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2002 SESSION

028677668
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 497
Offered March 4, 2002
Commending Dr. Randolph Grayson and the Minority Academic Opportunities Program.
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Patrons-- Christian, Baskerville, Bland, Crittenden, Jones, D.C., Jones, J.C., Melvin, Miles, Sears and Spruill; Senators: Maxwell and Miller, Y.B.
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WHEREAS, in 1992 Dr. Randolph Grayson, a professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University attended a national meeting, where he was disappointed to discover the low number of minority scientists in attendance; and

WHEREAS, that same year Dr. Grayson conceived a program that formed a coalition of community leaders, political leaders, educational leaders, church leaders, and corporate leaders across the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, this coalition focused on encouraging and assisting minority students and other under-represented groups to obtain bachelor's and advanced degrees in science; and

WHEREAS, with the assistance of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, the program was funded by the General Assembly in 1993 and has continued to grow, largely by attracting most of its funding from other sources; and

WHEREAS, another Virginia Tech professor, Dr. Larry Moore, offered his aid to Dr. Grayson in 1993, and together the two professors became codirectors of the Minority Academic Opportunities Program; and

WHEREAS, now 10 years old, the Minority Academic Opportunities Program has experienced extraordinary success in attracting and assisting first generation, low-income, African-American, Latino/Hispanic-American, First/Native-American, and disabled students; and

WHEREAS, the Minority Academic Opportunities Program has awarded nearly $3 million in scholarships, summer internships, graduate assistantships, and conference support; and

WHEREAS, the undergraduate scholar program, established in 1993, has served 177 students, of whom 93 percent are either still enrolled in college or have graduated; and

WHEREAS, the Minority Academic Opportunities Program's graduate student program, established in 1995, has experienced similar success, with a retention/graduation rate of 90 percent among its 70 students; and

WHEREAS, the summer research internship program, established in 1993, has served 188 students, representing 48 colleges and universities and 22 professional degree programs, with approximately one-third of the students returning to Virginia Tech for advanced degrees; and

WHEREAS, over the decade of its existence, the Minority Academic Opportunities Program has become the most successful program of its kind in the nation; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend Dr. Randolph Grayson and the Minority Academic Opportunities Program; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Dr. Randolph Grayson as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for his visionary leadership in founding the Minority Academic Opportunities Program.