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Gathered in the Great Hall were more than 50 undergraduates, selected from among the thousands of students who participate in research projects that HHMI funds each year at liberal arts colleges and research universities. They were about to commence an experimental—and experiential—adventure, a summer of research in the laboratory of an HHMI investigator or professor. Last year's veterans also joined the throng to present their work and share their experiences.
So what made this meeting exceptional? The very presence of these students and what they represent for the future of science. Three years ago, HHMI quietly began a new initiative called EXROP—the Exceptional Research Opportunities Program—in an effort to encourage minority and disadvantaged students to consider careers in science. Through all the planning, two individuals offered inspiration and encouragement: James Gilliam, Jr., who served as a charter trustee of the Institute from 1984 until his untimely death in 2003, and Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).
I met Freeman more than a decade ago when Harold Varmus, then director of the National Institutes of Health, suggested that we might have common interests. He was right. Raised and educated in Birmingham, Alabama, at the height of the civil rights movement, Freeman is a mathematician who was initially recruited to UMBC to create a bold new program. The Meyerhoff Scholars Program began with a goal of developing a new generation of African American engineers and mathematicians. It has since expanded to encompass students interested in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.
Photo: Bart Nagel
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