Chemical Education Today
Editorial
Diversity in Science cational materials specifically targeting minority communiThe report of a workshop held by the ACS Committee ties (business and community leaders, students, teachers, and on Professional Training (CPT) (1), the second edition of administrators) that “demonstrate the positive impact of And Gladly Teach (2), and a study recently released by the chemistry…and the desirability of a career in chemistry”; proAmerican Council on Education (ACE) (3) are important for viding examples of service-learning programs directly aimed all of us who are concerned about increasing diversity in the at minority communities and publicizing these at ACS meetsciences and encouraging talented people of all kinds to parings; facilitating participation of underticipate in chemistry and contribute to it. graduates in ACS regional meetings; and According to the ACE report, in the 1995–96 academic year, 18.6% of African- we cannot afford to miss out heightening the visibility of minority role models. American and 22.7% of Hispanic students And Gladly Teach has been used for entering colleges and universities were inter- on the scientific contributions several years as a resource by students ested in majoring in Science, Technology, Enthat can be made by every and in workshops for graduate students gineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and postdoctoral fellows who are interdisciplines. This was comparable to the 18% segment of our society ested in academic careers. The recently of white students and 26.4% of Asian-Ameripublished second edition contains the can students expressing interest in STEM. same useful information distilled from the experiences of a Three years later, in 1998, about 56% of students from all diverse group of authors that was in the first edition. There four groups who initially expressed interest in STEM studies are four additional personal statements from recent Ph.D.s were continuing to study in STEM fields. However, by the about their experiences, and there is now much more explicit spring of 2001 only 62.5% of African-American and Hisinformation about issues that affect women, underrepresented panic students majoring in STEM fields had attained a minorities, and people with disabilities differently as they take bachelor’s degree. This percentage is much smaller than the on faculty positions. 86.7% of whites and the 94.8% of Asian-Americans. Many The three resources listed in Literature Cited have a great of the African-American and Hispanic students who persisted deal to say about what can be done to encourage and enable beyond the third year had not dropped out, but were still participation in STEM disciplines by all groups in proporenrolled and working toward a degree after six years. tion to their representation in the population as a whole. Students who were able to obtain a bachelor’s degree in There are so many different problems in the world and in six years or less were likely to: our country that need the best science and the best scientists • Have been better prepared by a rigorous high school for their resolution that we cannot afford to miss out on the curriculum; scientific contributions that can be made by every segment • Have been younger than 19 when they entered college; of our society. It behooves all of us to work in whatever way • Have at least one parent with a bachelor’s degree; possible toward the goal of greater diversity in chemistry and all STEM disciplines. • Be from a family with higher income; • Be working no more than 15 hours per week.
The study concludes that the real challenge is not to interest minorities in STEM, but rather to enable degrees to be completed in a timely fashion. This requires both improving pre-college education in all schools, not just the richest, and support within colleges and universities to deal with academic deficiencies that were not the student’s fault. It also requires financial support so that academic progress is not slowed by the requirement of earning enough to stay in school or support other family members. The ACS CPT Workshop on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) reemphasized the important role such institutions have played in helping African-American students to obtain degrees in chemistry. The problems delineated by the ACE report are often encountered by faculty in HBCUs, and the HBCUs have an excellent track record of solving those problems and encouraging students to STEM careers. The Workshop on HBCUs provided a long list of recommendations for improving undergraduate education of African Americans in chemistry. Among those that readers of this Journal should consider addressing are developing eduwww.JCE.DivCHED.org
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Literature Cited 1. Committee on Professional Training. Final Report: Workshop on HBCUs and African American-Serving Institutions; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2005. Available at http://www.chemistry.org/portal/resources/ACS/ACSContent/ education/cpt/HBCU%20Report.pdf (accessed Apr 2006). 2. Schwartz, A. T.; Archer, R. D.; El-Ashmaway, A. K.; Lavallee, D. K.; McGuire, S.; Richmond, G.; Eikey, R. And Gladly Teach, 2nd ed.; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2006; single copies available free from ACS Office of Graduate Education:
[email protected]. See review by Kovac, J. J. Chem. Educ. 2006, 83, 705. 3. Anderson, Eugene L.; Kim, Dongbin. Increasing the Success of Minority Students in Science and Technology; American Council on Education: Washington, DC, 2006. This is one in a series of ACS publications titled The Unfinished Agenda: Ensuring Success for Students of Color; see http://www.acenet.edu/ AM/Template.cfm?Section=Leadership&template=/CM/ HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=12701 (accessed Apr 2006).
Vol. 83 No. 6 June 2006
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Journal of Chemical Education
823
