Reflections Magazine Issue #60 - Fall 2003 | Page 10

From the
Heights

8
Upward Bound,
McNair Receive
Renewed Funding
Siena Heights recently received notification that Upward Bound and the Ronald E.
McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement
Program received renewed funding from the
U.S. Department of Education.
Upward Bound, which recently celebrated
30 years on the Siena Heights campus, helps
high school students from low-income families prepare to enroll and excel in college.
The program serves 9th – 12th grade students who are potential first-generation college-bound students. Annita Galnares ’77,
‘87/MA directs Upward Bound at SHU.
Siena Heights has hosted the McNair
Program, named in memory of an AfricanAmerican astronaut lost aboard the space
shuttle Challenger, for 10 years and has
been re-funded for another four years. The
program prepares and motivates current
college students to continue their education
beyond the baccalaureate level and pursue
master’s or doctoral degrees. Students in
the McNair Program are low-income first
generation college students and/or from
groups

under-represented

in

graduate

school. Dr. Nellie Branch Kanno directs the
McNair Program.
In addition to Upward Bound and McNair,
Siena Heights hosts the Student Support Service program. Also funded by the
Department of Education, Student Support
Services helps to retain Upward Bound
alumni and other “at risk” students once
they enroll at the University.

3rd Annual Ethics Lecture Brings
Morris Dees to Siena Heights
The search committee for the
Chiodini/Fontana Endowed
Lecture Series chose Morris
Dees to share his message,
“Voices of Hope and Tolerance,”
on Nov. 12.
The son of an Alabama farmer,
Morris Dees witnessed racial
discrimination and prejudice at
an early age and has dedicated
his life to battling the men
and women who give it rise.
Co-founder of the Southern
Poverty Law Center, Dees and
his associates have waged
several successful legal battles
against the Aryan Nation, the Ku Klux Klan, and various other hate groups
across the country, winning multi-million dollar settlements for the victims
of racially motivated attacks and deaths. In 30 years of service, Dees
has come to believe that we can be a tolerant and free nation in the face
of domestic terrorism, and more importantly, he believes that we can
ensure civil liberties and personal freedom in this new era of international
terrorism. His beliefs are an inspiration to many.
A graduate of the University of Alabama Law School, Dees has received
numerous accolades in conjunction with his work at the Center. His
honors include being named a “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by the Trial
Lawyers for Public Justice, and receiving the National Education
Association’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award.
In addition to his work fighting for racial equality, Dees has also devoted
his time to educating people about America’s radical militia movement.
In his1996 expose, Gathering Storm: America’s Militia Threat, Dees
explores the dangers these groups represent. In addition to Gathering
Storm, Dees has written two other books: his autobiogr