EDUCATIONAL PATHWAYS FOR BLACK STUDENTS
IN SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
EXPLORING BARRIERS AND POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS
PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP
Olujimi Ajijola, Charles R. Bridges, Jr., Lynne M. Holden, and
Paula Whitacre, Rapporteurs
Cato T. Laurencin, Editor
Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in
Science, Engineering, and Medicine
Policy and Global Affairs
Health and Medicine Division
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
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This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and Aetna Foundation (#18-8876), Johnson & Johnson, the National Institutes of Health (HHSN263201800029I/75N98021F00006), the National Research Council President’s Circle Fund, and UConn Health. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-27344-2
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-27344-7
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/26391
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Educational Pathways for Black Students in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Exploring Barriers and Possible Interventions: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26391.
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K–GRAD EDUCATION ACTION GROUP PLANNING COMMITTEE
OLUJIMI AJIJOLA (Co-chair), UCLA Medical Center
CHARLES R. BRIDGES, JR. (Co-chair), Janssen Research & Development, LLC
LYNNE M. HOLDEN (Co-chair), Montefiore Medical Center
KIMBERLY BRYANT, Black Girls CODE
IAN HENRY, Procter & Gamble Company
JOHN R. LUMPKIN (NAM), Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation
ELIZABETH O. OFILI (NAM), Morehouse School of Medicine
LAMONT R. TERRELL, GlaxoSmithKline
Project Staff
REGINALD HAYES, Associate Program Officer, Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
TOM ARRISON, Program Director, Policy and Global Affairs (until May 2021)
PAULA W. WHITACRE, Consultant Writer
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ROUNDTABLE ON BLACK MEN AND BLACK WOMEN IN SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
CATO T. LAURENCIN (NAS/NAE/NAM) (Chair), University of Connecticut Health
OLUJIMI AJIJOLA, UCLA Medical Center
GILDA A. BARABINO (NAE/NAM), Olin College of Engineering
CHARLES R. BRIDGES, JR., Janssen Research & Development, LLC
CEDRIC BRIGHT, East Carolina University
L. D. BRITT (NAM), Eastern Virginia Medical School
ANDRÉ L. CHURCHWELL, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
THEODORE CORBIN, Drexel University
GEORGE Q. DALEY (NAM), Harvard Medical School
WAYNE FREDERICK, Howard University
PAULA T. HAMMOND (NAS/NAE/NAM), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
EVELYNN M. HAMMONDS (NAM), Harvard University
LYNNE M. HOLDEN, Montefiore Medical Center
CAMARA P. JONES, Morehouse School of Medicine
CORA BAGLEY MARRETT, University of Wisconsin–Madison
VALERIE MONTGOMERY RICE (NAM), Morehouse School of Medicine
RANDALL C. MORGAN, JR., W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute
ELIZABETH O. OFILI (NAM), Morehouse School of Medicine
VIVIAN W. PINN (NAM), National Institutes of Health (Retired)
JOAN Y. REEDE (NAM), Harvard Medical School
LOUIS W. SULLIVAN (NAM), Morehouse School of Medicine
HANNAH VALANTINE (NAM), Stanford University
CLYDE W. YANCY (NAM), Northwestern University
MARK ALEXANDER (Ex Officio Member), 100 Black Men of America, Inc.
MARIE BERNARD (Ex Officio Member), National Institutes of Health
KIMBERLY BRYANT (Ex Officio Member), Black Girls CODE
IVORY DEAN (Ex Officio Member), Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
GARTH N. GRAHAM (NAM) (Ex Officio Member), Google, Inc.
IAN HENRY (Ex Officio Member), Procter & Gamble Company
ORLANDO KIRTON (Ex Officio Member), Society of Black Academic Surgeons
JOHN R. LUMPKIN (NAM) (Ex Officio Member), Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation
SHIRLEY MALCOM (NAS) (Ex Officio Member), American Association for the Advancement of Science
ALFRED MAYS (Ex Officio Member), Burroughs Wellcome Fund
LAMONT R. TERRELL (Ex Officio Member), GlaxoSmithKline
Project Staff
MARIA LUND DAHLBERG, Senior Program Officer, Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
LYNNETTE LUSENAKA, Program Officer, Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
REGINALD HAYES, Associate Program Officer, Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
TOM ARRISON, Program Director, Policy and Global Affairs (until May 2021)
Preface
It is an honor for me to serve as chair of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and serve as the editor of the first in a series of proceedings publications from the Roundtable. Our work in this space began in 2015 when I and leaders of the W. Montague Cobb/National Medical Association Health Institute recognized the growing absence of Black men in medical schools. In fact, levels of Black men entering medical school reached a historic low in 2015 and 2016. Starting in 2016, and with financial support from important partners such as the Aetna Foundation, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Connecticut Legislative Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, we began planning a National Academies workshop on issues surrounding the absence of Black men in medicine. The joint workshop, titled “The Growing Absence of Black Men in Medicine and Science,” took place in 2017. It was historic in that, to my knowledge, it was the first National Academies activity specifically focused on issues involving Black people. The proceedings of that workshop is titled An American Crisis: The Growing Absence of Black Men in Medicine and Science: Proceedings of a Joint Workshop. It was released in May 2018, and corresponded to a briefing on the subject of Black men and medicine with the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, D.C. Many of the ideas that emerged from the workshop have been embraced by academia, industry, and philanthropy. More needs to be done.
Our next steps have involved the development of a more permanent presence in the National Academies to discuss issues surrounding Black men and Black women in science, engineering, and medicine. With support from our anchor partners named above, along with Johnson & Johnson, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and the University of Pittsburgh, and with the continued leadership and commitment from Dr. Victor J. Dzau, the president of the National Academy of Medicine, the Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine was launched late in 2018. I am grateful to the steering committee members for the Roundtable: Drs. L. D. Britt, Cedric M. Bright, George Q. Daley, Randall C. Morgan, Jr., Elizabeth O. Ofili, Vivian W. Pinn, and Louis W. Sullivan.
The Roundtable has tackled important issues.
In October 2020, the Roundtable organized a workshop to examine the current educational pathways for Black students in science, engineering, and medicine, with special emphasis on understanding barriers to success along the pathways. Most importantly, the workshop presented ideas for interventions to overcome barriers.
I am grateful to the co-chairs of the workshop, Drs. Lynne M. Holden, Charles R. Bridges, Jr., and Olujimi Ajijola. They began work on this particular workshop 9 months before the set date, and met weekly or biweekly. The excellent workshop is reflective of their great care and attention to detail. As Dr. Holden so aptly stated, “Our society is at an inflection point, and the workshop speaks to this.”
Indeed, so.
Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. (NAS/NAE/NAM)
Chair, Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women
in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
University Professor, University of Connecticut
Acknowledgments
This Proceedings of a Workshop was prepared by the workshop rapporteur as a factual summary of what was presented and discussed at the workshop. The planning committee’s role was limited to planning and convening the workshop. The statements made are those of the rapporteur and do not necessarily represent positions of the workshop participants as a whole, the planning committee, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. We wish to extend sincere thanks to all the members of the planning committee for their contributions in scoping, developing, and carrying out this project.
This proceedings has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments to assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and ensure the document meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings: Bryan Dewsbury, University of Rhode Island; James Doucet-Battle, University of California, Santa Cruz; Clay Gloster, Jr., North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Daryl Hood, Ohio State University; and Heather Thiry, University of Colorado Boulder. Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive com-
ments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings, nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Maxine Hayes, University of Washington. Appointed by the National Academies, she was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this proceedings rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the institution.
Contents
Organization of This Proceedings
2 BACKGROUND AND WHAT IS MISSING IN KEY MILESTONES AND EXISTING PATHWAY PROGRAMS
Historical Context of Black Representation in U.S. Medical Schools
Seven Areas for Possible Interventions
Understanding Trends and New Opportunities
Teaching as a Lifetime Commitment
Surviving and Thriving as a Student
4 REVIEW OF GAPS AND BARRIERS ALONG THE PATHWAY
Higher Education and STEM Degree Attainment
The Architecture of K–12 Education
5 IMPACT OF FINANCES ON THE EDUCATIONAL PIPELINE
Impact of Finances on the Medical School Pipeline
Household Resources and the Impact on Student Learning
6 POTENTIAL INTERVENTIONS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE EDUCATIONAL PIPELINE AND CLASSROOM
Postbaccalaureate Program to Prepare for Medical School
The Power of Cultural Mentoring
7 CONGRESSIONAL AND CONCLUDING REMARKS
Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson
