The University announced a $13 million donation from the Neubauer Family Foundation to fund new programs for underrepresented and international students in late December. The donation is an expansion of No Barriers, the new financial aid policy announced last fall.
The donation will go towardstarting or expanding four programs for undergraduates and prospective students. The Neubauer Family Foundation is a non profit run by University Trustee Joseph Neubauer, M.B.A. ’65.
The first program, Neubauer No Barriers Scholarships for International Students, will provide more need-based scholarships for non-U.S. citizens, including undocumented students. The University guarantees that it will meet 100 percent of demonstrated need for all students. However, according to the admissions website, financial aid remains “need-sensitive” for international students, meaning that their financial situation and the amount of aid they might need is taken into consideration during the admissions process. The additional funding will create more scholarship opportunities for lower- and middle-income international students who would not otherwise be able to afford full tuition.
The second, the Neubauer College Scholars program, will provide full tuition support for four years for students from Latino communities or students honored in the National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP). The NHRP recognizes Latino students who score highly on the PSAT exams taken during junior year of high school. The College Scholars program will also offer career enhancement and summer opportunities.
The third and fourth programs funded the Neubauer Family Foundation will benefit prospective students. The Neubauer Summer Scholars program will fund summer college preparatory courses at the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies for high school students from Latino communities. Finally, the donation will provide additional funding for Admissions Academy, a series of workshops that help college counselors and parents navigate the application process. These new funds will help launch bilingual programming.
Fourth-year Daniel Ramirez-Raftree, community relations chair of the Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS), said that it should be a priority to increase the number of underrepresented students at the University.
“Incorporating a diverse array of students into the university body makes for richer opportunities to discuss, engage and be challenged,” he said. “Additionally, though greater diversity will be good for the University as a whole, having more Latino students on campus is also good for other Latino students who may come to UChicago and feel like they’ve lost a sense of home by coming here.”
Last fall, the University announced No Barriers, which aims to increase socioeconomic diversity by removing loans and application fees based on student need. Before the Neubauer donation, the other No Barriers initiatives were expected to approximately $12.5 million dollars a year, University President Robert Zimmer said in an interview with the Maroon last quarter.
