KU chancellor to honor 10 graduating McNair scholars during May 1 banquet

LAWRENCE -- University of Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway will honor 10 graduating McNair scholars during a banquet at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 1, in the Malott Room of the Kansas Union.

Named for Ronald E. McNair, a physicist and astronaut who died in the 1986 Challenger space shuttle explosion, the federally funded scholarships prepare students for graduate school. To be eligible, the students must be first-generation college students and be low income or underrepresented minorities -- or qualify for both categories. McNair was the second African-American astronaut to fly in space.

A former McNair scholar at KU, Belinda Hinojos, KU graduate student in counseling psychology from Kansas City, Kan., will speak to the 25 McNair scholars invited to attend the banquet with their families and faculty mentors. Angela Lumpkin, dean of education, also will speak.

Robert Rodriguez, McNair project coordinator, and Tanya Kooi, academic services coordinator, will join Hemenway in presenting special awards to the graduating seniors. Awards will include the Ronald E. McNair Challenger Award, which recognizes the achievements of a McNair scholar who, because of his or her diligence and commitment to research and learning, gives promise to a successful academic career.

KU's Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program is one of 156 nationwide designed to help ensure that the next generation of American faculty members represents the diversity of society at large by preparing for doctoral study low-income, first-generation college students and those from groups traditionally underrepresented in graduate education.