Case Western, Purdue, UNCSA, and UVA Join Posse Virtual Program
This past summer, the Posse Virtual Program welcomed 4 new partner schools: longtime Posse partners Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the University of Virginia (UVA)—both of which are expanding the partnership to recruit additional Posses—and new partners Purdue University and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Each institution will welcome their first Virtual Program cohort in fall 2022.
The Virtual Program currently recruits state-specific cohorts from cities in Indiana, Minnesota and Virginia and geographically diverse cohorts consisting of a mix of students from Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Memphis, Newark, Philadelphia and Phoenix.
“I commend The Posse Foundation for applying lessons from their pandemic adjustments to bring their exceptional programs to even more students.”
Case Western Reserve President Eric W. Kaler
CWRU, which has welcomed Posses from New Orleans since 2016, will add a geographically diverse cohort. Longstanding partner UVA will recruit from the state of Virginia, adding to the two Posse cohorts it currently recruits from Houston and from cities across the country through the Posse Veterans Program. Purdue will recruit state-specific cohorts from cities in Indiana.
Finally, UNCSA joins as the latest member of the new Posse Arts Program. Launched this spring in collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda and announced by Former First Lady Michelle Obama, the Arts Program supports students interested in pursuing a career in the performing or fine arts. UNCSA is the third Posse Arts partner, joining CalArts and Bard College, and the first among them to recruit geographically diverse Posses.
As part of the Virtual Program, Posse cohorts are selected and receive training using innovative online platforms, before matriculating on campus in person. Like all Posse Scholars, Virtual Program participants receive full-tuition leadership scholarships and support during all four years of college and beyond.
“I commend The Posse Foundation for applying lessons from their pandemic adjustments to bring their exceptional programs to even more students,” Case Western Reserve President Eric W. Kaler said. “Case Western Reserve is honored to welcome a second Posse cohort to our campus starting next fall.”
The new partnerships bring the total number of Posse partner institutions to 64.
“Our partnership with The Posse Foundation will help us begin to take action on the recommendation made by the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) Advisory Committee to recruit exceptionally talented students from all walks of life who bring different socioeconomic, cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds,” said UNCSA Chancellor Brian Cole, who launched an EDIB initiative in 2020 to identify and dismantle systems and practices of bias, exclusion and oppression on campus. “I believe that artists will be at the forefront of transformational change in our society, and the students who we train at UNCSA, with the support of Posse Arts, will lead that cultural shift,” he added.
These new partnerships bring the total number of Posse partner institutions to 64.
All students nominated for the program this fall have taken part in an online version of the Dynamic Assessment Process, Posse’s unique selection method. Recipients of the Scholarship will be announced in December. Beginning January 2022, admitted students will participate in Pre-Collegiate Training virtually before enrolling on campus in the fall.
