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Connecticut College student one of only 20 accepted to the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute

April 15, 2008

NEW LONDON, Conn. - Yalidy Matos, a junior at Connecticut College, has been accepted into the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute, a five-week academically intense summer program for students from underrepresented groups interested in political science.

Matos, a native of the Dominican Republic and resident of New York City, is one of only 20 students from across the United States accepted into the competitive program.

Named in honor of the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize winner and former American Political Science Association President, Ralph J. Bunche, the program is designed to simulate the graduate school experience, provide mentoring and expand academic opportunities for students from underrepresented groups. The program also enhances participants' writing, research and analytical skills, as well as their standardized-test taking skills, to help them become more competitive applicants for graduate schools.

Students in the program will also complete two transferable credit courses - one in quantitative analysis and one in race and American politics. The courses introduce students to the intellectual demands of graduate school and political science research methods. As a final project for both courses, students prepare original, empirical research papers.

Matos, a government and gender and women's studies double major with a minor in English, is particularly interested in studying the United Nations and how international policies affect women, and she has designed her final project to incorporate those interests.

"The UN is the only international institution with any governing influence over the entire world," Matos said. "I want to look at how gender and race play out in the UN, and explore ways in which the UN can have a bigger global impact."

Among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 41 states, the District of Columbia and 71 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 86-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.

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For more information contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu