MSU joined forces with 10 other universities to increase the rate of graduation of underrepresented and low-income groups.
“The mission of the University Innovation Alliance is (to) overall increase the number of low-income students graduating with high quality college degrees,” said Associate Dean for Undergraduate Students Kristen Renn.
What started as a meeting in 2013 between universities around the country ended up in an alliance with universities in 11 states looking for strategies to increase the graduation rate among students with underrepresented backgrounds.
Representatives from Arizona State University, Georgia State University, Iowa State University, Oregon State University, Purdue University, The Ohio State University, The UC, Riverside, University of Central Florida, University of Kansas and University of Texas at Austin participated in a forum on Sept. 16 in the nation’s capital to share data and strategies aiming for student success.
MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon and MSU Provost June Youatt also represented Michigan State University and introduced the Neighborhoods initiative to the other participants of the alliance.
“This model of integrated academic, residential and student services addresses the goal of giving every student admitted to MSU an equal opportunity of graduating,” Youatt said in a statement.
According to a video made on the alliance by MSU, one-third of the 38,500 undergraduates that attend MSU are first generation college students.
Five years ago, MSU started the Neighborhood initiative with an Engagement Center in East Neighborhood. It has been three years since all five neighborhoods have had a completed engagement center that offers a health clinic, fitness programs and help with different academic subjects.
“The Neighborhood initiative is a unique program,” Renn said. “There is no other institution right now that has something like that.”
Renn said that MSU’s participation in the University Innovation Alliance has placed them as a leader among the other 10 universities.
The alliance has different supporting organizations such as the Ford Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Lumina Foundation.
“Our participation in the University Innovation Alliance is a sign of how well regarded Michigan State is as a leader nationally,” Renn said. “I think that’s great for us.”
