CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Four historically Black North Carolina
colleges and universities will partner with four majority White counterparts in
Virginia to double the
average number of minorities completing degrees in science, technology,
engineering and math.
The
VA-NC-Alliance for Minority Participation will combine university exchange
programs with intensified, personal instruction to bring the number of Black,
Latino and American Indian tech graduates to 1,050 over the next five years.
The University of Virginia in Charlottesville will lead the
program, supported by a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation
as it tries to pull more American students into “STEM” fields.
“We must
receive the talent from whatever source, whatever part of our country that is
available. You never know where the next Nobel prize laureate will come from,”
said A. James Hicks, who has helped organize similar alliances involving 37
states.
North
Carolina participants include Bennett College for Women, in Greensboro; Elizabeth City State University; Saint
Augustine’s College, in Raleigh; and Johnson C. Smith
University, in Charlotte.
At Smith, the
effort means a summer immersion program teaching students firm study habits, as
well as formal opportunities to share resources, said B.K. Chopra, a biology
professor and alliance participant.
