Colorado State Hosts Fifth Annual Mcnair Conference April 14-16

Colorado State University will host the fifth annual Rocky Mountain McNair Research Symposium and Graduate Education Conference April 14-16 at the Fort Collins Marriott Hotel. The conference will be attended by about 150 potential graduate students from ethnic minority or low-income, first-generation backgrounds from around the nation.

The three-day conference will feature competitive research presentations, panel discussions, a Knowledge Bowl, graduate program visits and speakers, including keynote speaker Dr. Patrick Allen, researcher at the University of Colorado-Boulder and founder of the Black Biomedical Research Movement.

In addition to showcasing student research, the conference will serve as a forum to introduce college students to graduate education and careers that require a graduate degree. McNair scholars are expected from schools throughout the nation and as far away as Puerto Rico.

The conference is co-sponsored by the McNair programs at Colorado State University, University of Northern Colorado, University of Colorado-Boulder and University of Wyoming. The programs are named after Ronald McNair, a shuttle astronaut who rose from a background of poverty and segregation to obtain a doctorate degree. His remarkable life ended in the Challenger explosion in 1986.

Currently, 160 McNair Scholars Programs across the country are funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The programs help increase the rate of doctoral degrees attained by groups underrepresented in graduate education.

For more information, Call Anne Wilcox at (970) 491-3702.