to a Local Initiative Vinthany Souvannarath—HIV/AIDS Infected Women: Unmet Needs and Barriers to Social Services Nicole Stroobants—Social Capital in the College Application Process: How Two Urban Guidance Counselors Filled the Gap Shoua Thao—Hmong Attitudes toward the Hmong Marriage Bill in Minnesota Deb Becker—Relationships Between Violence Exposure and Children's Behavioral and Academic Functioning Lisa Bemus—Are alcohol expectancies mediated by socioeconomic status? Timmothy Calloway—Public vs. Private: What Factors Influence Graduating Accountants Career Choice Danielle Chipley—MPS Dropouts: Why Students Consider Dropping Out When the Odds are Against Them Kayla E. Crawford—Teenage Pregnancy: Trends and Consequences of Teenage Childbearing Megan Feifer—The History of Black Feminism and Womanism: Their Emergence from the Modern Women's Movement Angela R. Fernandez—The Risk Factors of HIV/AIDS Among Native American Women: One Woman's Story Tomas Garrett—What are the Factors Behind the Low, Middle, and High Academic Achievement of Latino Students in a Small High School? Carolyn Gibert—Death Crisis in Public Schools: Church-State Separation and the Use of Religious Leaders in Grief Counseling Claudia J. Hough—Sense of Place in Statius' Silvae: The Cultural Landscape of Campania in the First Century A.D. Melissa Jewett—Human Resource Management Influence on Organizational Citizenship Behaviors Jordan McGee—Black Male Hypersexual Attitudes and Behaviors and Belief in Racialized Cultural Opposition: A Test of the Code of the Street Thesis Maria L. Meyers—Linguistic Justice For All?: The Racist Policies of the English Only Movement May Shoua Moua—Hmong Nonprofit Organizations in the Greater Milwaukee area Mwende K. Mualuko—Parental Beliefs and Experiences About Security Blankets: Predictors of Childhood Attachments to Soft Objects Ruth M. Perez—DNA Methylation: Changes in Methylation Status in Aging and Cancerous DNA Mary Pham—Formal Evaluation of Distance Education Model for Preparing Educators in Deaf/ Hard of Hearing Toni Tavita Robinson—Black Beauty: Does the Hegemonic Structure influence Black/ African American Beauty Ideals? Laura C. Santiago—Acculturation and Gender Roles in Intimate Partner Violence among Latinas Thomas Sipin—Looking for the Back Beat: Discovering the Role of the Female Beat Writers Iesha Young—Effects of Community Violence Exposure on African American Women in the Milwaukee Area Leah Adeniji—Quality of Communication: How Does Level of Communication Correlate with Performance Appraisal Satisfaction Deb Becker—Risk and Protective Factors Related to Urban Children's School Adjustment John H. Collins—Digital Divide: A Comparative Study of Information Technology in Two Charter Schools Kendra-al-Kaleem Evans—Cultural Memory and Senegalese Media Analyzing the Relationship Between Media and Culture in a Sub-Sharan African Context Jesslane Fantauzzi—Ritual Sacrifice, Decapitation, and Death: Its Impact on the Moche People of Coastal Peru, 100 A.D. to 800 A.D. Jarett Fields—Herodotus: From Father of History to Father of Lies The Truth About The Great Pyramid Kelly Fox—The Relationships Between Socioeconomic Status, Parenting Styles, and Motivation Orientation Tomas Garrett—The High Academic Achievement and Resiliency of Puerto Rican Students in a Milwaukee Public High School Derrick Harriell—Muted Metaphors: Searching for Melvin B. Tolson Ewurama A. Hayford—Developing Measures and Standards of Practice for Culturally Competent Nursing Care Steve Humphrie—Parents'Perceptions of School Reform: A Focus on Urban Poor Schools Jennifer Kohut—Media's Influence on Body Image: A Comparison Between Black and White Females Jeanette Kowalik—Utilizing Focus Groups to Determine Barriers to Prenatal Care Adequacy among African American Adolescents Chikeyia Longley—Effective Measurement Tools & the Asentu Rites of Passage Program Mwende Mualuko—Imaginary Companions and Security Blankets: Affects of Parental Attachment on Recollections About Their Adult Children May Shoua Moua—Hmong American Women in Higher Education Mary Pham—Distance Education in Teacher Education Talethea Pharm—Book Publishing Company or Self Publishing - Making the Right Choice as a Fiction Author Scottie Posey—What's Going On? Faculty-Student Interactions of Black Students Attending Predominantly White Institutions of Higher Living Toni Tavita Robinson—Your Body? My Body? African American Women's Body Ideals and Practices Allison Westbrook—Synesthesia and its Influence in the Arts John Collins—The Digital Divide: A Study of the Effectiveness of an Extensive Technology Integration Program in a Milwaukee Public School Kendra al-Kaleem Evans—Television News Images of African Americans and Their Effects on Self-Esteem Caroline Vidal Grant —A Social Historical Exploration of the Field of Teratology Nikiya Harris—Organizational Change and Employee Acceptance in a Local County Government Tamika Harris—Cultural Mistrust of African-American Clients towards Euro-American Counselors Ewurama Hayford—African American Women Living with AIDS Stacy Kaltenbach —A Gain-of-function Screen for Genes Involved in Drosophila Thorax Closure Jeanette Kowalik—Communication Concerning the Initiation of Adequate Prenatal Care in Minority Populations Steve Morales —Pre-Design Research for Cohousing as an Alternative Form of Housing for Single-Parent Students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Lillian Myers—The Affect of Computers in Graphic Design: Positive or Negative? Christopher Orcholl —Study of Media Opinion on Bilingual Education in the Midwest and Southwest Jackie Orcholl—Criteria for the Comparison of Human and American Black Bear Skeletal Elements Nicole Robinson —The Women Living with HIV Project: Implications for Primary Prevention Methods Janelle Scharon —Measuring the Stability of an Unusual Cytochrome C Variant: Phenylalanine-82-histidine Iso-1-cytochrome C Judy Vang —Stress Levels of Juvenile Sexual Offenders Leah Adeniji—Adequacy/Inadequacy of Prenatal Care: A study of Prenatal Care Utilization among Minority Women Anthony Anderson—A Direct Comparison Between the Effects of Paroxetine and Amperozide on Rat Social Behaviour Ivory Cainion—The Material Culture of Slavery: A Survey of the Literature Keenya Calvin—Range of Student Attitudes When Exposed to Drama Jacob Eisen—Exercise-Induced Neuropeptide Y and Ob Receptor Activation in Cerebellum Bunny Lambert—Adult's Perception of Security Blanket Attachments Chikeyia Longley—The Relationship Between Parent Differentation of Self Scores and Child School Related Success in Urban, Low Income Families Charlotte Neumann—Sources of Meaning and Energy in the Chronically III Frail Elder Tasha Oliver—Are Minimum Education Requirement of Long-Term Care Administrators Related Quality? Garfield Patterson—To Determine the Extent and Nature of Violence in Milwaukee Public School (MPS) Paul Perez—Day Lighting Design Ernestine Rawls—Elements of a Culture: African American Females Who Drop Out of High School Joanne Sipin—The Effects of 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on Granula Cell Apoptosis Sylvia Stephenson—Program Evaluation of TFFV's COMPASS Program Tommie Williams—Boston vs. Milwaukee: A Comparison of Community Strategies to Impact Crime Rates Poua Xiong—Parental Reactions of Psychoterapy Referral in Adolescents with Chronic Pain

Eligibility

Students who are selected for participation in the McNair Achievement Program are called McNair Scholars. General eligibility criteria for program entry require that a student must:

• Be a first generation college student (neither parent has received a four year bachelor's degree)
• Come from a low income family as determined by the U.S. Department of Education or
• Be a minority (African American, Hispanic, or Native American)
• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
• Be classified as a UWM junior or senior
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75
• Agree in writing to satisfy all program requirements
• Obtain two recommendations, one of which must be prepared by a faculty member
• Students are not allowed to work or attend classes during the summer internship without prior approval from the director.

Program Services and Activities

The McNair Achievement Program will benefit any student intent on pursuing a graduate degree. The program provides a support system designed to provide a smooth transition from the undergraduate experience to the graduate school setting. Listed here are some of the academic year services that McNair Scholars receive:

• Academic tutoring
• Career development
• Preparation for Graduate admissions tests
• Ongoing counseling and mentoring
• Travel opportunities

For more information on the McNair Program, contact Coordinator Karen Dredge at kdredge@uwm.edu.

Summer Research Internship

One of the major advantages of the McNair Achievement Program is the opportunity to conduct research with a faculty mentor. Students are initiated into scholarly activities of their chosen discipline, and faculty members are able to become familiar with the student's work. Thus the program provides a model of the student-major professor relationship that is crucial for success in graduate school.

Each year, fifteen participants are selected for summer research internships. Students receive a maximum $2800 stipend for participation in internships, while faculty who participate in the program receive a minimum of $550 for their research activities.

Summer research activities include:

• seminars to provide skills on how to enter graduate school and obtain financial assistance,
• a speaker series featuring successful role models who have earned terminal degrees, and
• travel to Graduate School forums, conferences or other graduate schools.

Summer 2008 Student Research Internship Application

Summer 2008 Faculty Mentor Application

About Ronald E. McNair

Ronald Ervin McNair, the second African American to fly in space, was born October 21, 1950, in Lake City, South Carolina. In 1971, he received a bachelor's degree in physics, magna cum laude, from North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro). In 1976, he received his Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ronald McNair was nationally recognized for his work in the field of laser physics; selected as one of thirty-five applicants from a pool of ten thousand for the astronaut program in 1978; received three honorary doctorates, a score of fellowships and commendations; achieved a black belt in karate; and was an accomplished saxophonist.

Ronald McNair died on January 28, 1986, in a fiery explosion nine miles above the Atlantic Ocean along with six other crew members aboard the space shuttle Challenger.