SOU Announces 2015 Ronald E. McNair Achievement Program Cohort

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University has completed the selection process for its 2015 cohort of the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program. The program uses federal grant funds to prepare eligible participants for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities.
The SOU Ronald E. McNair Achievement Program is one of just 158 such programs in the nation. It is specifically designed to ensure that the student scholars complete their bachelor degrees, enroll in graduate school, and have the knowledge, skills, and background preparation that are required to successfully complete a doctoral program.
The goal of the federal program is to increase the attainment of PhD degrees by students from disadvantaged backgrounds and underrepresented segments of society.
The 2015 cohort includes ten students: Thomas Burns (Veneta, Ore.), Shannon Connolly (Roseburg, Ore.), Alexa Gonzalez (Menifee, Calif.), Anna Humphreys (Boulder, Colo.), John Pogue III (Medford, Ore.), Cristian Ramirez-Martinez (Ashland, Ore.), Carolina Regalado (White City, Ore.), Tamara Robertson (Camas, Wash.), David Sparks (Carey, Idaho), and Amy Waters (Grants Pass, Ore.).
The program’s namesake, Dr. Ronald E. McNair, was killed in the Challenger explosion in 1986, leaving behind a wife and two children. He earned a PhD in Laser Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976 at age 26.
For more information, visit www.sou.edu/mcnair.
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About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.