NSF Award
0122791
The Office of Outreach of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of North Texas Health Science Center was established in 1994 to help to recruit underrepresented minority student into the biomedical sciences. The implemenatation includes activities from students from elementary and secondary schools (K-12) through undergraduate and graduate university. The outreach program works to encourage students to enter science fields. That activity is supported by an annual mentoring workshop for faculty. Other program elements include the Adopt-A-School program for support of K-12 students, the Summer Multicultural Advanced Research Training (SMART) and McNair programs to build student relationships with faculty mentors. Bridge partner programs connect institutions to support students in transferring smoothly into doctoral programs. The program has become the state's leader in the enrollment percentage of Hispanic and African-American students, with the enrolling undergraduate class for Fall 2000 at 35 percent Hispanic and African-American students (35 percent white, 24 percent foreign, 6 percent Asian-American). Similarly, the graduate population of the biomedical program is 1 percent Hispanic and 10 percent African American, compared to national figures for science enrollment at less than 4 percent of Hispanic and African-American students. The Center anticipates graduating ten students with Ph.D. degrees in May 2001, of whom half are African-American or Hispanic.
