Helping Students Reach What’s Next: UTA Libraries Supports McNair Scholars

Some of the most ambitious research on campus begins as an undergraduate assignment. UTA Libraries provides the support and scholarship funding that lets students continue that work. UTA's McNair Scholars Program allows students to conduct research with faculty mentors while preparing for graduate education and, ultimately, doctoral study. 

UTA Libraries has been part of that work in several ways, including providing scholarship support, helping publish student research and serving on the committee that reviews their work. 

In 2007, the Friends of the Library, in partnership with University Development, established an endowment to provide scholarships to students participating in the McNair Scholars Program. 

 
Kevin Schuck, Director of Organizational Operations at UTA Libraries, shared that the scholarship reflects the Libraries’ commitment to student success. 

 
“It definitely aligns with student success,” Schuck said. “So that they could finish their degrees while reducing the cost of an undergraduate degree.” 

 
The financial assistance is one part of the Libraries’ involvement. Staff also help publish McNair students’ research abstracts, allowing them to share their work beyond their immediate research group. 

 
Schuck also serves as chair of the scholarship committee, which reviews students’ research papers, posters and oral presentations. 

 
“I look forward to being able to go see all of the poster presentations and the oral presentations and reading the papers,” Schuck said. “These presentations allow Libraries staff a chance to see the questions students are asking, the work they are producing, and the ideas they are beginning to develop as scholars.” 

 
A Program Named for a Pioneer 

 
The U.S. Department of Education funds the McNair Scholars Program, which prepares low-income, first-generation, and/or underrepresented students for graduate education and doctoral study. 

 
The program is named for Dr. Ronald E. McNair, a physicist and NASA astronaut who earned his Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

 
McNair became the second Black American to travel into space in 1984. Two years later, he was one of seven astronauts killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger accident on Jan. 28, 1986, when the shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch. 

 
The program created in his honor carries forward his legacy by helping students pursue the advanced degrees needed to become researchers, educators and professionals in their fields. 

 
UTA’s McNair program has been part of the university since 1989–90. Scholars complete a summer research internship, work with faculty mentors, and participate in activities designed to prepare them for graduate school. Those opportunities include academic counseling, professional development, graduate school application assistance, and conference presentations. 

 
Their research can also be included in UTA’s scholarly record through the McNair Scholars Research Journal. 

 
Behind the Scholarship 

 
The scholarship selection process gives UTA Libraries staff a close look at the work McNair Scholars are producing. 

 
Schuck serves alongside Morgan Brickey-Jones, Head Librarian and Director of Community Engagement; Brianna Branscomb, Outreach and Open Education Coordinator; and Samantha Streeter, Multidisciplinary Librarian. 

 
The committee reviews students’ work and considers their research papers, posters and presentations as part of the selection process. 

 
Right now, the next group of scholarship recipients is under review. Recipients are expected to be determined in October, with the awards distributed in the spring. 

 
The process takes time and careful attention to detail, but Schuck said one of the most rewarding parts is seeing where former students eventually go. 

 
A former McNair Scholar who was part of one of Schuck’s student groups went on to earn a Ph.D. Schuck still occasionally sees updates about the former student online and is proud of their professional accomplishments. 

 
“You know, it’s good to see them progress and do what they’ve wanted to,” Schuck said. “Those moments offer a glimpse of what the McNair program can mean beyond an undergraduate research project.” 

 
An Opportunity Worth Investing In 

 
The Friends of the Library endowment enables UTA Libraries to invest directly in McNair Scholars and the opportunities the program provides. 

 
A scholarship can help ease the financial burden of completing a degree. Research experience can help a student understand what graduate-level work looks like. A presentation or publication can give a student confidence and experience to carry into the next stage of an academic career. 

 
Taken together, those opportunities can open doors that might otherwise feel out of reach. 

The Friends of the Library can help make those opportunities available to future McNair Scholars. Members of the UTA community, alums, and library supporters interested in supporting the McNair scholarship endowment can contact the UTA Libraries’ development team to learn more about giving opportunities. 

 
For Schuck, the impact is especially meaningful when he sees former students go on to earn their doctorates and build the careers they envisioned. 

 
The scholarship is one part of that story. The student deciding where to take that opportunity is the rest.