The Alumni Association of the University of Michigan is investing in diversity by expanding its LEAD merit scholarship for underrepresented minority students by $30 million.
Since 2006, underrepresented minority enrollment at U-M has declined 11 percent and by 50 percent among African-American students. That year, Michigan voters approved Proposal 2, which prohibits public universities and colleges from considering race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin in admissions and the financial aid process. As an independent nonprofit that supports the University of Michigan, the Alumni Association was able to develop the Leadership, Excellence, Achievement and Diversity (LEAD) Scholarship Program in 2008 to bolster minority enrollment and improve access to opportunity.