he future diversity of America's work force can be seen in the faces of its children. Today, ethnic groups considered minorities make up about one-third of elementary school children. By the year 2030, according to Census Bureau projections, they will constitute more than one-half. Shortly after the year 2050, minorities collectively will make up the majority of the U.S. population. Biology has been more successful than many other sciences in enrolling African American, Hispanic, and Native American students as undergraduates. Yet the number of these students who major in biology remains uncomfortably low. Of the 52,314 bachelor's degrees awarded in biology in 1994, only 2,980 (5.7 percent) went to African Americans, 2,901 (5.5 percent) to Hispanics, and 248 (0.5 percent) to Native Americans. The numbers of underrepresented minorities who major in biology have risen over the past decade, however, especially over the last few years. Progress has come much faster for women, who now receive more than half of the undergraduate degrees in biology. Like minorities, however, women still hold relatively few senior faculty positions, making role models limited. The social pressures on women also can be more intense, particularly when it comes to balancing family and professional obligations. And women in biology are in many ways still pioneers. "If you're a biology major, you're taking courses in chemistry, mathematics, and physics, and women remain severely underrepresented in those classes," says Marsha Lakes Matyas, who has studied retention issues in science education and is the education officer at the American Physiological Society. Because of these and other factors, the attrition rate for women in undergraduate biology is significantly higher than for men. Nonetheless, some colleges and universities have been remarkably successful in attracting large numbers of women and minorities to biology. How do they do it? This chapter profiles four institutions that offer a number of answers: Fort Lewis College, a small liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado, where the biology and chemistry departments have teamed up to draw a significant number of Native American students into the sciences. Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, which sends more African American students to medical school than any other college or university. The University of Texas at San Antonio, where faculty members have focused particular attention on Hispanic students. Wellesley College outside Boston, where a disproportionate number of the nation's women scientists received their undergraduate degrees. Other institutions also graduate large numbers of women and minorities in the biological sciences. Furthermore, some institutions have specialized in reaching out to older students, and two-year colleges have become an important source of minorities and women who go on to receive bachelor's degrees in biology. Taken together, these institutions have demonstrated that a kaleidoscope of approaches, unified by several common themes, can attract women and minorities to biology and help them succeed.

Expanding The Talent Pool Native Americans at Fort Lewis College African Americans at Xavier University of Louisiana Hispanics at the University of Texas at San Antonio Women at Wellesley College Reaching Out to Older Students Two-Year Colleges A Kaleidoscope of Approaches: Part One A Kaleidoscope of Approaches: Part Two A World Of Opportunity Changes in the Classroom The Laboratory Experience Faculty in the Crossfire The Many Paths to Success   Bachelor's Degrees in Biology Received by Underrepresented Minorities. African American Hispanic Native American

Bachelor's Degrees in Biology Received by Men and Women

 Men Women
Source: U.S. Department of Education