Wade McCree scholarships provide suport to disadvantaged students

By Katie Land, news editor

Dedicated to helping disadvantaged students earn a college degree, the statewide Wade H. McCree Scholarship Program provides full tuition scholarships to qualified students from Detroit, Oak Park and Pontiac.

Oakland University’s branch of the program offers academic and social support to a total of 60 students each year. There are places for 10 Detroit students, 25 Oak Park students and 25 Pontiac students. The 2009 scholars will be inducted on Tuesday, March 9.

Students are selected by their school districts as they transition to the ninth grade, with the criteria based on the probability that the student will earn a recalculated 3.0 grade point average, and a 21 composite score on the ACT.

“An amazing statistic is that McCree scholars have a higher graduation rate than regular students,” Reginald McCloud, director of Pre-College Programs at Oakland. “The transition to college can be frightening, and the McCree students benefit from having a student mentor to help them along. The result is that the habits of a productive college student are cemented with them.”

Once a student has earned the scholarship, they can attend the institution they were assigned to in ninth grade or search another institution for an open scholar slot. If one is available, the student may use their earned scholarship, but the original institution does not send scholarship dollars.

“The program is funded by OU,” McCloud continued. “Because all Michigan higher education public institutions have a McCree program, there is collaborative support between the institutions to support these students as best we can. We accept donations dedicated to our future scholars and welcome any future support.”

Created in 1985, there are currently 254 students in the pipeline that could potentially earn a full academic scholarship to Oakland. Since 1998, there have been 79 McCree scholars accepted at OU.

Throughout the students’ high school years, Oakland provides a variety of activities such as campus visits and tours, the opportunity to duel enroll at OU, to attend athletic events, academic and culturally enriched programs and free admission to most Department of Music, Theatre and Dance events.

The award honors the legacy of Wade McCree, Michigan’s first black judge and first African American to be appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.

For more information about Oakland’s Pre-College Programs, visit oakland.edu/precollege.