About McNair Scholars Program

Congress created the Ronald E. McNair Post baccalaureate Achievement Program in 1989 to assist low-income/first-generation and underrepresented minority students in the pursuit of graduate education. The McNair Scholars Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the federal government’s TRIO programs.

The program prepares undergraduates students for pursuit of a doctoral degree by providing financial support, mentoring and opportunities so they can gain research experience, academic skills and strategies, and develop student/faculty mentor relationships that are so crucial for success in higher education. McNair programs are housed at 187 Universities in the U.S. Five of these programs are in Georgia.

Who Was Ronald E. McNair?

Dr. Ronald E. McNair was born in Lake City, South Carolina on October 21, 1950. He died in the Space Shuttle Challenger accident on January 28, 1986. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering physics, magna cum laude, from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1971.

In 1976, he received a Ph.D. degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After graduation from MIT, he became a staff physicist at the Hughes Research Lab in Malibu, California. He then joined NASA in 1978 as a candidate astronaut. During Dr. McNair eight years at NASA he logged over 191 hours in space.

That fateful day January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion took the lives of Dr. McNair, and six other crewmen: Mr. F. R. Scobee, Commander M. J. Smith (USN), Lieutenant Colonel E. S. Onizuka (USAF), Dr. J. A. Resnik, Mr. G. B. Jarvis, and Mrs. S. C. McAuliffe.

Whether or not you reach your goals in life depends entirely on how well you prepare for them and how badly you want them. You're eagle! Stretch your wings and fly to the sky."

- Ronald E. McNair, PhD

Ronald playing Saxaphone in zero gravity

Eyes On the Stars

StoryCorps, an independent nonprofit, released an animation titled Eyes on the Star. The story narrated by his brother Carl McNair tells the story of how Ronald overcame obstacles in his early life and went on to become a hero in his small hometown in South Carolina.

McNair in the News

UNG hosts National TRIO Day event

March 13, 2023

UNG hosted high school students and TRIO professionals Feb. 25 for Georgia's National TRIO Day celebration at UNG's Dahlonega Campus.

McNair grants open doors to grad school

December 1, 2022

The McNair Scholars Program at UNG has received a second five-year grant of $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Education to prepare students for graduate school.

Campaign raises funds for scholarships

October 3, 2022

The UNG RISE Giving Campaign runs from Oct. 1-30 and aims to raise $100,000 for 20 scholarship funds.

Alumna, students earn prestigious fellowships

April 19, 2022

Alumna Lydia Skolrood has earned acceptance into the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, while students Gina Diodati and Calvin Perdigao have received generous grad school funding.

Two students named Goldwater Scholars

April 10, 2022

UNG students Anna Cronan and Alisha Paul have won Barry Goldwater Scholarships, making UNG the only public university in Georgia with multiple recipients this year.

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