MCNAIR PROGRAM
McNair is one of six TRIO programs funded by the US Department of Education to provide educational opportunity and support to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who demonstrate academic potential. The McNair Program at Truman State University seeks to increase the number of first-generation college and low-income students and students from underrepresented groups in higher education who eventually obtain doctoral degrees. McNair Scholars participate in research, mentoring, and other scholarly activities. Scholars participate in a pre-research internship during their sophomore year and a ten-week summer research internship during their junior year. During their senior year, the focus is on graduate school placement. McNair Scholars are matched with faculty mentors who assist them in achieving their individual post-baccalaureate educational goals. Truman’s McNair Program meets the social, financial, academic, and informational needs associated with gaining entry into and completing doctoral programs and addresses the nation-wide underrepresentation of its target groups in graduate programs.
NEW STUDENT PROGRAMS
Truman’s New Student Programs offer all freshman students and many upperclassmen the chance to experience a living/learning community by bringing an academic focus to some of the activities and relationships developed within the residence halls.
The New Student Programs put academic success at the forefront by providing students ready access to comprehensive advising and academic support services. Full-time, professional academic advisors have offices in Kirk Building. They assist in specific registration and academic course planning for all resident freshmen and undeclared students and give advice regarding general academic concerns, skills, tutoring, or liberal arts career planning to all resident students. Student advisors assist the professional advisors in helping students to understand when and how to use the resources made available to them. The professional advisors working in the New Student Programs, in turn, assist students in beginning to establish meaningful relationships with Truman faculty in their declared majors or areas of interest.
The New Student Programs also support special initiatives to increase faculty-student interaction outside the traditional classroom. The New Student Programs facilitate personal engagement in liberal arts learning, for both faculty and students, through small seminars conducted over meals, evenings of Great Conversation, Nights in the University Gallery, field trips, and participation in the New Student Programs/Student Senate Summer Reading Program.
SCHOLASTIC ENHANCEMENT EXPERIENCE (SEE) SCHOLARS PROGRAM
SEE Scholars is a Truman program for select under-represented students (ethnic minority or first-generation college students) who are planning to attend Truman. It is designed to help prepare them for the academic challenges of attending Truman State University while helping to build strong connections to Truman, its resources and their peers.
Each spring up to four current Truman students are chosen to serve as Peer Advisors for the SEE Scholars. Contact the Multicultural Affairs Center in the Adair Building, (660) 785-4142, or the Admission Office in the Ruth Towne Museum and Visitor Center, (660) 785-4114, for more information on employment opportunities or the program in general. |
