University of Michigan President Mark S. Schlissel and University of Puget Sound President Ronald R. Thomas.

Universities of Michigan & Puget Sound Join Posse

Spring 2015 | National

The University of Michigan and the University of Puget Sound are the latest top institutions to partner with The Posse Foundation. Michigan, a renowned public university, will select Scholars from Chicago who will exclusively major in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. A nationally recognized liberal arts institution, Puget Sound will recruit the first Scholars from Posse Bay Area, the Foundation’s newly launched 10th chapter.

“We are proud to partner with The Posse Foundation once again in our work to ensure that all talented students can pursue opportunities at the University of Michigan,” says University of Michigan President Mark S. Schlissel. “The Foundation has built an impressive legacy of fostering the achievements of students with tremendous potential, and I look forward to welcoming the first cohort of STEM students to our university.”

“We are honored to be named a Posse college and further extend our commitment to making college affordable for academically talented students from diverse backgrounds,” University of Puget Sound President Ronald R. Thomas says. “The Posse program is unique in its approach to providing the training and support that helps students realize their academic and leadership potential, and make substantial contributions to the campus communities that they transform over the course of their four years.”

“Posse is very excited to have these prestigious institutions join the program,” says Posse President and Founder Deborah Bial. “It is an honor to have Michigan’s involvement in Posse’s STEM program and we are thrilled that Puget Sound will be our first partner for the Bay Area.”

The Posse STEM Program, first developed in 2006 and substantially expanded in 2014, now partners with 10 institutions of higher education to improve the number of diverse students who persist and graduate from college with degrees in STEM fields. Earlier this year, the Simons Foundation, a private foundation dedicated to advancing research in basic science and mathematics, awarded Posse a $450,000 grant to support the STEM program’s continued growth and development.