Meyerhoff Model

Succeeding Together

“Most programs directed to minority students look at remediation and deficits only, on getting students to operate at a minimum level of academic achievement,” says UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski. The Meyerhoff Program offers the nation a different emphasis, one that focuses on highly able African-American students who aspire to become leading research scientists and engineers.

That fundamental shift has captured the attention of many seeking new perspectives on advancing achievement. Scores of representatives from federal agencies, campuses and corporations across the country have all asked Hrabowski the question, “What are you putting in the water?” They visit UMBC’s campus to find out for themselves. The College Board’s National Task Force on Minority High Achievement praised the Meyerhoff Program as an example that could provide broader educational lessons. “If we can reach these students, then we can learn something about how to help all minority students,” explains task force director L. Scott Miller.

The Meyerhoff Program’s success is built on the premise that, among like-minded students who work closely together, positive energy is contagious. By assembling such a high concentration of high-achieving minority students in a tightly knit learning community, students continually inspire one another to do more and better.

Ultimately, the program helps all students learn how to work together and benefit from each others’ experiences. Dr. Joel Oppenheim, senior associate dean for graduate students at NYU’s School of Medicine, is one of the program’s biggest admirers. “In addition to producing excellent students, the Meyerhoff Program turns out scholars who have a sense of themselves, of social responsibility, and of ethics, and who continually challenge themselves to do more. The program imbues it. I’ve never seen the ability to instill this kind of leadership and determination anywhere else.”