developmentnews Wisconsin Scholars Program to Address Low Black Male Achievement Rate
I Robert Youngjohns, president of Microsoft North America, talks to Morehouse students.
Morehouse Builds Alliance with Microsoft
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lready a national leader in producing black males in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), Morehouse is currently negotiating an education alliance agreement with Microsoft that is sure to increase the pipeline of Morehouse students pursuing STEM and business careers. As part of the leadership lecture series, Robert Youngjohns, president of Microsoft North America, visited campus on February 2, 2012, to talk with the top 50 STEM students about how they can prepare for careers in the technology industry. His impressions of Morehouse students underscore Microsoft’s decision to select Morehouse as the first HBCU participant in this alliance opportunity. “These students are among the best and brightest in the nation,” he said. “I hope to one day transition these bright young minds into Microsoft careers.” “I hope to one day Several students have been invited to interview for the 2012 Microsoft Academy transition these for College Hires Program (MACH), a bright young highly selective, accelerated career-developminds into ment program for new hires at Microsoft. Microsoft careers.” As part of the emerging alliance, -Robert Youngjohns Microsoft hosted Morehouse STEM students, including John Hopps Research Scholars, in its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and Paris, France. In 2011, two teams of Morehouse STEM students advanced to the second round of Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, an international student competition where students create technology solutions to help solve some of the world’s toughest problems. Devon Nicholson ’13, an English major and Japanese minor, was selected to serve as a Morehouse ambassador for the company, introducing the campus and surrounding community to the latest in Microsoft technology. n –KJI
n Wisconsin, where black male educational achievement ranks among the lowest in the nation, key members of the state’s corporate and foundation community have partnered with Morehouse to create the Wisconsin Scholars Program. Beginning in 2012, up to 20 young men from the state will receive a $25,000 scholarship to attend “It will Morehouse and to participate in change this leadership development and summer community by college preparatory opportunities. The program stands to have a great bringing strong, impact on Milwaukee, where the well-educated high school graduation rate for black young African males is only 31 percent, compared to American 66 percent of white males. “So many of our young men work men back to hard and need just that one opportunity Milwaukee.” for success to keep moving their lives for-Gregory Thornton ward in a positive direction,” said Gregory Thornton, superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools. “The Morehouse Wisconsin Scholars Program offers them that chance.” “We believe this will be a life-changing experience for our students who are selected to participate in this program. It will change this community, as well, by bringing strong, well-educated young African American men back to Milwaukee where their success will continue and influence others,” he said. Baseball hall of fame legend Hank Aaron and his wife, Billye, both longtime supporters of Morehouse and former Milwaukee residents, played a key role in the development of the program. Mrs. Aaron is also a member of the Morehouse College Board of Trustees. The Aarons, together with their close friend John Daniels, a Milwaukee businessman and attorney, helped introduce members of the Morehouse College fundraising team to key players in Milwaukee’s business and leadership community. Morehouse’s vision is to increase educational opportunities for black males from underserved areas across the nation. “The Wisconsin program is a pilot initiative that we hope to roll out to other cities with low black male achievement rates,” said Julie Sills, director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Morehouse. n –KJI S P R I N G / S U M M E R
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