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Merck and Co. Inc., the pharmaceutical giant based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., announced on July 11 that it will fund a $20 million program to support African American science students. The program, to be administered by the Fairfax, Va.-based College Fund/United Negro College Fund (UNCF)--a consortium of 41 private, historically black colleges and universities will be called the Merck~UNCF Science Initiative. According to UNCF president and former Pennsylvania congressman William H. Gray III,

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Merck and Co. Inc., the pharmaceutical giant based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., announced on July 11 that it will fund a $20 million program to support African American science students. The program, to be administered by the Fairfax, Va.-based College Fund/United Negro College Fund (UNCF)--a consortium of 41 private, historically black colleges and universities will be called the Merck~UNCF Science Initiative. According to UNCF president and former Pennsylvania congressman William H. Gray III, the program represents the largest single corporate gift ever received by the fund. Annually for the next 10 years, the program will provide fellowships, internships, and other types of support to African American science students at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels. A total of 37 fellowships will be given annually: 15 awards of up to $15,000 to undergraduates, 12 awards of up to $25,000 to graduate students, and 10 awards of up to $40,000 to postdocs. ...

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