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Baylor's McNair Scholars program serves undergraduates from low-income, first-generation and other underrepresented backgrounds through mentorship, research opportunities and other scholarly activities. Steven Fernandez serves as director of Student Opportunity and Achievement Resources at Baylor. In this Baylor Connections, he shares how the program fosters relationships and opportunities that have helped propel students to elite academic posts when their time at Baylor is through.

16 students and recent alumni will study, conduct research and teach English abroad as part of the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program

Staff Note: Of 16, 3 McNair Scholars and Alumni were offered the Fulbright Award. 

The McNair Scholars Program prepares low-income, first-generation and other underrepresented students to successfully navigate the path to a Ph.D.  

Students continue record-setting year earning top fellowships and awards

Staff note: McNair Scholars win GEM Fellowship and NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Awards

Annual conference provides McNair Scholars with opportunities to share research, network with peers and connect with graduate schools on their path to a Ph.D.

Baylor’s McNair Scholars Program aims to prepare low-income, first-generation and other underrepresented students to successfully navigate a path to a doctoral program following graduation. It prepares undergraduate students for the rigors of doctoral studies through immersion in research and a variety of scholarly activities.

As 10-year-old Genesis Santos sat in her homeroom desk at Bell’s Hill Elementary, she had no idea where her future career would lead her — back to Bell's Hill but on the other side of the desk. Santos' list of accomplishments is stacking up - she is a McNair Scholar and earned the honor of presenting this semester at the Texas Chapter of the National Association of Multicultural Education. She recently received an award from the National Science Foundation through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program to perform research in the field of informal STEM education, with a theme of advancing social justice and equality.

The U.S. Department of Education has renewed Baylor University’s five-year grant for the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, which prepares high-achieving college students from diverse backgrounds for doctoral studies.

WACO, Texas (Sept. 18, 2017) – Baylor University has been awarded an annual grant of $232,265 for five years to implement the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program.

Baylor University students Kate Rojales, a senior chemistry major from Milton, Georgia, and Alexis Simmons, a senior physics and mathematics major from Houston, Texas, have been awarded Goldwater Scholarships from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program.

Treasure Ramirez’s Baylor mentor, Dr. Emily Smith, says her name is fitting: “She definitely is a Treasure to those who know her, and a gift to the world around her.” Today, Ramirez (BBA ’20) is a Baylor Ph.D. student, one year removed from earning a degree in economics and excelling as a member of Baylor’s first …

The annual Baylor McNair Research Conference draws students from more than 50 different universities nationwide and is one of the ways the program provides students with an opportunity to put their hard work on display while simultaneously gaining invaluable experience.

Baylor University will join colleges and universities across the country to celebrate first-generation students, faculty and staff as part of the national First-Generation College Celebration Day.

The Baylor University Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, known nationally as the McNair Scholars Program, is wrapping up an impressive 2019-2020 academic year with an inaugural national McNair Research Conference held in September and Baylor’s largest graduating cohort of McNair Scholars.

Baylor University students Joshua Robinson and Katie Cameron have been accepted into the Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic (SAFE) Collegiate Recovery Leadership Academy, a year-long fellowship for any college student who is passionate about the intersection of collegiate recovery, leadership and service to others.

Baylor University biology major Jacqueline Carroll spent her summer in the lab researching seed microbiomes, the microscopic organisms such as bacteria, fungi and archaea that live within the seed. She hopes her research will one day lead to increased crop production (minus the use of genetically modified organisms) and, ultimately, address world hunger.

Many seniors feel the pressure of the unknown that inevitably comes as they anticipate life after college. For elementary education senior Olivia Moses, however, this pressure began to subside due to her involvement with the Baylor McNair Scholars Program.

Baylor University’s McNair Scholars program will host its inaugural research symposium from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18, in the Beckham and White rooms of the Bill Daniel Student Center, 1311 S. Fifth St. This come-and-go event will feature scholars’ poster presentations based on their summer research.

Baylor's McNair Scholars conducted groundbreaking research over the summer on subjects ranging from military history to media literacy. Scholars will present their research at conferences across the United States this fall.

Baylor University’s 25 inaugural McNair Scholars are ready to soar, like the program’s namesake Dr. Ronald E. McNair, a laser physicist and NASA astronaut who was inspired to work hard and persevere in his studies by his family and by a teacher who recognized and believed in his scientific potential.

On April 23rd, the McNair Scholars Program at Baylor University inducted its Inaugural Class of 24 scholars. The McNair Scholars Program is in honor of Dr. Ronald E. McNair who lost his life during the ill-fated U.S. Challenger space shuttle mission. The McNair Scholars Program is a federally funded program (one of the TRIO Programs funded by the Department of Education) mandated by Congress.

Next year at this time, a select group of students will have earned the coveted title of “McNair Scholars” for the first time at Baylor. Last month, Baylor was awarded a grant to bring the McNair Scholars Program to campus, providing new opportunities for underrepresented students and first-generation college students to prepare for doctoral studies in …

Named after Ronald McNair, an astronaut who died during the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger Mission, the program partners with universities to prepare minority students for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities.