The New York City-based William T. Grant Foundation has announced its 2014 class of William T. Grant Scholars, each of whom will receive $350,000 over five years.

Every year, the program selects four to six early-career researchers in the social and behavioral sciences who have been nominated by a supporting institution. Candidates must have a five-year research and mentoring plan that demonstrates creativity, intellectual rigor, and a commitment to continued professional development.

This year's scholars and their research projects are Noelle M. Hurd, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia ("Critical Contexts for the Formation of Natural Mentoring Relationships Among Economically Disadvantaged African-American Adolescents"); Michael J. MacKenzie, associate professor at Columbia University's School of Social Work ("Children in Limbo: A Transactional Model of Foster Care Placement Instability"); Rebecca M. B. White, assistant professor at Arizona State University's T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics ("A New Look at Neighborhood Ethnic Concentration: Implications for Mexican-Origin Adolescents' Cultural Adaptation and Adjustment"); Joanna Lee Williams, assistant professor at the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia ("Benefits and Challenges of Ethnic Diversity in Middle Schools: The Mediating Role of Peer Groups"); and David Scott Yeager, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin ("Toward a Sociological, Contextual Perspective on Psychological Interventions").

"We are pleased to support this terrific group of young scholars," said Vivian Tseng, the foundation's vice president for the program. "They are tackling important questions facing young people of color in our nation’s schools, neighborhoods, and social service systems."