KU News Release

KU’s Multicultural Scholars Program to be replicated for Kansas community colleges

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas’ Multicultural Scholars Program will be modified to help community colleges achieve similar success in academic performance and retention rates for underrepresented student groups.

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the program $515,157 over the next three years to retool the program to fit the needs of several community colleges.

“We’re providing organizations with outstanding professionals; many (of the students) go to graduate school afterward,” said Renate Mai-Dalton, director and founder of the program and associate professor in the School of Business. “It’s a leadership program for students of color, first-generation college students and high-financial-need students.”

Mai-Dalton, the grant’s principal investigator, said Kansas City Kansas Community College, Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kan., and Colby Community College have expressed interest in an expanded version of the program.

KU will team with representatives from those schools to modify and replicate the existing program. The programs will be evaluated throughout the grant period.

This spring, the grade-point average for students participating in the Multicultural Scholars Program at KU was 3.15, compared to the university’s overall average of 2.97 for undergraduates. The average GPA for program participants has been consistently higher than the university’s since it began in fall 2003.

Retention rates for students participating in the program have also increased every year, reaching 99 percent in the 2005-06 academic year.

Mai-Dalton said the program works by providing students with scholarships, mentors, group meetings and cultural events.

“We believe that education is a much broader process than just passing credit hours and receiving a grade,” she said. “We expose our students to many different art forms and social situations, such as Lied Center events and restaurant visits, where they learn how to feel comfortable in new environments.”

The goal, Mai-Dalton said, is at the end of the three-year grant period, community colleges and universities will not have to search for or develop mentoring models, as this one will already be tested to impact retention rates and academic performance, thus contributing to the future success of underrepresented students.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.