NEWS RELEASE
RELEASE DATE
CONTACT
February 19, 2014
Wallace Southerland III, Ph.D. * 217-333-0054 * wsthe3rd@illinois.edu
OFFICE OF MINORITY STUDENT AFFAIRS CELEBRATES ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF
CAMPUS’ TRIO EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS IN HONOR OF NATIONAL
TRIO DAY OF SERVICE
Context
On Saturday, February 22nd, the state and nation will pause for a brief moment to recognize and
celebrate TRIO programs for expanding college access nationally, changing the landscape of
college campuses locally, and diversifying professions internationally, including the
professoriate. According to a 1986 Congressional resolution, National TRIO Day is meant to
focus the nation's “attention on the needs of disadvantaged young people and adults aspiring to
improve their lives, [on] the necessary investment if they are to become contributing citizens of
the country, and [on] the talent which will be wasted if that investment is not made.” TRIO Day
is also proclaimed as a National Day of Service where students and staff are encouraged to
perform community service as a way for TRIO students and staff to give back to their
communities and say thank you for their support.
The TRIO Programs as a Solution
TRIO is a set of federally-funded college opportunity programs that motivate and support
students from disadvantaged backgrounds in their pursuit of a college degree and a better life.
Students, adults, families, and veterans are served through one of the following TRIO programs:
Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math and Science, Veterans Upward Bound, Student Support
Services, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalureate Achievement Program, Educational Talent Search,
and Educational Opportunity Centers (for adults).
Services in the different TRIO programs may provide academic tutoring, intrusive academic
advising and personal counseling, mentoring, financial literacy and education, assistance with
college and graduate school applications, college and graduate school visits, research
experiences, residential summer bridge programs, instructional components, tuition assistance,
and other support systems necessary for educational access, retention, and success. Some
services are required and some are optional. TRIO programs also provide relevant training for
directors and staff.
TRIO programs were created as a necessary strategy and weapon to fight and defeat poverty and
discrimination in education and America. Today, nearly 800,000 low-income, first-generation
students and students with disabilities — from sixth grade through college graduation — are
served by almost 3,000 programs nationally. Summarily, the TRIO programs were the first
national college access and retention programs to address the serious social, educational,
economic, and cultural barriers to education in America
Illinois has one of the largest collections of TRIO programs at 121 programs in the state serving
30,333 students, families, adults, and veterans with an economic contribution to the state of
almost $34 million annually. The campus has four of the aforementioned TRIO programs with
nearly $1.2 million contributed annually to the campus and local economies. The Illinois campus
serves approximately 850 students from 6th grade through college senior.
Debunking a TRIO Myth
TRIO programs are not race-based. TRIO students mirror the nation's multi-cultural and
multiethnic society. Specifically, according to the Council for Opportunity in Education, of
which my campus is a member, approximately 37% of TRIO students are White; 35% are
African-American; 19% are Hispanic; 4% are Native American; 4% are Asian-American; 4% are
“other” including multi-racial; 22,000 have a disability; and 6,000 U.S. veterans are currently
enrolled in the TRIO programs.
Examples of the Campus’ TRIO Achievements
We need TRIO programs to narrow the access, retention, persistence, and graduation gaps.
TRIO students go on to become academicians, scientists, college presidents, legislators, business
leaders, health care providers, social workers, media personalities, celebrities, legal eagles,
soldiers, and all-around decent taxpaying citizens. Examples of achievements from the campus’
TRIO programs include:
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Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, alumnus and president of the University of Maryland Baltimore
County
Ta’les Love, alumna and producer of “Good Day Illinois” at WRSP-TV in Springfield
High school retention and graduation rates that rival or exceed local schools
Competitive college retention, persistence, and graduation rates
50+ TRIO students have received a Ph.D. and countless students have received a master’s
degree since 1991
Students have received awards for their undergraduate research
Students have received numerous scholarships to attend nationally-ranked institutions
such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Harvard, University of Chicago,
University of Texas at Austin, UCLA, The Ohio State University, Vanderbilt, University
of Michigan, Johns Hopkins, University of Southern California, New York University,
Spelman College, Morehouse College, University of Wisconsin at Madison, University
of California at Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, and many others nationally-ranked
institutions
Students have been accepted into nationally-ranked undergraduate fellowships and
programs such as Mayo Clinic’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program
Resources
To learn more about the campus’ TRIO education and outreach programs, visit
www.omsa.illinois.edu.
To learn more about TRIO programs nationally, their history and achievement and National
TRIO Day, visit
http://www.coenet.us/coe_prod_imis/COE/TRIO/TRIO_Day/What_is_TRIO_Day/COE/NAV_T
RIO/TRIO_Day_What_is_TRIO_Day.aspx?hkey=649b0175-f408-4702-9dfd-a671f059521e.
Dr. Wallace Southerland III is president of Illinois TRIO, Inc., Associate Dean of Students,
Director for Minority Student Affairs and the University TRIO Director. This article is an
excerpt from a larger article. For a copy of the larger article, please contact Dr. Southerland at
wsoutherland@maeopp.org.