by Tom Woolf<\/p>\n
CARBONDALE, Ill. \u2014 A private foundation is investing in Southern Illinois University Carbondale\u2019s efforts to improve the graduation rate of first-generation students.<\/p>\n
A longstanding commitment to first-generation students \u2014 those whose parents did not attend college \u2014 was one of the reasons The Suder Foundation, of Plano, Texas, selected the University for the five-year, $1 million program. Along with SIUC, the foundation awarded a grant to the University of Alabama. SIUC and Alabama competed with 32 other universities.<\/p>\n
Nearly 43 percent of SIUC\u2019s 2009 first-time entering freshmen were first-generation students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe appreciate The Suder Foundation\u2019s confidence in our University and we are excited about what this program will mean for our students,\u201d Chancellor Rita Cheng said. \u201cWe provide support systems and additional tools to help our first-year students make a successful transition to the University, because success in that first year is key to students reaching their educational goals. But first-generation students can face additional challenges, and this program will enhance our efforts at helping them succeed throughout their careers here.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to The Suder Foundation, first-generation students, once enrolled in a university, may face a variety of challenges, including: limited access to information about the college experience, either firsthand or from relatives; limited knowledge of time management, college finances, budget management, and the bureaucratic operations of higher education; doubts about their academic and motivational abilities, causing them to think they are \u201cnot college material\u201d; and difficulty balancing family, work and school responsibilities.<\/p>\n
The foundation is the creation of Eric Suder, founder and chief executive officer of ESI, based in Plano. As a result of the company\u2019s success with significance philosophy, he has started or become involved with several philanthropic programs, including the ESI Humanitarian Relief Fund. That project initially was a response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, but has grown into a more general effort to assist victims of disasters ranging from Hurricane Katrina to earthquakes in Asia.<\/p>\n
Suder also assists students with financial need through endowments to the University of Texas and his alma mater, West Virginia University.<\/p>\n
His foundation\u2019s nationwide effort to help first-generation college students began last year, with the University of Utah and the University of Kentucky securing the inaugural grants. The Suder Foundation\u2019s program focuses on four key areas for first-generation students: financial, academic, personal development and social integration.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur First Scholars program goals align well with initiatives in place at SIUC,\u201d Suder said. \u201cWe were excited by the planning team\u2019s level of energy and enthusiasm about what we are trying to accomplish through our data-driven approach to assisting first-generation students graduate from college.\u201d<\/p>\n
During this first year of the \u201cFirst Scholars Program,\u201d SIUC is receiving $60,000 for planning. The University will hire a planning coordinator to work with a core planning team to map out the program. According to the timeline submitted as part of the grant application, selection of a permanent First Scholars director is set for February 2011, with the individual beginning his or her duties that May.<\/p>\n
The Suder Foundation will fund 20 scholarships at $5,000 each beginning in fall 2011, and will fund 20 additional scholarships at the same level in each of the succeeding three years. Students from Illinois, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee will be eligible for the scholarships. Financial need and demonstrated academic ability as shown by ACT and\/or SAT scores and high school GPA will be among the scholarship criteria.<\/p>\n
The scholarship will be renewable for three years as long as the First Scholar maintains at least a 2.5 GPA and meets other criteria established by The Suder Foundation. After the fourth year of the program, the University will be responsible for securing necessary funding to maintain scholarship renewals for existing students and to award scholarships to new groups of students.<\/p>\n
One of The Suder Foundation\u2019s requirements of scholarship recipients is \u201cPay-It-Forward.\u201d In addition to volunteering in campus and community organizations, First Scholar upperclassmen can serve as mentors for incoming participants. In addition, the returning participants can tutor other First Scholars. At SIUC, key scholarship recipients, such as Presidential Scholars, will mentor first-year participants in the First Scholars program.<\/p>\n
Saluki First Year will administer the First Scholars Program. SIUC introduced Saluki First Year last fall as a comprehensive approach designed to smooth the transition to the University for all first-year students. Mark Amos, associate professor of English and Academic Affairs director of Saluki First Year, was the principal investigator on the application to The Suder Foundation.<\/p>\n
Noting that serving first-generation students is \u201cpart of our institutional DNA,\u201d Amos said the First Scholars Program will have a number of benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will allow us to bring in students who otherwise may not have been able to attend for financial reasons, or who could come with other kinds of financial assistance but now we\u2019ll be able to offer more scholarship money,\u201d he said. \u201cWith First Scholars, we will be using best practices on a small scale and we then can put them in place for all of our first-generation students. And since part of the intent of these kinds of programs is to generate best practices on a larger scale, this will allow us to publicize more widely what we are doing and establish SIUC as a model for meeting the needs of first-generation students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amos and Julie Payne Kirchmeier, director of University Housing and Student Affairs director of Saluki First Year, both emphasized that the success in securing the Suder Foundation grant reflects a collaborative effort among academics, Student Affairs and the SIU Foundation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end, it\u2019s our students who matter,\u201d said Payne Kirchmeier, the co-principal investigator on the grant application. \u201cWhen we collaborate like this as an institution, it\u2019s the students who win, and when that happens, our institution and community become stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jill Gobert, director of corporate and foundation relations for the SIU Foundation, and Charles Leonard, visiting professor with the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, were part of the core team that responded to The Suder Foundation grant proposal and will assist in its implementation.<\/p>\n
Rickey N. McCurry, vice chancellor for institutional advancement and chief executive officer of the SIU Foundation, applauded the collaborative effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cFoundation staff and University community members worked in harmony to make this possible,\u201d he said. \u201cTheir cooperation and hard work has resulted in a partnership with The Suder Foundation that will have a positive impact on SIUC students. This effort really coincides with the SIU Foundation\u2019s focus of \u2018Investing in Saluki Futures.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn more about The Suder Foundation, visit http:\/\/www.suderfoundation.org\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Tom Woolf CARBONDALE, Ill. \u2014 A private foundation is investing in Southern Illinois University Carbondale\u2019s efforts to improve the graduation rate of first-generation students. A longstanding commitment to first-generation students \u2014 those whose parents did not attend college \u2014 was one of the reasons The Suder Foundation, of Plano, Texas, selected the University for … Continue reading Grant will support first-generation students<\/span>