Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program

Dr. Ronald Ervin McNair exemplified excellence in academia and in life. He came from a low-income family in South Carolina. Despite a background of poverty and segregation, Ronald McNair received a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1971, magna cum laude, from North Carolina A&T University. In 1976, he earned a Ph.D. in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. McNair was nationally recognized for his research in laser physics. After working as a Physicist at Hughes Research Laboratories, he became a mission specialist astronaut with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1978.

Dr. McNair and his fellow astronauts died when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after take-off on January 28, 1986. The McNair Program was established in 1986 by Congress in his honor.

The McNair Scholars Program is an academic support and enrichment program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). It will provide effective preparation for doctoral study to TRIO eligible college students, and students from groups underrepresented in graduate education. The McNair scholars will benefit from a strong committed faculty who are experienced in mentoring undergraduates, outstanding research programs and facilities, a full range of support programs and educational enhancement opportunities, a population of graduate students to serve as role models and mentors, and administrative commitment at all levels. The year-round services provided will prepare participants for acceptance into quality graduate programs.