Contact:

Kersti Tyson 277-2713 or Carolyn Gonzales 277-5920

March 8, 2001

UNM GRADUATE STUDIES PROGRAM AWARDS FELLOWSHIPS
NSF grant encourages minority students to pursue advanced degrees

The University of New Mexico has formed an alliance with New Mexico State and New Mexico Tech to triple the number of science, mathematics and engineering PhDs awarded to minority students in the state.

The New Mexico Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (NM-AGEP) was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to allow the graduate office at each institution to offer financial assistance as well as implement program changes with an aim to encourage minority students to earn PhDs in science, mathematics or engineering and become faculty members.

This month, UNM's Office of Graduate Studies NM-AGEP Program awarded 10 PhD students and one master's student a $2,000 fellowship. These outstanding students are:

Nikki Jernigan - Biomedical Science
Harriett Platero - Biology
Jerusha Reynolds - Biology
Teresa Tibbets - Biology
Jessica Burks - Mathematics and Statistics
Mark Johnson - EECE
Julius Yellowhair - EECE
Jonathan Lucero - Civil Engineering
Carlos Gallegos - Mechanical Engineering
Robert Hampton - Mechanical Engineering
Ronald W. Leger - Mechanical Engineering

In addition to receiving the fellowship, NM-AGEP Fellows will participate in conferences and workshops to help ensure they are prepared to teach and balance the range of responsibilities of a professor.

"UNM-AGEP is an exciting program," said Dr. Ken Frandsen, Dean of Graduate Studies, "There is a very dedicated faculty and administration at UNM, NMSU and NM Tech, that are committed to increasing the number of minority students in PhD programs and faculty positions. NM-AGEP is here to facilitate and support students, their faculty, and their departments in bringing a new vitality to graduate education by increasing the number of qualified minority faculty and graduate students in science, mathematics and engineering."

# # #

The University of New Mexico
Public Affairs Department
Hodgin Hall, 2nd floor
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0011
Telephone: (505) 277-5813
Fax: (505) 277-1981