Advanced Placement Course Provides a Huge Boost to Underrepresented Students in Computer Science
A new Advanced Placement Program for high school students is increasing the number of young students from underrepresented groups who are taking courses in computer science.
Survey Finds Widespread Racial and Sexual Harassment in Astronomy and Planet Science
Researchers surveyed a large group of professionals and found that 39 percent of all respondents reported that they had been verbally harassed and 9 percent stated that they have been physically harassed at work within the past five years. Women of color were the most likely to be victims.
Black Scholar to Lead the Women in Engineering ProActive Network
Amy Freeman is the assistant dean of engineering outreach and inclusion at Pennsylvania State University. She recently began a one-year term as president of the Women in Engineering ProActive Network.
New Academy Seeks to Prepare Black Students for Graduate Study in Health Care Management
The University of Alabama at Birmingham's School of Health Professions recently launched the Academy for Addressing Health Disparities through Health Care Leadership.
Carnegie Mellon University Africa Awards Its 100th Master’s Degree
This year, 33 students from Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda earned master's degrees in electrical and computer engineering and information and communication technology. It was the fourth commencement ceremony for Carnegie Mellon University Africa.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Makes Major Commitment to STEM Diversity
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has selected 24 educational institutions to receive $1 million grants to promote STEM education. The initiative focuses on those undergraduates who come to college from diverse backgrounds and pathways.
A Shortage of African American Men in the Medical Profession
Today, African American men make up just 2.8 percent of all medical school applicants. Of all African American medical school applicants, men make up only 38 percent of the total.
Two New Academic Offerings in STEM at North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University, the historically Black educational institution in Durham, will now offer academic programs in computational and engineering mathematics and engineering physics.
Florida A&M University Designated a Leader in Cyber Defense Education
Florida A&M University, the historically Black educational institution in Tallahassee, was recently designated by the National Security Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education.
Harvard and MIT to Collaborate on Project to Boost Genetics Research in Africa
The Global Initiative for Neuropsychiatric Genetics Education in Research Project (GINGER) has recruited 17 African scholars who will attend workshops in the United States and London over the next two years on epidemiology, bioinformatics, genetics, and grant writing.
A Potent Partnership to Increase the Number of African Americans in Engineering
The National Society of Black Engineers has signed a three-year agreement with the Biomedical Engineering Society to support the organizations’ mutual goal of increasing diversity in engineering.
HBCUs Partner With the Department of Energy for the Clean Energy Consortium
The new partnership will focus on bringing solar energy to working communities, developing research in innovative technologies at HBCUs, and increasing the number of Black students pursuing degrees and careers in STEM fields.
Rutgers University Medical Student Is Also a Novelist
Grace Ibitamuno Obienu was married in 2014 and had a baby the next year. This past August she began studies in the M.D./Ph.D. program at Rutgers University. She recently published her first novel and is now writing a sequel.
New Effort to Boost Students From Underrepresented Groups in Toxicology
The Toxicology Mentoring and Skills Development Training Program led by Wilson Rumbeiha, a professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine at Iowa State University, will link undergraduate students with professional toxicologists in academia, government, and industry.
University of Oregon Program Creates Research Opportunities for Underrepresented Students
The Students of Color Opportunities for Research Enrichment (SCORE) program seeks to bring students from underrepresented groups into the scientific community by getting them involved in research projects in university laboratories.
Selwyn Rogers Named the Founding Director of the University of Chicago Medicine Trauma Center
Dr. Rogers, who has been serving as vice president and chief medical officer at the University of Texas Medical Branch since 2014, will also serve as executive vice president for community health engagement at the University of Chicago.
Biology Scholars Program at Cornell University Propels Black Students to Graduate School
Since 2010 there have been 120 Biology Scholars who have graduated from the university. More than 90 percent of those who applied to medical school were accepted and enrolled. Another 19 students are enrolled in Ph.D. programs and three are enrolled in M.D./Ph.D. programs.
New Report Examines Racial Differences in Computer Science Education
Among the findings of a a new report from Google is the fact that only 47 percent of Black students nationwide attend schools that have courses in computer science, compared to 58 percent of White students.
Harriet Nembhard to Lead Engineering School at Oregon State University
Harriet Nembhard was appointed the director of the School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University in Covallis. She will also serve as the Eric R. Smith Professor of Engineering at Oregon State.
How to Increase Diversity in Biomedical Science Research
A new report from by the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Association of American Medical Colleges offers strategies for increasing the number of biomedical researchers from underrepresented groups.
Eli Lilly and Company’s New Minority Fellowship Program for Howard University Graduates
The Minority Fellowship program is open to physicians and other individuals who hold doctorates in scientific fields who want to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical field. The first class of Minority Fellows are Howard University graduates.
The Top Undergraduate Feeder Institutions of African Americans to U.S. Medical Schools
During the 2015-16 academic year, the University of Florida graduated 109 students who applied to U.S. medical schools. This was 2.2 percent of all Black students who applied to medical schools in the United States. Nearly 14 percent of all graduates of Spelman College applied to medical school.
The NFL Player Pursuing a Ph.D. in Mathematics at MIT
John Urschel, an offensive guard for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League, recently completed his first semester in the mathematics Ph.D. program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He took four courses and had a 4.0 grade point average.
University of Maryland Eastern Shore to Offer a New Master’s Degree Program in Cybersecurity
To be accepted into the new master's degree program in cybersecurity, students need a bachelor’s degree in a related technology field or have experience in cybersecurity in the workforce.
Black Identical Twins Each Had the Highest GPA at FIU’s College of Engineering and...
Shalisha and Shonda Witherspoon are identical twins. They recently graduated from the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University in Miami with identical 3.95 grade point averages, the best in the college.
Stanford’s Jennifer Eberhardt Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences does not publish data on the race or ethnicity of its members. But according to a JBHE analysis of the group of 84 new members, it appears that only one of the new members is an African American.
Laboratory Used by Edward Bouchet Designated a Historic Site by the American Physical Society
Edward A. Bouchet was the first African American to earn a doctorate from an American university when he received a Ph.D. in physics at Yale University in 1876. The laboratory where he did much of his research has been named the 37th historic site in the history of physics.
Alec Gallimore Named Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan
Professor Gallimore joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1992. He was promoted to full professor in 2004. Dr. Gallimore is the director of the Michigan Space Grant Consortium, funded by NASA and the director of the Michigan/Air Force Center of Excellence in Electric Propulsion.
Harris-Stowe State University Begins Dual-Degree Program With the St. Louis College of Pharmacy
Under the new program students will spend their first three years at historically Black Harris-Stowe State University, majoring in biology. They will then spend four years in the pharmacy doctorate program at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.
University of Chicago’s Partnership With the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences
Under the partnership agreement, University of Chicago faculty and graduate students will spend time at five research centers in Africa to serve as teachers, tutors, and researchers.
Cornell to Rename Its School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering for an African American
Robert F. Smith, chair and CEO of Vista Equity Partners has made a $50 million donation to Cornell University. The gift is one of the largest ever made by an African American to an institution of higher education.
A New University Home for the National Alliance for Doctoral Studies in the Mathematical...
The national mathematics organization strives to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who earn doctoral degrees in mathematics and related fields. It has been housed at the University of Iowa but will have a new home at Purdue University.
New Biochemistry Major Launched at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a historically Black education institution that enrolls about 2,500 students, has announced that it will offer a new bachelor's degree program in biochemistry beginning in the fall of 2016.
Jackson State University Wins Approval to Offer Two New Degree Programs in STEM Fields
Jackson State University will now offer a bachelor of science degree program in biotechnology and a master's degree in computational/data-enabled science and engineering.
The New Dean of the College of Engineering at Howard University
Dr. Achille Messac, educated at MIT, has been serving as dean of engineering and professor of aerospace engineering at Mississippi State University. Previously, he served on the faculties at Syracuse University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
University Scientists Develop Portable Device for Sickle Cell Diagnosis
Scientists at the University of Connecticut, Yale University, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new method of detecting sickle cell disease that can be used in remote areas that do not have advanced medical technology.
