MICUA

Collectively, MICUA colleges and universities award three times more financial aid to needy undergraduate students than the State and federal governments combined. Many of these financial aid programs are targeted to students of color. Additionally, MICUA member institutions dedicate substantial portions, if not all, of their financial aid resources to need-based financial aid. In fact, St. John’s College and Loyola University Maryland meet the full financial need of all admitted applicants. Funding for these programs comes from institutional resources and private giving. For example, the Hodson Trust provides need-based financial aid to minority students enrolled at St. John’s College.

In 1953, ten of the MICUA member institutions founded the Independent College Fund of Maryland, known as the I-Fund. The core mission of the I-Fund is to raise funds—principally from businesses and foundations—to support scholarships and grants for students enrolled at member institutions. Several years ago, the I-Fund established the Urban Scholars Program to provide financial assistance to Baltimore City students who demonstrate an interest in diversity. The program includes a $10,000 need-based scholarship, mentoring, skill-building workshops, networking, and internship opportunities for each of the four years of a student’s college education.

The following examples demonstrate the types of scholarship and grant programs offered by MICUA member institutions to support diversity efforts:

• In Fall 2010, Loyola University Maryland and Notre Dame of Maryland University were featured on the nationally televised program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The two institutions joined Extreme Makeover to assure a college education for the seven young women and eight young men of Baltimore’s Boys Hope Girls Hope. The two institutions awarded full, four-year scholarships covering tuition, fees, room and board, and books. The Extreme Makeover team constructed a residence in northeast Baltimore for the girls of Boys Hope Girls Hope, a national nonprofit organization that provides at-risk children with a stable home, positive parenting, high-quality education, and other supports needed to reach their full potential. Many staff from Loyola and Notre Dame volunteered their time to help construct the home for the girls.

• Loyola University Maryland created the McGuire Scholars program to help non-exempt staff pursue a college degree. The program targets lower-wage employees, and a high percentage of African Americans and Asians take advantage of this opportunity.

• Mount St. Mary’s University offers two scholarship programs specifically aimed at expanding opportunities for underrepresented groups. The first is the Third Century Scholars program, which is targeted for high-need African-American and Hispanic students from the Washington, DC area who plan to earn a degree in business or education. Second, the Native American Scholarship program was created in partnership with the St. Labré Indian School in Montana. The agreement allows St. Labré graduates to attend Mount St. Mary’s with the two institutions providing matching funds. This ongoing initiative yields an average of two new students each year.

• The Fannie Lou Hamer Scholarship at Sojourner-Douglass College is specifically intended to assist public housing residents in Baltimore City access higher education.

• Washington College designates financial aid funds for students from traditionally underrepresented populations. These funds are awarded on the basis of demonstrated need to qualified applicants.

• The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at Goucher College was created specifically for first-generation college students from Maryland. The program has grown from five in its first year to 30 this past year. In addition to financial aid, the EOP benefits students by creating a supportive academic environment in which program participants can thrive. Students admitted into the program are selected based on academic potential and economic need. EOP staff and the Goucher community focus on acclimating program participants to college life by requiring their participation in the EOP Summer Bridge program. This four-week early emersion program is held during the summer, after orientation. Its focus is on promoting academic success, college readiness, and social adaptation. Summer Bridge is a residential experience, designed to introduce EOP scholars to the rigor and culture of college life. Daily workshops, mentorship, nightly tutorial sessions, and weekly outings are offered to encourage and contribute to each scholar’s academic success. EOP staff members monitor their academic progress throughout their time at Goucher. EOP scholars participate in monthly personal development workshops, retreats, and regularly scheduled one-on-one sessions with program staff.

• Hood College offers the Hodson-Gilliam Diversity Scholarship for students who indicate a sincere interest in developing a diverse student body. Students of all ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to apply and must complete an essay explaining how they are involved in creating a diverse environment. In Fall 2010, Hood awarded 20 Hodson-Gilliam scholarships, valued at $160,000 over four years.

• Johns Hopkins University provides many scholarships for its undergraduate and graduate students. One of the best known is the Baltimore Scholars Program, which provides full-tuition scholarships to Baltimore City public high school graduates who are accepted in the University’s undergraduate programs. The number of Baltimore City Public School graduates admitted to JHU has increased from an annual average of three prior to the start of the Baltimore Scholars Program to 18 annually in the years since its inception. At the graduate level, the Bloomberg School of Public Health provides scholarships to support doctoral students who are committed to eliminating health disparities in Baltimore or other U.S. urban settings and to assisting community health care organizations across the U.S. to build capacity and improve access to quality health care for medically underserved populations.