Common Ground Consortium
History
The Common Ground Consortium (CGC) was established in 1989 at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education as it was then called, which received a grant from the Bush Foundation to form a consortium with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to recruit on an annual basis African American graduates for advanced study.
The primary purpose of CGC was to provide for the recruitment of Black graduate education students and to support them through their advanced academic journey. That support entailed financial assistance, as well as community support during their graduate studies, including regular check-ins and assistance with professional development.
CGC participants have gone on to become professors, consultants, superintendents, researchers, teachers, and have done much to advance Black intellectualism. Throughout the decades of its existence, the CGC network has helped to retain students until they graduate, to foster excellence, and to support community.
““What are you students looking for in order to stay in Minnesota after you graduate?” asked Essie Johnson, diversity coordinator for the Apple Valley/Eagan/Rosemount school district, at a 1995 meeting of the CGC. Photo by Leo Kim.
How you can get involved
There is a holistic process for accepting students to be a CGC scholar. Departments within the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) can nominate up to two students; note that we anticipate that a total of four new students across the college will be admitted to the program each year. Primary admissions criteria include:
- Academic and lived experience of the student.
- U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents entering a doctoral program for the first time in the 2022-2023 academic year.
- Students must be accepted into a doctoral program in one of the departments in CEHD.
- Preference is given to graduates of an HBCU.
- Full-time professionals or employees of the University are not eligible for the program.
Visit your program page for more information about CGC application requirements. CGC offers are made in March, after Department/program admission decisions.
Program benefits
- Guaranteed Research Assistant or Teaching Assistant funding for graduate study (8 semesters for PhD students). These positions are for 20 hours per week, and include full-time tuition benefits and fully subsidized individual health insurance, in addition to an hourly wage.
- Funding will be guaranteed for four years (eight semesters) for doctoral students as long as the student remains in good standing.
- Funding to present at national and international conferences.
- Monthly cohort meetings for academic and professional development.
- Alumni networking opportunities for academic and professional growth.
Contact
For more information about the CGC, contact Nicola Alexander, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Diversity, and International Initiatives, at nalexand@umn.edu.