NIEHS/AACR Task Force on the Advancement of Minorities in Science: Vision for a Model Program.

Abstract

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/National Institutes of Health and the American Association for Cancer Research initiated the "NIEHS/AACR Task Force on the Advancement of Minorities in Science" to address the issues of recruitment, participation, retention, and advancement of historically underrepresented minorities in the biomedical sciences. The goal of the Task Force was to establish a model program, national in scope and significance, to increase the number of historically underrepresented minorities who earn a doctorate and excel professionally in the biomedical sciences. To this end, the model program will: seek to promote systemic change in educational institutions from precollege through graduate school; introduce effective models of diversity training for faculty and students from precollege through university; promote collaborative learning, leadership skills, and team building in science; focus on the professional development of teachers; depend on the commitment and collaboration of financial and philosophical partners for its implementation. This document represents the vision for the model program, developed by an eight-member subcommittee charged with representing and documenting the concerns and opinions of the Task Force as a whole.