For the first time in its history, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is offering a full scholarship to an African-American student.
Ronald E.
McNair, an expert in laser physics, was the second African-American selected by NASA for the space shuttle program to fly into space on Feb.
3, 1984, reports MIT Technology Review.
He died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on Jan.
28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.
In honor of McNair, the UMass Amherst Office of Inclusion and Engagement has launched the Ronald E.
McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, which aims to encourage low-income and first-generation college students, and those from historically underrepresented ethnic groups, to enroll in doctoral programs and pursue an academic career, per a press release.
"We hope that by providing these students, both here on our campus and at other colleges, easy access to pertinent information on the many graduate opportunities available to them, they will come to see graduate study as a viable path to fulfill their academic career," says associate dean Wilmore Webley.
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