In 2013, the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation awarded the College of Education at Mississippi State University (MSU) and the School of Education at the University of Mississippi (UM) a five-year grant totaling $12.9 million to be disbursed equally between the two universities for the Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program (METP). The METP is an elite program of recruitment and professional teacher preparation, similar to an honors college, and is designed to attract top-performing students in the state of Mississippi, as well as surrounding states, into the field of teaching.
In 2016, the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation continued funding in the amount of $28 million, again to be disbursed equally between the Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi to continue the mission of the METP. The METP currently awards this prestigious scholarship to students majoring in the areas of English, mathematics, or science secondary education; elementary education, or special education.
