The Office of Graduate Admissions launched a new diversity recruitment initiative in hopes of introducing qualified students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and McNair Scholars to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Nearly 40 students participated in the HBCU Campus Visit on Wednesday and Thursday, April 4-5. The program was a multi-phased initiative focused on building relationships with HBCUs located in states near Illinois.
“The purpose is for SIUE to build mutually beneficial partnerships with these institutions, and for the University to showcase its graduate degree programs that want to diversify their applicant pool,” said Terra Cole Brown, HBCU/McNair Program coordinator, and student advisor in the Office of Graduate and International Admission. “We invited students from a targeted list of institutions to visit SIUE, to attend the 22nd Annual SIUE Graduate Spring Research Symposium, and to meet with University administrators, program directors, faculty and staff.”
The students came from Spelman College in Atlanta; Lane College in Jackson, Tenn.; Rust College in Holly Springs, Miss.; LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tenn.; Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo.; and Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis. On Thursday, April 5, five of those students received a Graduate Scholar Award from the SIUE Graduate School for their first year of graduate study.
“The HBCU Spring Campus visit enlightened me and gave me insight on the program I applied for,” said Lauryn Joiner, one of the SIUE Graduate Scholar Award winners and graduating senior at LeMoyne-Owen College. Joiner, who majored in criminal justice/pre-law at LeMoyne-Owen, plans to earn a master’s in sociology at SIUE.
“The information on the SIUE website piqued my interest, but having the student and faculty interaction, along with their personal experiences, confirmed that this was the place I wanted to continue my learning,” added Joiner.
Photos:
Susan Morgan, PhD, associate dean for research and graduate studies in the SIUE Graduate School, presents one the Graduate Scholar awards to Lauryn Joiner, graduating senior at LeMoyne-Owen College.