The McNair Association of Professionals (MAP) is the representative body for TRIO professionals from colleges, universities, and agencies that host the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program. MAP is dedicated to fostering and promoting high standards of professional practices and advocating for McNair Scholars Programs at the national level by creating opportunities for educational personnel and participants (students and alumni) with professional development and support.

The mission is accomplished through cultivating a vibrant professional community by collaborating and offering professional development to advance the objectives of the federal TRIO McNair Scholars Program of undergraduate research and doctoral attainment for first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students in higher education.

Click here to be directed to the McNair Association of Professionals website.

As you know, the pandemic known as the coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread to communities across the globe, yet, the needs of our students — particularly during this time of crisis — never cease.

Because the health and safety of our community is paramount, COE has moved portions of the 2020 Policy Seminar to an online format. More specifically, the Seminar on Relations (.pdf) with the U.S. Department of Education (“ED Seminar”) will take place virtually on Monday, March 23, and the two-day event officially known as the Policy Seminar (.pdf) will take place virtually on March 24-25 as initially planned. Unfortunately, our National College Opportunity Programs Leadership Summit (“Leadership Summit”) and TRIO Alumni Relations Forum, both scheduled for Sunday, March 22, are cancelled for this year.

Because of the virtual nature of the event, COE is re-opening registration for the Seminar on Relations with the U.S. Department of Education and Policy Seminar through Thursday, March 19, so that unregistered attendees may sign up to participate.

If you have not already, please click here to register online for the virtual ED Seminar and Policy Seminar. You may also download the registration form by clicking here (.pdf).

Click here (.pdf) for a list of Policy Seminar 2020 frequently asked questions.

• Addressing program objectives
• Use of technology
• Connecting with McNair alum
• GRE preparation
• Graduate school preparation
• Program management
• Involvement of faculty
• Research experience for scholars
• Preparing for national fellowships
• Institutionalizing your McNair Program
• Back from Last Year: Opportunity to participate in graduate school fair for McNair staff
• And much more

Registration is Now Closed.

• Addressing program objectives
• Use of technology
• Connecting with McNair alum
• GRE preparation
• Graduate school preparation
• Program management
• Involvement of faculty
• Research experience for scholars
• Preparing for national fellowships
• Institutionalizing your McNair Program
• NEW: Opportunity to participate in graduate school fair for McNair staff
• And much more

Developing connections is the best way for people to hear about new opportunities, exchange helpful career hints and learn about other’s experiences. The UCF Academic Advancement Programs wants to assist McNair alumni build these important connections. This virtual networking opportunity will connect current scholars with McNair alumni from across the country.  Online networking enables you to speed-network no matter where you are in the world. You can use sign in from your home, local library, smartphone or tablet. The chats are text-based and timed, allowing you to make connections, exchange contact information, and end the hour with several new connections you didn’t have before. After the chats, add your new contacts to your network by adding them to your LinkedIn networks or following up via email.

A transcript of your conversations will be saved for you to access after each event, so you can look back at your chat history, review your notes, gather contact information and follow up!

It’s free, it’s only an hour and it’s fun!

To participant please click here to register.   Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity! 

Some of his fondest are of student leaders preparing for campus-wide conferences, incoming students stepping foot on campus for the first time and students wearing purple with pride after one of the school’s numerous national athletic victories.

Telfer will retire as chancellor June 30. 

In a letter to the university sent Monday, Telfer told faculty and students it “is with mixed emotions” that he is retiring.

Telfer started as an assistant professor in 1985 and was promoted to department chair, associate vice chancellor, provost and in 2007 interim chancellor. He was named the university’s 15th chancellor in 2008.

Telfer said any accomplishments during his 30 years belong to students and staff, not just him.

“We have an environment that a number of people have gone into creating, and it’s really a supportive environment which has allowed us to do well,” Telfer said.

Telfer said he’s proud of the:

— Close relationship that’s been forged between the university and Whitewater community, especially through the Whitewater University Technology Park and Innovation Center.

— University’s first doctoral program in the College of Business and Economics. It began in the fall.

— Freshmen learning communities and a new student seminar to help freshmen acclimate to college.

“I believe we have exceptionally talented people in leadership positions who will continue to push for quality in the classroom and beyond,” he wrote in his letter.

In the next few weeks, the UW-System will begin putting together a committee of community members, students, faculty and staff to search for the next chancellor, Telfer said. A job will be posted in spring, and the committee will interview candidates and narrow the list to five to be considered by the board of regents. A separate board of regents committee will interview the candidates and appoint the next chancellor in June, if things happen on schedule.

Like anyone with enough time served and the means to do so, Telfer has toyed with the idea of retirement for some time. It wasn’t until about a week ago that the decision “crystallized” and he put things in motion, he said.

Once retired, Telfer plans to travel and spend time with his children and grandchildren.

The decision wasn’t easy, Telfer said.

“I think it was a wonderful experience,” he said of his time at UW-Whitewater.

As Telfer changed roles at the university, he looked at each as taking a chance on a new opportunity to challenge himself. He encourages all students—past, present and future–to do the same.

“Look at opportunities. Take opportunities. And take some risks along the way because I think when you do that, you’re often really rewarded by taking some opportunities,” Telfer said.

Ray Cross, UW-System president, thanked Telfer for his time and services to the university. Other UW-System chancellors admire Telfer’s commitment to higher education, Cross wrote in a statement.

 “He has been a thoughtful, visionary decision-maker, and it has been our privilege to work with him,” Cross wrote. “Under his leadership, UW-Whitewater’s reputation for academic and athletic success has soared both in the state and beyond.”

Telfer earned a bachelor’s degree in speech and English in 1970 and a master’s degree in secondary education and reading improvement in 1972 from Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant. In 1984 he received a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the UW-Madison.

Before his time at the university, Telfer was a public school teacher in Indiana and Wisconsin and taught at a university in Kansas. He and his wife live in Whitewater.

“We will always be a part of the UW-Whitewater and Whitewater communities,” he said. “This is our home, and it is a special place, indeed.”

TELFER TIMELINE

Here is a timeline of Richard Telfer’s time at UW-Whitewater:

1985-89: Assistant professor

1989-95: Assistant dean of graduate studies and professor in the department of curriculum and instruction

1995-97: Department chair in the department of curriculum and instruction

1997-2002: Associate vice chancellor for academic affairs

2002-07: Provost

2007-2008: Interim chancellor

2008-present: Chancellor

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Here are some of the things retiring UW-Whitewater Chancellor Richard Telfer considers accomplishments by the university during his 30 years at the school:

— Record retention and graduation rates for two out of the last three years.

— Record enrollment for four out of the last five years.

— Strong athletic teams that bring home national titles year after year.

— New student seminar. A one-credit course that helps freshmen adjust to college. Has been in place for about 10 years and between 80-90 percent of freshmen take it, Telfer said.

— Freshmen learning communities. For the last six to eight years, freshman have been able to choose to live in a learning community with students they take two classes with.

— A six-year endowment campaign that has raised more than $45 million to help retain students and programs, among other things. The campaign had a goal of $40 million and will come to a close in December.

— The Whitewater University Technology Park and Innovation Center. The partnership between Whitewater, the university and businesses began in 2008. The buildings opened in 2011.

— The King Chavez and McNair Scholar programs. Telfer and Roger Pulliam, assistant vice chancellor at the university, created the McNair Scholar program in 1991-92. The program funded by federal grants is designed to help first-generation, low-income and underrepresented minority students get doctorate degrees. Juniors in college are eligible. The King Chavez program grew out of the McNair program and is for freshmen who are also first-generation, low-income and underrepresented minority students.

– See more at: http://www.gazettextra.com/20141117/uw_whitewater_chancellor_richard_telfer_announces_retirement#sthash.7yO0a8mk.dpuf

This article was originally published in the GazetteXtra on November 17, 2014.

For the past three years, the University of East London’s Continuum team has been working with colleagues here in the United States to develop an innovative academic program for undergraduate students enrolled as McNair Scholars at their home institutions. The partnership began in 2010 when McNair scholars from the University of New Hampshire, accompanied by their program director, Dr Antonio Henley, they participated in the first Continuum International Summer Institute (ISI) at the University of East London (UEL).  In the following years McNair scholars from the University of Central Florida, University of Kansas, Rochester Institute of Technology, and DePaul University participated in ISI.

Now in its fourth year, the ISI curriculum offers each scholar the opportunity to explore specific research interests working with academic staff as well as University of East London  students. The ISI curriculum is carefully aligned to the McNair program and therefore aims to fully enhance postgraduate progression through the rich academic and cultural experience that the ISI program provides to both scholars and faculty.

Dates and duration
The 2014 program will run from 28 June – 14 July, 2014. The two week experiences comprises of an intensive academic program and conference. Depending on institutional requirements; learners and faculty pursue independent research and undertake self-directed study, supported by ISI faculty. It may be possible to offer a longer version of the program for those wishing to explore this option. So please contact continuum@uel.ac.uk to discuss your requirements.

Location
London provides the unique backdrop to the ISI program both academically and culturally. UEL’s Docklands Campus is minutes away from Canary Wharf and central London. The university has its own Docklands Light Railway station, Cyprus, which connects to London Underground and mainline railways. There is easy access to London City Airport which serves domestic and European destinations.

Accommodation
Scholars and faculty will be housed in UEL’s newly built state of the art accommodation overlooking
the Royal Albert Dock on the River Thames. Team USA used UEL as their base prior to and during the 2012 Olympic Games.

Academic focus
The program has a broad academic focus and considers issues such as: social justice and access to higher education for under represented groups. In addition there are seminars on the UK education system and specialist seminars based on research interests of participants. Learners will also be able to participate in research methods workshops delivered by ISI and UEL faculty to support their independent research.

International conference
A unique component of the program is the opportunity to participate in a three day residential international conference organized by the Forum for Access and Continuing Education which attracts academics, policy makers, researchers and policy makers from the UK and overseas. The 2014 FACE conference will be hosted at the University of Salford.

Structured Learning Environment
Learners and faculty will have the opportunity to engage with leading academics, practitioners and policy makers during the course of the program. Visiting faculty and professional staff will have the opportunity to meet with peers at UEL and other institutions through Continuum’s extensive networks.

Costs – indicative costs are provided below in sterling
Full academic program (includes lunch, morning and afternoon refreshments)    £ 1,500.00
Housing at UEL for duration of program (extra days or weeks can be added as required)  £ 525.00
Delegate fee FACE conference (includes accommodation, meal package/entertainment) £ 500.00

What should I do next?
If you would like to learn more about this high quality study abroad experience and register your interest, please e-mail us at: continuum@uel.ac.uk . If you prefer we’ll schedule a call back to discuss your needs and requirements. Places for ISI 2014 are limited so it is highly recommended that you register your interest as
soon as possible.

McNair Scholar N’Kosi Oates has been selected by the Leadership Alliance to conduct summer research at Columbia University.

Last summer, Oates — part of the McNair Scholars Program — began researching potential schools where he could eventually pursue a doctoral degree. “I found an instructor at Columbia University and I remember reading his biography and research interests and immediately thought I would really like to work with him,” said Oates, a double major in communication and political science.

That instructor was Dorian T. Warren, associate professor in the Department of Political Science and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia. As it turns out, Oates will get the chance to work with him after all, as part of the Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP).

Oates is the second UD McNair Scholar selected by the Leadership Alliance to receive a summer research award. The SR-EIP provides undergraduates interested in applying to doctoral programs with the opportunity to spend 8-10 weeks conducting research with a research mentor at one of the 22 participating institutions.

Oates and Shantel Campbell — who completed her summer research at Stanford University — are the only UD students to have received Leadership Alliance awards.

“I am extremely excited for N’Kosi and all of his scholarly achievements,” said Kimberly Saunders, director of the McNair Scholars Program. “Given that our ultimate program goal is to prepare McNair Scholars for immediate matriculation into graduate school, having our scholars exposed to external research opportunities at a university within their interest for graduate education is a bonus.”

As Oates prepared to apply to the SR-EIP this January, he remembered his interest in Warren’s work and contacted the professor.

“I wanted to see if he could serve as my research mentor as well as give me a glimpse of life in the profession,” said Oates, who received an email back from Warren in less than five minutes.

While the exact nature of the research is still to be determined, Oates knows he will spend close to two months living in a Columbia University residence hall, armed with a stipend and travel funds, gaining invaluable experience.

“I am very grateful for this opportunity,” said Oates. “This experience will provide me with insight into which program I want to pursue in graduate school. It’s an honor that one of the professors I have admired will take me under his wing and will provide me with his guidance and mentorship.”

Oates will present his summer research at the Leadership Alliance National Symposium, taking place from July 26-28 in Stamford, Conn.

About the Leadership Alliance

Since 1992, The Leadership Alliance has supported students from typically underrepresented groups in research and graduate school preparation.

Students selected for the Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP) receive research training from a faculty or research mentor at a participating Leadership Alliance institution.

The host institution covers travel and housing expenses. For more information about the program, visit the website.

By Kelley Bregenzer, University of Delaware Staff Writer | Originally posted on May. 23, 2013

Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson