With the expansion of a national program for underrepresented students the University of Wisconsin, officials look to further diversify campus and instill enthusiasm for studying science.
Founded in 1989, Posse is a program that recruits public high school students in groups of ten from select cities, trains the group and sends it to a higher educational institution to act as “catalysts of change” on campuses, the statement said.
UW, which was the organization’s first public partner institution, will seek to expand recruitment efforts to New York City and join in the national initiative focused on areas of science in the coming year.
A statement from UW said the program, which works to recruit and support underrepresented students from urban areas, said the change will increase UW’s strategic role in the national Posse organization and the mission to foster strength in scientific fields across the country.
Valeria Davis, a spokesperson for diversity programming on campus, said Posse currently recruits students from Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., to study at UW.
She said creating the new science, technology, engineering and mathematics Posse branch would help to diversify and boost the international standings of the nation’s scholars in these areas.
The program’s main goal is to support underrepresented scholars in urban cities, Davis said, along with promoting diversity among the scholars who will contribute to the global positioning of the country one day.
She added the presence of the program on campus brings a diversity of underrepresented students to UW for critical training to be leaders of tomorrow.
“The Posse program chooses wonderfully qualified students from urban areas across the nation, helping our campus to become more reflective of our new global world not just in terms of race and diversity, but also in terms of leadership and contribution,” Davis said.
Vice Provost of Diversity and Climate Damon Williams said in a statement that in order to qualify, a student must not only be considered underrepresented but must also attain competitive academic standards.
“[Students need] the high academic standards of the university they are attending, along with showing substantial leadership potential in their daily lives,” he said.
Davis said the name for the organization came when a student expressed she felt like she could have been more successful during her first year of college if she “had her posse” as a support system on campus.
Once selected, Davis said students go through a 32-week training program before entering college to prepare them for the academic and leadership opportunities that lay ahead.
Davis characterized the current members of the UW Posse branch as a group of diverse, gifted and motivated students that lend perspectives from across the country to collaborate and contribute to the already diverse culture of Madison and the greater campus community.
The statement said members of the first STEM Posse will arrive on campus in time for the fall semester for the science exploration program and coordinators on campus hope to continue their work to decrease the time required for underrepresented students to graduate with a degree.
