The SME Education Foundation today announced a new $2 million diversity, equity and inclusion scholarship to increase awards to underrepresented students, beginning in 2021. This scholarship, named after the late SME Education Foundation Board President Irving P. McPhail, is part of a broader $4 million effort to increase awards to underrepresented students in STEM education. The Foundation will raise an additional $2 million over the next five years.
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The SME Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization with a 40-year history of inspiring, preparing and supporting young people in their pursuit of manufacturing, engineering and STEM-related career opportunities, has awarded more than $8 million to nearly 3,500 deserving students since 2005 through its scholarship programs. The McPhail Scholarship and concurrent $2 million Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Scholarship initiative are intended to significantly expand postsecondary education opportunities to a broader community of students.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion are central to the Foundation’s mission,” said Rob Luce, vice president of the SME Education Foundation. “We’re focused on helping young people explore rewarding careers in manufacturing and engineering — and we want all young people to be aware of those opportunities.”
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The new scholarship fund is named in honor of the late Irving P. McPhail, EdD, who served the Foundation on its board of directors for 10 years, was its 2020 president and passed away unexpectedly in October 2020. McPhail dedicated his life to the pursuit of higher education, and was a champion for the cause of diversity, equity and inclusion in all areas of society. Up until his untimely passing, he most recently served as president of Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The scholarship initiative is one element of a much broader Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion strategy for the SME Education Foundation. A central tenet of a new five-year plan, the Foundation will fully integrate diversity, equity and inclusion across all its programs and operations.
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