We are thinking broadly about diversity. Increasing racial and ethnic diversity is critical. It is also important to increase representation among first-generation students, military-connected students, and students of differing political ideologies, geographic backgrounds, and other dimensions of lived experience and identity.
Transformative Investment
We made a significant advancement toward this goal in March of 2021 thanks to Frank McCourt’s transformative second investment of 0M in our school, M of which will go to scholarships and financial aid, and at least 50% of that going specifically to students historically underrepresented in public policy education.
- This investment allowed McCourt to expand two existing financial aid programs: the Dean’s Scholarship program, McCourt’s merit-based financial aid pool for our highest performing returning students, and the McCourt Fund for Experiential Learning, which provides financial assistance to returning students and recent graduates who are advancing their careers with substantive and meaningful unpaid summer internships.
- Drawing on faculty expertise in education policy, economics and public management, the McCourt School has formed a Scholarship Committee to develop new approaches to supporting future changemakers.
Developing Additional Resources
The McCourt School is developing additional resources to support more student scholarships, like the National Urban Fellows program, the Craig Newmark Veterans Scholarship Fund, the Howard Scholar Program, the Colin McCollester Mission Fund, and the Richmond Foundation Fellowships.