Graduate School receives $225,000 in funding

The IU Graduate School is among the 188 schools to receive the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Program grant from the U.S. Department of Education this year.\nThe Graduate School will receive $225,000 under the McNair grant. This money is to be used for programs, projects and research that will help students from “disadvantaged backgrounds (that) have demonstrated strong academic potential,” according to a U.S. Department of Education press release.\nThe colleges will use the funding to prepare these students for doctoral studies by working closely with them while they complete undergraduate courses by tracking their degree process through the Ph.D. level, according to the press release.\nThe McNair Program is a competitive discretionary grant that schools must compete for every four years, and the amount of money each school receives depends on how many students the grant will service. This year, more than 300 applicants were considered for the McNair Program, and 188 of these schools were funded, said the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal TRIO Programs office.\nCongressman Baron Hill’s office announced that IU’s Graduate School received the grant on Sept. 24 after receiving notice that the U.S. Department of Education had secured the money for the grant program, said Katie Moreau of Congressman Hill’s office.\n“I applaud Indiana University for receiving such a sizeable grant and know the funding will be put to good use,” Hill said in a press release.