IU to partner with 9 universities

To further diversify IU, President Adam Herbert announced Thursday a plan to partner with nine historically black universities and offer a select group of these universities’ graduates fellowships to conduct graduate studies at IU.\nThe Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics Initiative will provide a limited number of these universities’ students each year the chance to further graduate studies at IU. Announced at IU Purdue University at Indianapolis, the initiative will cater to students whose concentrations relate to science, technology, engineering or mathematics.\nBeginning next fall, 10 masters and six doctoral students will be accepted into the program. Along with receiving free tuition, these students will receive a $4,000 stipend along with room and board each year. To fund the STEM Initiative, Herbert announced that a $2 million endowment fund would be created.\nFor IU graduate student Joshua Busby, the announcement was just a few years too late. Busby, who attended today’s meeting in Indianapolis, said he saw the program, in its support for historically black universities, as an example of the “greatness of IU.” Busby is an alumnus of Langston University in Oklahoma, one of the schools involved with the initiative. \n“This is something I wish I had the chance to take advantage of,” he said.\nThe nine universities that will partner with IU are Alabama A&M, Bennett College for Women, Morgan State University, Langston University, Hampton University, Morehouse College, Xavier University of Louisiana, Clark Atlanta University and Jackson State University.\nFour of the partnership universities’ presidents attended the announcement Thursday. Also, Charles Greene, executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and IUPUI Chancellor Charles Bantz were among other top University officials took part in offering praise to the diversifying initiative.\n“To be able to collaborate with Indiana University, one of the nation’s premiere institutions of higher learning, will prove to be a plus for both of our institutions,” said Robert Jennings, president of Alabama A&M University, according to the text of his speech.\nAlong with providing opportunities for these universities’ students, plans are in place for IU faculty to participate in teaching partnerships at these universities. \nCarol Hardeman, the project’s coordinator at Langston University, has been involved with the initiative since its conception last year. She said all institutions involved will benefit from increased interaction.. \n“I think for IU it will just offer a wider opportunity for diversity,” she said. “For students at Langston, there are unnamed opportunities – opportunities they probably never thought of.”\nThe initiative was established by IU’s president last year. Herbert, IU’s first black leader, said one of his goals for the project was to increase University diversity, according to the initiative’s Web site.\nBut even as Herbert prepares to depart July 1, making room for president-elect Michael McRobbie, increasing University diversity will likely still be on the agenda. McRobbie, in outlining his vision for IU, has called on the importance of a more diverse University.