Diversity Council Awards Competitive Grants

The University of Cincinnati Diversity Council has awarded six competitive grants totaling $50,000 to promote the recruitment and retention of minority students at UC.

The funded initiatives were selected from a dozen proposals submitted in response to an invitation from the President’s Diversity Council. In announcing the competition, the Council invited the campus community to submit proposals that would support minority student recruitment and retention. Applicants were strongly encouraged to find matching funds to extend the impact of the grants.

“Twelve very competitive proposals were submitted, reflecting a strong commitment and interest in building diversity in our student community,” said Neville Pinto, dean of UC’s Graduate School, who coordinated the competition.  “The proposals originated from a broad spectrum of departments of the University; some focused on enhancements to on-going initiatives while others were newly conceived projects.”

Proposals were evaluated by a panel of five reviewers. Because of the available budget, the review panel could only recommend six proposals for funding in this round, though many more were judged to be meritorious, Pinto said.

“Proposals submitted covered a wide range of ideas which made a challenging review process for the selection team,” said Mitchel D. Livingston, vice president for Student Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer. “I consider this process to be a success and will strongly encourage that it be continued in the future.”

Successful applicants were:

McMicken College of Arts & Sciences
Psychology Doctorate Program
The $10,000 grant will support an annual summer internship for advanced psychology undergraduates from UC and other institutions that will highlight career opportunities in the field, emphasize UC’s psychology research and training, and assist participants in preparation for graduate school admissions. Matching fund total $5,500.

College of Education, Criminal Justice & Human Services
Partner for Achieving School Success
The funded program will assist the recruitment and retention of first-generation, Pell-eligible freshmen by providing rent subsidies in the Gen-1 Theme House at Stratford Heights. Funding at $10,000 was awarded. Matching funds amounted to $36,632.

College of Law
Scholarship to Enhance Student Diversity
Law schools frequently compete for qualified minority applicants. A $10,000 Diversity Council grant matched equally by the College of Law will create a scholarship providing full tuition and improve the college’s ability to compete for diverse applicants.

College of Law
Preparation for Bar Examinations
A major hurdle for minority law students is the ability to finance bar exam preparatory courses while absorbing living expenses before the exam. The College of Law will use the $10,000 grant, augmented by $2,000 matching funds to offer three scholarships entering students who enhance the diversity of the student body to pay for a preparatory course and as a living stipend while the students study for the bar exam.

College of Medicine
Building Diversity in Biomedicine
A $5000 Diversity Council grant will help place underrepresented minority students from UC and other U.S. Colleges and Universities, especially Historically Black Colleges and Universities or other Minority Serving Institutions, into laboratory positions at the UC College of Medicine, under the mentorship of faculty in the college.

UCit
Scholarship for Minority Student in IT
Supported by a $5,000 grant and $15,600 in matching funds, UCit will support the academic pursuits of minority students within the information technology field by establishing a UCit Scholarship which would carry an associated professional job with UCit.

“The University enhanced its commitment to diversity by establishing the Chief Diversity Officer position and the President’s Diversity Council.  Together they provide leadership to make diversity an integral part of the UC experience,” Livingston said. “The diversity incentive program will further this commitment by encouraging faculty and staff to exercise their creativity in making diversity a part of the university culture.”