Dr. Steven Moore, associate professor of language and literature, has been appointed as the new director of the McNair Scholars Program.
The program helps students who may not normally have the opportunity to achieve their dreams of getting a Ph.D.
Moore will continue his job as an associate professor of Language and Literature while taking on taking on new responsibilities working as the director. He said the McNair Scholars Program about “mentoring and helping students achieve.”
“My job is simply to serve as director and oversee operations,” Moore said.
His tasks include overseeing the program activities and regulations, the development and coordination of faculty and administrative relationships, the development of McNair Scholars as undergraduate researchers and maintaining accountability for annual performance report and budget.
“I have a great team I work with,” Moore said.
Hilary Simpson, associate director for the program, works alongside Moore.
Simpson directs the day-to-day affairs of the program.
“Along with our administrative assistant, I help do the budget and the fun stuff,” Simpson said.
About 30 students participate in the program each year. Moore and Simpson work to get to know the scholars and help them succeed in the graduate program of their choice.
“My favorite part of the job is meeting with our scholars,” Simpson said.
Each participant receives a stipend to participate, as well as paid travel to conferences to present their research. Different opportunities are offered, such as campus visits, GRE tutoring and academic advising, anything to give students a competitive edge. Many graduate schools offer scholarships to McNair Scholars because of the program’s reputation.
“The program is designed to help students down the road,” Moore said.
The program works hard to get the word out about the program.
“We have awesome opportunities where we visit several organizations on campus and we promote McNair Scholars,” Moore said.
Resources and testimonies from previous McNair scholars can also be found online.
“We get the word out, we have literature, we’re visiting classes,” Moore said. “I am so excited about this great opportunity.”
