Christian uni pays non-whites to attend minority-only STEM workshop program

The school will provide each participant with a stipend of up to $600.

Augsburg University in Minnesota is hosting a month-and-a-half long STEM program...but only for non-white students.

A Christian university in Minnesota is paying non-white students to attend a summer program starting Tuesday for STEM majors. 

Augsburg University, a private Christian school, is inviting only racial minority students to participate in the program, which consists of workshops held every Tuesday from June 4 through July 20. Eligible students will receive a stipend of up to $600.

Students wishing to participate in the summer enrichment program titled Empowering Underrepresented Students in STEM at Augsburg must meet a number of criteria, the first of which is that they must either be African American or black, Native American, Hispanic, Native Pacific Islanders, or Alaska natives. Participants must also be sophomores during their fall 2019 semester and be pursuing a STEM degree.

[RELATED: Profs say female STEM grades don’t reflect ‘perceived effort’]

The stated goal of the program is to “bring more diversity to STEM at Augsburg and to support underrepresented students academically, financially, and through professional networking.”

Campus Reform reached out to Augsburg University and the program organizer for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Private universities are hosting minority-only events in increasing numbers. Campus Reform reported in 2019 on the Ivy League Dartmouth College, which offered free ski lessons to non-white students at an event called “POC Ski Days.”

Campus Reform also reported on Princeton University, which features “cultural affinity spaces” for certain racial groups.

[RELATED: Princeton students complain about white peers ‘invading’ ‘POC places’]

Yale University received heavy criticism recently for what critics call “neo-segregation.” In spring 2019, the National Association of Scholars published a report asserting that almost all aspects of Yale’s programming and administrative systems are heavily affected by some form of new-age racial segregation.  

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @celinedryan