On Saturday, I helped kick off the 33rd annual MU McNair Scholars Program Research Conference.

McNair is a federal program that prepares undergraduate students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in graduate education for advanced degrees.

MU McNair Scholars spend an entire academic year collaborating with faculty mentors on wide-ranging research projects –  from international politics, to astrophysics, to school psychology. The scope of their final work is impressive.

At Mizzou, we have a proud legacy of McNair Scholar excellence. We were one of the first 14 universities to host the program when it launched in 1989. MU McNair Scholars have become groundbreaking academics ­– including Marcia Chatelain, who won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for History.

As one of many initiatives in the Office of Access and Leadership Development in the Division of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, McNair helps us build an inclusive community in which all are supported in reaching their goals. Congratulations to those who presented.

— Mun