The Office of Postsecondary Education at the United States Department of Education recently awarded the Jackson State University Student Success unit more than $9 million in grants for six new programs and one continuing program to serve low-income first-generation middle school, high school and college students. The programs align with the university’s strategic plan to increase the number of students completing secondary, postsecondary and post-baccalaureate degrees.

“Jackson State University is honored to receive this support from the U.S. Department of Education which will help us to execute our mission of serving students who are destined to be the first in their families to graduate from college,” said President Thomas K. Hudson, J.D. “I’d like to thank Academic Affairs, the Title III office, and Dr. Mitchell Shears for the focused effort to enhance our grant submissions to reach this milestone accomplishment.”

Since 2019, Associate Vice President and Executive Director of Title III Mitchell M. Shears, Ed.D., has worked to elevate JSU’s TRIO programs. To increase the number of grants awarded, over the past three grant cycles JSU Student Success has moved from receiving one award in 2017 to 11 awards. The work is personal and endearing for Shears, a TRIO alum and the 2022 Mississippi Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel TRIO Achiever.

“This past year, we were thrilled to learn that six new programs were being funded. To receive over $9 Million in one grant cycle is astronomical for an institution who does not currently have those programs,” said Shears. “This is significant because institutions who are submitting a continuation proposal receive priority experience points, known as extra points, which allows them to have an advantage in the competition. However, we were successful in receiving, in many cases, perfect scores on our winning grant proposals.”

In 2022, the following grants were awarded:

• Student Support Services Teacher Prep ($1,309,440) provides personal, career and academic services to teacher education majors at JSU.
• Talent Search North ($1,386,875) provides academic, career and financial counseling to 500 students enrolled in the North Jackson middle and high schools in the Jackson Public School District. The target schools are Chastain, Kirksey, and Powell Middle Schools and Callaway and Murrah High Schools in the Jackson Public School District.
• Tiger Achievers Upward Bound ($1,437,685) provides fundamental support and opportunities for 60 participants to succeed in their precollege performance and in their higher education pursuits. The program will target high students enrolled at Humphreys County High School and Yazoo City High School in the Mississippi Achievement School District.
• Tiger Navigators Upward Bound ($1,437,685) provides fundamental support and opportunities for 60 participants to succeed in their precollege performance and in their higher education pursuits. The program will target high students enrolled at Callaway High School and Murrah High School in the Jackson Public School District.
• Tiger Survivors Upward Bound ($1,437,685) provides fundamental support and opportunities for 60 participants to succeed in their precollege performance and in their higher education pursuits. The program will target high students enrolled at Forest Hill and Wingfield High Schools in the Jackson Public School District.
• Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Scholars Community College Program ($1,309,440) provides research and scholarly engagement programming to community college students enrolled at Coahoma, Copiah-Lincoln, Hinds, Holmes, and Mississippi Delta as they complete their associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. The program encourages participants to enroll in graduate programs and then track their progress through the successful completion of advanced degrees.
• Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Scholars Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU) Program ($1,309,440) provides research and scholarly engagement programming to college students enrolled at Alcorn, Mississippi Valley, JSU, Rust and Tougaloo as they complete their associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. The program encourages participants to enroll in graduate programs and then track their progress through the successful completion of advanced degrees.

“The return of TRIO positions Jackson State to elevate our commitment to higher education of all students and motivate our students to earn doctoral degrees,” said Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Alisa L. Mosley, Ph.D. “Our science and engineering dean, Dr. Walters, our Associate Provost Brandi Newkirk-Turner, and I are all McNair Scholars. We know the impact of these innovative programs. I am appreciative of all efforts to expand access to higher education.”

In 2020, JSU was awarded two TRIO Student Support Services Programs ($2,618,880). One program serves 140 participants enrolled in various academic majors and one program serves 120 participants in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. The Student Support Services program offers opportunities for academic development, assists students with basic college requirements, and motivates students toward the successful completion of their postsecondary education.

In 2021, funds were received to administer two programs. The Talent Search South ($1,386,875) program serves 500 students enrolled in the South Jackson middle and high schools in the Jackson Public School District. The program provides academic, career, and financial counseling to participants and encourages them to graduate from high school and continue on to and complete their postsecondary education. The target schools are Cardoza, Powell and Peoples Middle Schools and Forest Hill and Wingfield High Schools. The Educational Opportunity Center ($1,160,100) program serves 850 eligible participants, primarily adults and high school students, in Copiah, Hinds, Holmes, Scott, Simpson, Warren and Yazoo Counties, provides counseling and information on college admissions to qualified adults who want to enter or continue a program of postsecondary education.