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- Title : Report on Minority Scientists Workshop Held July 1991
- Type : Report
- NSF Org : BIO
- Date : February 12, 1992
- File : nsf9219
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- FOREWORD
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- The National Science Foundation has been addressing issues and
- establishing programs concerning the underrepresentation of
- minorities in science, engineering, and technology for well over a
- decade. Conferences, symposia, and workshops have been held to
- discuss the topic from a variety of perspectives. Specific
- examples include: The annual meetings of Minority Research
- Initiation (MRI) recipients and Program Directors sponsored by the
- Education and Human Resources Directorate and an NSF Workshop co-
- sponsored by the American Society for Cell Biology in 1990.(1)
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- For most scientists seeking support from the National Science
- Foundation, the point of contact is at the program level where
- proposals are received, evaluated, and recommended for approval or
- declination. Given this pivotal role, each program must seek
- solutions to the many problems attending minority representation in
- science. This year (FY91) was an opportune one for the
- Physiological Processes Program because the current portfolio of
- grantees includes twelve minority scientists. This group
- consitutes an invaluable resource to the Program and to NSF. It is
- small enough to permit full participation of each member and,
- although research interests are generally similar, the individuals
- differ markedly in other respects (age, academic experience,
- gender, size of home institution, etc.). To take advantage of this
- resource the Physiological Processes Program asked Dr. Gregory
- Florant, Professor of Biology at Temple University, to organize a
- workshop that would bring together these minority scientists in
- order to solicit suggestions that would help NSF meet its goal of
- significantly increasing the number of minority scientists by the
- year 2000 (2). Related objectives were to promote interaction
- among minority scientists in the Program and to establish avenues
- of communication between these scientists and NSF.
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- This report describes the substance of the discussions by the
- workshop members and summarizes their recommendations to increase
- the number of underrepresented students in the pipeline.
- Recommendations of the participants are under consideration by the
- Program and the NSF.
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- The opinions expressed are primarily those of the participants and
- do not represent NSF policy.
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- The National Science Foundation expresses its gratitude to
- Dr. Florant and to all workshop participants for their diligence
- and willingness to express and share their ideas as well as make
- valuable contributions with candor.
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- NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
- DIRECTORATE FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
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- December 30, 1991
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- Walter Massey
- Director
- National Science Foundation
- Washington, D.C.
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- Dear Walter:
-
- I am pleased to submit to you the report from the experts who
- participated in the National Science Foundation Workshop on
- Diversity in Biological Research.
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- Held in July of 1991, the workshop was comprised of twelve
- distinguished investigators who are members of underrepresented
- groups in the discipline of Physiology. The participants developed
- recommendations to the National Science Foundation concerning
- actions that can be taken to enhance the participation by
- minorities.
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- Mary E. Clutter
- Assistant Director
- Biological Sciences
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- CONTENTS
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- Foreword...........................................
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- Executive Summary..................................
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- Introduction.......................................
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- Issues and Goals...................................
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- Strategies.........................................
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- Recommendations....................................
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- Participants.......................................
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- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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- The question addressed by this workshop was: what can be done to
- increase the number of underrepresented minorities in science? The
- question was put to the minority scientists currently supported by
- the Physiological Processes Program, a group uniquely suited to
- identify the problems faced by minorities in becoming practicing
- scientists. Out of the many ideas expressed, several central
- themes emerged. One was the importance of interaction between
- established and aspiring scientists. Suggested activities include
- mentorship, collaboration, and networking. Another theme concerned
- special problems of smaller institutions, particularly
- predominantly minority institutions. Finally the career
- development of minority scientists was a recurrent theme.
-
- The issue of mentorship entered into nearly every discussion. In
- the context of this workshop, this coincides with the recognized
- importance of role models in society for members of
- underrepresented groups. Mentorship is more than just teaching.
- It combines personal involvement, commitment, attainment of goals,
- and followup. It was noted that mentorship occurs at many levels
- ranging from outreach to elementary school children on up to
- helping faculty colleagues fulfill their potential. Effective
- mentoring, however, demands both time and energy. Unfortunately,
- because success in academic science is often measured by grant
- dollars and numbers of published papers, the incentive to engage in
- mentorship activities has been substantially reduced. It is
- strongly recommended that this be corrected by according effective
- mentorship a more important place in measuring achievement.
-
- Collaboration can also help minority scientists interact and grow
- professionally. Collaborative efforts can combine skills needed to
- solve difficult research problems or can accelerate acquisition of
- new skills. Of particular importance is the opportunity for
- minority scientists at smaller institutions to grow and participate
- in science above the level of observer. Collaboration can also
- help young minority scientists bridge the gap between "start up"
- targeted programs and "mainstream" independent research projects.
- Networking among members of the minority community expands
- opportunities for mentorship and collaboration.
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- The special problems of predominantly minority institutions are
- particularly important because students at these institutions
- constitute a major pool from which future minority scientists will
- come. To tap this resource, science education must be improved at
- these institutions, excellent faculty must be recruited as role
- models, and these faculty must be given every opportunity to reach
- their potential as scientists and mentors. At present, however,
- heavy teaching loads, limited facilities, and inadequate
- institutional support are major problems.
-
- Involvement of minorities on panels, as rotating program directors,
- and in other NSF activities heightens understanding of minority
- problems by the Foundation and other scientists.
-
- INTRODUCTION
-
- The Workshop on Diversity in Biological Research met in
- Washington, D.C. on July 11 and 12, 1991. The charge to the
- members of the workshop panel was to provide advice to the NSF on
- two related questions: 1) How can the number of underrepresented
- minorities in science and engineering be increased? 2) What can be
- done to optimize professional growth of current minority
- scientists? The second question bears on the first because current
- minority scientists are the role models for future scientists.
- Some of the participants have been involved in promoting minority
- participation in science for over twenty years. The opportunity
- for these senior scientists to share their experiences with younger
- counterparts was a major feature of the meeting.
-
- The severity of the problem is well documented. Blacks, Hispanics
- and Native Americans make up over twenty percent of the U.S.
- population but earned only 6.4 percent of awarded doctorates in
- 1988. The statistics are even more alarming if one focuses on
- Natural Sciences and Engineering (NS&E). Out of 14,000 NS&E
- doctorates awarded in 1988, only 308 (2.2 percent) were granted to
- underrepresented minorities (3). Within the microcosm of the
- Physiological Processes Program, about 1,100 research proposals
- have been reviewed over the last three years. Only 38 or 3.4
- percent of these were submitted by identifiable underrepresented
- minorities. At present, about six percent of current awardees in
- the Progam are underrepresented minorities.
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- For more than a decade, NSF has sponsored programs that facilitate
- the entry and retention of minority scientists into science and
- engineering research. These programs include Minority Research
- Initiation (MRI), Research Improvement in Minority Institutions
- (RIMI), and Minority Research Centers of Excellence (MRCE). Other
- special programs targeted for members of minority groups that are
- underrepresented in science and engineering have been added through
- the years. Examples include: Alliances for Minority Participation
- (AMP), Research Careers for Minority Scholars (RCMS), Research
- Opportunities for Minority Students and College Faculty, Research
- Planning Grants, CISE Institutional Infrastructure-Minority
- Institutions Career Advancement Awards, Research Initiation Awards
- and several fellowship programs.
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- In 1989, an NSF Committee studied the role of NSF in attracting
- minorities to careers in Science and Engineering (2). Three
- recommendations from that report are particularly pertinent to the
- objectives of the present workshop. First was the need to
- establish alliances between the Foundation and educational
- institutions, industry, and Government bodies. Second was the
- important responsibility of the "Science Directorates" in the
- Foundation for attracting and retaining minorities. Third were
- definitive goals for the next decade: raise the number of NS&E
- doctorates from 300 to 2,000 per year, the number of NS&E B.S.
- degrees from 14,000 to 50,000 per year, increase underrepresented
- minority faculty from the current 3,800 to at least 6,000.
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- ISSUES AND GOALS
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- PRE-COLLEGE LEVEL ISSUES
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- Most agree that students need to be reached at the elementary
- school level to awaken their interest in the sciences. At this
- formative stage the largest impact may be achieved to encourage
- young people to pursue careers in the sciences. Methods in current
- use are not working and need to be improved for all students.
- Several issues were raised by the Workshop participants reflecting,
- in many cases, their own experiences:
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- Lack of minority role models as teachers and counselors.
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- Limited opportunity for students to see what scientists do or
- what they are like as people.
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- Limited understanding of parents about science as a career.
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- Limited awareness of parents, students and counselors of
- availablility of resources to help finance education.
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- Stereotyping of students by ethnicity--tendency to put minorities
- into vocational programs or otherwise track students.
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- Failure of universities to "reach" minorities in high schools and
- community colleges.
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- Concern about the time commitment to education.
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- UNDERGRADUATE ISSUES
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- As noted in the Introduction above, the Committee on the National
- Science Foundation's Role in Attracting Minorities to Careers in
- NS&E (2) recommended that the rate of production of minority Ph.D.s
- in NS&E be increased by a factor of six (308 to 2,000) by the year
- 2000. Given the time required to complete a doctoral program, it
- is clear that the students needed to meet that goal are now
- freshman or sophmores in college. This is a pool of approximately
- 1.2 million students (there are about 2 million Blacks, Hispanics
- and Native Americans currently enrolled in two-year and four-year
- undergraduate colleges) (4). We need to try to encourage about
- one-half of one percent of this pool to seriously consider graduate
- education in science and engineering. This is a sizeable but not
- impossible task.
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- There is an urgent need to address the problems of predominantly
- minority institutions which enroll about 20% of all minority
- students and an even higher percentage of those minorities who
- enter careers in science (2). These minority institutions are
- known for their nurturing environment as compared to the perceived
- more hostile, indifferent environment of many majority
- universitites. Enrollment is on the rise in most predominantly
- minority schools and larger numbers of "high achievers" are
- choosing these schools over majority institutions (5).
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- It is a myth that predominantly minority institutions receive
- favorable treatment from government agencies and are well funded.
- In fact, many of these institutions are chronically underfunded, do
- not have major endowments, and have only limited facilities for
- science education. Faculty frequently have heavy teaching loads
- and limited time for independent research.
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- Minority students enrolled in majority institutions should not be
- ignored since about 48% are currently enrolled at two-year
- community colleges (4). There is a great need to facilitate the
- transition between the two- and four-year colleges.
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- GRADUATE SCHOOL ISSUES
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- Factors affecting the decision to attend graduate school include
- financial considerations, the time commitment required (including
- post-doctoral training), and the uncertain job market. In 1987,
- the median time to complete the doctorate from the baccalaureate
- degree was 6.9 years (all disciplines); it was about 6.1 years for
- the sciences (6). Secure, sustained financial support must be a
- key element in any consideration of graduate education. Such
- support should be tied to an effective program for the student that
- goes beyond service as a laboratory technician.
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- GOALS
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- l. Increase the number of minorities on panels and in service as
- program officers.
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- 2. Increase NSF's interaction with minority institutions and small
- but excellent teaching institutions.
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- 3. Develop networking databases within the academic community on
- all levels.
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- 4. Enhance collaboration among the new scientists and established
- investigators (mentorship).
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- 5. Enhance communication between NSF program officers and the
- minority community.
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- STRATEGIES
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- STRONG MENTORING PROGRAM
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- The search for solutions to some of the broader problems are beyond
- the scope of this workshop (improved teacher education, new
- teaching methods, better facilities, etc.) These problems are
- better addressed by the Education and Human Resources (EHR)
- Directorate of NSF.
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- Minority scientists can serve a special function by becoming
- involved with local educational activities. Many are parents and
- have a vested interest in such particpation. In doing so they
- serve as role models for students, other parents, teachers, and
- administrators. Avenues of participation can include visits to
- classrooms, science fairs, and parent-teacher association meetings.
- Many scientists trace their interest in science to jobs in research
- laboratories during their high school years. In this decade, many
- universities have provided special summer programs in mathematics
- and science for minority students. Opportunities for minority high
- school students should be expanded in this respect and supplemental
- funds for scientists who are willing to actively recruit such
- students should be made readily available.
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- Mentorship is one of the earliest forms of education but its unique
- effectiveness in widening the pipeline of minority scientists has
- only recently been recognized. It involves personal involvment,
- long term committment, and followup. It was noted repeatedly
- during this Workshop that mentorship occurs at many levels ranging
- from early elementary education through helping fellow faculty
- members fulfill their potential and, in turn, become effective
- mentors themselves.
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- There should be TWO areas of emphasis in the mentorship program.
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- a. Students
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- b. Young faculty
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- Minority scientists as is true of all others can exert their
- greatest impact through mentoring undergraduate students. The NSF
- provides a mechanism known as the Research Experience for
- Undergraduates (REU). In 1991, the Physiological Processes Program
- supported 39 undergraduates through REU supplements; six were
- minorities (7). Since undergraduates supported by REU supplements
- need not stem from the same institution as the PI, an opportunity
- to establish special relationships with predominantly minority
- institutions is made possible.
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- Although initiation of mentorship occurs most frequently within the
- institution at which mentor and the person being mentored work and
- study, it is also possible to initiate this kind of relationship by
- means of networking through the Scientific Societies that have
- already established committees on Minority Affairs. Many
- scientific societies offer undergraduates as well as graduate
- students the opportunity to present posters or papers at their
- meetings.
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- The hallmark of graduate education is one-on-one interactions
- between the major professor and the student. Minority faculty have
- a special responsibility to sensitize their non-minority faculty
- colleagues to special problems that may arise in mentoring minority
- students. Mentorship need not be limited by the walls of one's own
- institution. Collaborative interactions between minority
- scientists might include exchange visits of graduate students.
- Spending part of a summer at a field station can be a most exciting
- experience for a graduate student.
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- CAREER DEVELOPMENT
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- The initial years of an academic appointment are stressful to
- anyone but can be devastating for minorities who frequently find
- themselves the only minority in a given department. They are
- inundated by requests to serve on committees in the interest of
- ethnic balance. Of course, at universities and at an increasing
- number of undergraduate colleges, establishment and maintenance of
- an actively funded research program is expected. Guidance from
- colleagues, mentors, and administrators can make the difference
- between success and failure.
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- Many things can be done to ease the problem; some by the networks
- of minority faculty (intramural and extramural), others by college
- administrators and granting agencies. These include:
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- A. Encourage mentorship of junior faculty by senior faculty such
- that priorities and potential problems are made known.
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- B. Sensitize administrators, faculty, and granting agencies to the
- problems.
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- C. Improve communication between funding agencies and potential
- applicants with respect to sources of funding.
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- Agencies should tap into existing graduate education networks
- (Minority Graduate Education Project, for example) and apprise
- senior graduate students and postdoctoral fellows of funding
- opportunities.
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- Extend network to Minority Affairs Offices at Universities.
- Many universities are unaware of programs targeted to minorities.
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- NSF should expand sponsorship of booths at national meetings and
- include meetings of minority scientists.
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- Encourage minority scientists to call or visit NSF Program
- Officers regarding application procedures, average award size,
- and appropriateness of proposal for specific programs.
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- Encourage experienced mentors to advise applicants about
- proposals, check for errors, confusing statements, feasibility,
- etc.
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- Involve more minority scientists in the operation of funding
- agencies as panelists, program officers and workshop participants.
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- Encourage potential Principal Investigators to consult with home
- institutions regarding time commitment for project, possibility of
- released time, ancillary support and availability of facilities
- before preparing a proposal.
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- D. Improve Retention of Minority Scientists
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- Most federal agencies make a special effort to help beginning
- scientists, minorities as well as non-minorities. After that they
- are on their own. It is important to find ways to smooth the
- transition between first grants and the "mainstream" competition.
- There are two key elements that bear on success of renewal
- applications. The first is demonstrated accomplishments over the
- previous grant period; the second is development of new ideas for
- the next grant period.
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- Collaboration between scientists is an important mechanism through
- which minority scientists can interact and grow professionally. In
- many cases, a collaborative effort can greatly accelerate the
- learning of new skills. It is particularly important that young
- minorities at smaller universities and colleges have the
- opportunity to participate in sciences at a level above that of an
- observer.
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- Networking among members of the minority community expands
- opportunities for mentoring and collaboration. Workshop
- paticipants plan to interact with other "networks" of minorities in
- professional societies.
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- The premise underlying this Workshop was that scientists working at
- the "front line" can play a significant role in attracting
- minorities into science and engineering. To do this, there must be
- an ongoing effort to raise the issue in the minds of the scientific
- community. Because it has the ear of a large segment of this
- community, it is in an ideal position to facilitate this process
- and has done so over the years. However, most scientists interact
- with NSF at the Program level. This Workshop was an effort on the
- part of one Program to reaffirm its commitment to finding solutions
- to the problem.
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- SUMMARY
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- The unifying theme of this workshop was clear: mentoring was the
- most successful way to increase and retain minorities in science.
- Mentorship at all levels is crucial. Pre-college students need
- role models and mentors just as much as graduate students and post-
- doctoral fellows.
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- Coupled with mentoring is financial support. In order to mentor
- or be mentored, students and faculty must be freed from other
- commitments and distractions, such as second jobs, or lack of
- research funds. Consequently, NSF must be prepared to commit funds
- for such mentorship programs from pre-college through faculty
- positions (as currently outlined in the Alliances for Minority
- Participation Program). Only in this way will students be
- retained in science and mentors will remain dedicated to this
- cause.
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- Finally, we, the participants, are proud of the support and the
- efforts being made in the Physiological Processes Program.
-
- REFERENCES
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- 1. Report on the April 1990 Airlie House Workshop on Careers in
- Biological Sciences: Advancement for Women and Minorities, American
- Society for Cell Biology, Minorities Affairs Committee.
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- 2. Report of the Committee on the NSF Role in Attracting minorities
- to Careers in Science and Engineering, John H. Moore, Chair, August
- 8, 1989.
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- 3. Early Release of Summary Statistics on Science and Engineering
- Doctorates in 1988, National Science Foundation, Division of
- Science and Resources, April, 1989.
-
- 4. Carter, Deborah J. Racial and Ethnic Trends in College
- Participation: 1976 to 1988. Research Briefs, Division of Policy
- Analysis and Research, American Council on Education, Washington,
- D.C. Vol. 1, No. 3, 1990.
-
- 5. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 37, No. 2, p. A1, July
- 3, 1991.
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- 6. The New York Times, p. A1, May 3, 1989.
-
- 7. Annual Report of the Physiological Processes Program. Division
- of Cellular Biosciences, National Science Foundation, 1991.
-
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- PARTICIPANTS
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- Dr. Gary Desir
- Department of Internal Medicine
- Yale University School of Medicine
- New Haven, CT 06520
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- Dr. Earl Dixon
- Department of Physiology
- School of Veterinary Medicine
- Tuskegee University
- Tuskegee, AL 36088
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- Dr. Gregory Florant
- Department of Biology
- Temple University
- 12th and Norris Street
- Philadelphia, PA 19122
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- Dr. John C.S. Fray
- Department of Physiology
- University of Massachusetts
- Worcester, MA 01655
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- Dr. Barbara Y. Hargrave
- Department of Biology
- Old Dominion University
- Norfolk, VA 28529
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- Dr. Pauline Lawrence
- Department of Zoology
- 23 Bartram Hall
- University of Florida
- Gainesville, FL 32611
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- Dr. Edwin Martinez
- Department of Biology
- University of West Florida
- 11000 University Parkway
- Pensacola, FL 32514-5751
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- Dr. Joseph K.E. Ortega
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- University of Colorado at Denver
- Campus Box 112
- P.O. Box 173364
- Denver, CO 80217-3364
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- Dr. Victor D. Ramirez
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- 524 Burrill Hall
- 407 South Goodwin Avenue
- Urbana, IL 61801
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- Dr. Guillermo Romero
- Department of Pharmacology
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
- W1345 Biomedical Science Tower
- Pittsburgh, PA 15261
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- Dr. Ana M. Soto
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
- Tufts University School of Medicine
- Boston, MA 02111
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- Dr. LaVern Whisenton
- Department of Biology
- Millersville University
- Millersville, PA 17551
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- Electronic Dissemination
- You can get information fast through STIS (Science and Technology
- Information System), NSF's online publishing system, described in
- NSF 91-10, the "STIS flyer."
-
- To get a paper copy of the flyer, call the NSF Publications Section
- at 202-357-7861. For an electronic copy, send an E-mail message to
- stisflyer@nsf.gov (Internet) or STISFLY@NSF (Bitnet).
-
-
- Telephonic Device for the Deaf number: 202-357-9492
-
-