Make your tax-deductible contribution today! For Faculty/Staff Payroll Deductions, please click here and direct your gift to the African Diaspora Council Scholarship (#67970). For more information, contact Diana Borders, dborders@uwm.edu, (414) 229-6406.
Help Us Continue to Close the Graduation Gap
The African Diaspora Council (ADC), formerly the African American Faculty and Staff Council, had an idea: reach out and bring forward equality through education and training. Our plan: engage and encourage support from within our community to attract and retain more African Diaspora students and increase their graduation rates at UW-Milwaukee.
We are happy to report donors have already funded several ADC scholarships, helping to graduate an increasing number of senior-status African American/Black students. We are thankful that during a traumatic pandemic year, donors responded to our fundraising efforts, and we were able to triple the number of traditional scholarships to eighteen for 2021-22!
Please use the Give Now tab to help close the gap!
Previous Scholarship Recipients
To date, we have provided 67 scholarships at $111,500!
Click here for additional scholarship data.
Scholarship Overview Information
Our goal is to increase the graduation rate of African Diaspora students at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM).
The recruitment, retention, and graduation of African diaspora students at UWM had been of great concern to the African Diaspora Council (ADC). The ADC members noted from daily student interactions, that economic barriers significantly contribute to the graduation rate disparity of African diaspora students at UWM. A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article (March 1, 2017) noted a startling gap between black student and white student graduation rates at UW-Milwaukee: “Only 1 in 5 black students (21%) who enroll full-time at UWM graduate in six years. The completion gap between black and white students is 24.5 percent.”
In his July 15, 2021, campus update, Chancellor Mone shared a Wisconsin Policy Forum Report entitled, “Degree of Difficulty UWM’s Challenges in a Turbulent Time.” The report noted, “Challenges remain, however, and in some areas they are daunting. Disparities in retention and graduation rates remain great for underrepresented minority students as compared to white students. Despite the improvements for minority students, white undergrads are still twice as likely as Black students to complete their bachelor’s at UWM within six years.”
The fact that since 2017 there has been minimal improvement in the graduation disparities for Black UWM students inspires ADC members to work harder to assist them with scholarship funding!
Traditional ADC Scholarship: To demonstrate our commitment to graduating our African diaspora students, the ADC established a committee to research and establish a scholarship that would support financially challenged college seniors that demonstrated their commitment and desire to graduate and were near degree completion. ADC granted the first two scholarship awards in 2017-18, funded through the financial contributions of the ADC members and alumni. ADC scholars receive $1,000 ($500 per semester), per academic year for a one-time, non-renewable award administered through the UWM Division of Student Affairs and the Department of Financial Aid. Scholarship recipients must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.8 and have demonstrated financial need as determined by financial aid. The ADC Scholarship Committee serves as an adviser to the Office of Financial Aid in administering the scholarship and serves on the scholarship selection committee.
ADC Principal Financial Scholarship: The ADC scholarship committee applied for and received a corporate-sponsored grant in 2018, through the Principal Financial Foundation. Principal’s Talent-Focused Education grant supported two scholars in 2019-20, and three scholars in both 2020-21, and 2021-22. Each scholar met the Principal’s applicant criteria with preference given to senior-level students in specific majors who maintain a 2.5 GPA and have interest in internships and employment opportunities with the company. The ADC PF scholars receive $5,000 ($2,500 per semester), per academic year for a one-time, non-renewable award administered through the UWM Division of Student Affairs and the Department of Financial Aid. The ADC Scholarship Committee serves as an adviser to the Office of Financial Aid in administering the scholarship and serves on the scholarship selection committee.
Corporate Partnerships – Honorariums & Memorials
The ADC scholarship committee applied for and received a corporate-sponsored grant in 2018, through the Principal Financial Foundation entitled “The Principal Higher Education Talent-Focused Education.” The Principal grant awards provided funds for two scholars in 2019-20, three scholars in 2020-21, and will fund three additional scholars in 2021-22. Each scholar met Principal’s applicant criteria with preference given to students in specific majors who maintain a 2.5 GPA and have an interest in internships and employment opportunities with the company. The amount of the scholarship was $5,000 per recipient, per academic year for a one-time, non-renewable award administered through the UWM Division of Student Affairs and the Department of Financial Aid. The ADC Scholarship Committee serves as an adviser to the Student Financial Services in administering the scholarship and serves on the selection committee for the scholarship.
The ADC scholarship committee continues to work to establish scholarship funding supported by grant awards, corporate and community partnerships, marketing campaigns, and instituting fundraising events. In 2020-21, ADC awarded the first Memorial Scholarship to honor Phillip A. Clark, a former Chief of Police at UWM and we received funding for 2021-22. To view information on our corporate partner, Principal Financial, and the Phillip A. Clark Memorial, please click their corresponding links below.
Jerry Patterson, SVP at Principal Financial Discusses UWM Partnerships |
Phillip A. Clark Memorial
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