Dollars for Scholars – RICE – TMS scholarships help merit minority students’ interest in Rice

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– April 25, 2002Posted in: Current News

Dollars
for Scholars – RICE-TMS scholarships help merit minority
students’ interest in Rice
…………………………………………………………………

BY DAVID D. MEDINA

Special to the Rice News

Last year, on
the very day she sat down to decide which university to
attend — among them Rice, Amherst, Williams and Washington
University in St. Louis — Christel Miller received
notice that she had won a minority scholarship to attend
Rice University.

“That was the last straw. I was headed for Rice,”
said the freshman from Brown College.

Like Miller, 11 other students were swayed last spring to
enroll at Rice after being awarded $10,000 scholarships
from the Recruitment Into Collegiate Education Through Minority
Scholarships fund (RICE-TMS).

“The best evidence of the success of the program can
be found in the 12 scholars funded by RICE-TMS,” said
Carl MacDowell, president of the organization. “All
of them had a successful start, made their grade-point average
last fall (2.8, which is necessary to maintain eligibility
for the scholarship), and are continuing their studies this
spring,” MacDowell said.

The purpose of RICE-TMS is to recruit the best minority
students to Rice by offering them merit scholarships. The
group, composed of six Rice alumni, is a nonprofit organization
that is not associated with Rice University. Started about
two years ago, the organization has been very successful
in raising funds, collecting $550,000 to date.
Because the Rice community contributed $95,000 to the fund,
a scholarship was named in its honor and awarded to Miller.
The tremendous support from the Rice community will allow
RICE-TMS to award more Rice community scholarships in the
coming years, said MacDowell.

“Rice faculty and staff have been major players in
getting this effort launched through their generous donations,”
MacDowell explained.
Jaime Rios, a freshman from Sid Richardson College, said
that receiving the scholarship was a determining factor
in choosing which university to attend.

“[The
scholarship from the Recruitment Into Collegiate Education
Through Minority Scholarships] made Rice more attractive
and it showed me that the university really cares about
minority students.”

JAIME
RIOS
Rice freshman
and RICE-TMS scholarship recipient

“It
made Rice more attractive and it showed me that the university
really cares about minority students,” Rios said. “I
believe that it is important to have diversity at Rice and
be competitive in this regard with other universities.”

In addition to the scholarship, each of the winners was
assigned a volunteer faculty mentor for the entire four
years at Rice. Deborah Nelson-Campbell, professor of French
studies, is Rios’ mentor, and they meet once a month.

“It’s like meeting a friend for lunch,” explained
Nelson. “We talk about what he is doing and whatever
problems he might have.” Nelson recently wrote a letter
of recommendation for Rios to a minority medical education
program.

“It feels good to have someone on campus who cares
about you,” said Rios. “Professor Nelson is genuinely
interested in what is going on in my life, and that feels
good.”

For this spring, RICE-TMS plans to offer up to 50 scholarships
with the goal that 25 recipients will accept the award and
attend Rice next fall. Thus far, 15,000 applications have
been distributed, and 420 applications are under review.
A group of volunteer Rice faculty, RICE-TMS board members
and donor representatives review the applications, and then
the entire RICE-TMS board selects the winners.

The scholarships are awarded regardless of financial need
and do not replace any financial aid that a recipient receives
from Rice or other sources. They are given to students who
have been accepted to Rice and have demonstrated leadership
potential. The stipends will be awarded over a four-year
period in annual $2,500 installments.

—
David Medina is senior editor of Sallyport and director
of minority affairs.

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