UNCF, Thurgood Marshall Collaboration Encourages Teaching Careers in Math, Science.

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Author: Unknown

Dateline: WASHINGTON

The Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, the United Negro College Fund and the Siemens Foundation have collaborated to establish the Siemens Teacher Scholarships, aimed at encouraging minority students to pursue teaching careers in math and science.

"We all know that good schools are impossible without good teachers," says Wilbert Bryant, deputy assistant secretary for the federal Department of Education's higher education programs. "The Siemens Foundation scholarship money will help increase the number of teachers going into America's classrooms. The collaboration of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and the United Negro College Fund will assist 85 historically Black colleges and universities in their efforts to encourage minority students in pursuing a career in science and mathematics."

The New Jersey-based Siemens Foundation will provide $1 million in scholarships over the next five years for undergraduate and graduate students who wish to pursue careers in math, science and technology primary and secondary education. Two organizations that are active in promoting post-secondary education for minority students, the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and the UNCF, will administer the funds. Each organization will receive $500,000 to be awarded to students accepted to any one of the nation's 85 HBCUs that are members of the two organizations.

This program marks the first collaboration of its kind between the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and the UNCF. The Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund lists 47 public HBCUs as members; the UNCF provides operational support to the 38 private institutions. The two organizations will select scholarship recipients each year. The Siemens Foundation will fund the scholarships as part of its mission to support and enhance math and science education in America's high schools.

"If American technology companies are to continue creating cutting-edge innovations and high-paying jobs, we need to be sure that all American high-school students develop the necessary math and science skills they will require to take advantage of these opportunities," says Thomas N. McCausland, chairman of the board at the Siemens Foundation. "It is therefore imperative that we provide the necessary resources to broaden the pool of qualified math and science teachers, especially in communities that have been traditionally under-represented in the fields of science and technology. This is a partnership between three institutions who are committed to improving the quality of science and math education in our nations schools."