Sallyport - The Magazine of Rice University - Summer 2002

Dollars for Scholars: RICE-TMS Scholarships Boost Merit Minority Students’ Interest in Rice - Through the Sallyport
Spring 2002
VOL.58, NO.4
Dollars for Scholars: RICE-TMS Scholarships
Boost Merit Minority Students’ Interest in Rice
Last year, on the very day she sat down to decide which university to attend
—among them Rice, Amherst, Williams, and Washington University in St.
Louis—Christel Miller received notice that she had won a minority
scholarship to attend Rice University.
“That was the last straw. I was headed for Rice,” says the Brown College
student.
Like Miller, 11 other students were swayed to enroll at Rice after being
awarded $10,000 scholarships from the Recruitment Into Collegiate
Education Through Minority Scholarships fund (RICE-TMS). “The best
evidence of the success of the program can be found in the 12 scholars
funded by RICE-TMS,” says Carl MacDowell, president of the
organization. “All of them had a successful start, made their grade-point
average last fall [a 2.8 minimum, which is necessary to maintain eligibility
for the scholarship], and are continuing their studies this year.”
The purpose of RICE-TMS is to recruit the best minority students to Rice
by offering them merit scholarships. The group, composed of six Rice
alumni, is a nonprofit organization that is not associated with Rice
University. Started about two years ago, the organization has been very
successful in raising funds, collecting $550,000 to date, $95,000 of that
from the Rice community. “Rice faculty and staff have been major players
in getting this effort launched through their generous donations,”
MacDowell says.
Christel Miller and
Jaime Rios are two of
the students who received
scholarships from
Recruitment into
Collegiate Education
Through Minority
Scholarships (RICE-
TMS) last year. The
scholarships are awarded
to students who have
demonstrated leadership
potential.
Jaime Rios, a student from Sid Richardson College, says that receiving the
scholarship was a determining factor in choosing which university to
attend. “It made Rice more attractive, and it showed me that the university
really cares about minority students,” Rios explains. “I believe that it is
important to have diversity at Rice and be competitive in this regard with
other universities.”
In addition to receiving the scholarship, each of the winners was assigned a
volunteer faculty mentor for the entire four years at Rice. Deborah Nelson-
Campbell, professor of French studies, is Rios’s mentor, and they meet
once a month. “It’s like meeting a friend for lunch,” explains Nelson. “We
talk about what he is doing and problems he might have.” Nelson recently
wrote a letter of recommendation for Rios to a minority medical education
program.
Last spring, RICE-TMS offered approximately 50 scholarships with the
goal that 25 recipients would accept the award and attend Rice this fall.
Thus far, 15,000 applications have been distributed, and 420 applications
went under review. The scholarships are awarded regardless of financial
need and do not replace any financial aid that a recipient receives from Rice
or other sources. They are given to students who have been accepted to
Rice and have demonstrated leadership potential. The stipends are awarded
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