The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant will pay for the Moore Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program through 2019, said Rosa Perelmuter, director of the program.
“I’m happy to be able to continue to do this program and to know that at least for the next few years we can continue to train students to ensure that we are going to have a diverse professorate,” Perelmuter said.
María Durán, Ph.D. candidate and former program participant, said enrolling in the summer of 2008 helped her understand the importance of research.
“One of the things that I think MURAP does to diversify the academy and to mold young scholars is to provide a safe space first to find yourself as a scholar and find your voice as a writer,” Durán said. “It also places emphasis on how much need there is for a diverse faculty.”
Perelmuter said the program provides housing, a food allowance and a stipend. Students from minority backgrounds spend the summer researching in the humanities, social sciences or fine arts, according to the program’s website.
“They make enough so they can use it for whatever they would’ve used summer employment for, to either help their own households or parents or save money for the next year,” Perelmuter said.
Autumn McClellan, treasurer of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation, said UNC has a long way to go in diversifying graduate programs.
“I think that we’re losing out in terms of the academic body of knowledge that could be produced ... and on having the best and brightest folks able to come to UNC and able to graduate from UNC in the graduate programs, and particularly those that come from minority backgrounds,” McClellan said.
