Diversity
The MCB Graduate Program, the Division of Biology and Medicine, and the wider Brown University community all are fully committed to fostering and maintaining an educational environment that promotes success for trainees from all racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds.
Brown's Graduate School has been active in recruiting students from underrepresented groups since 1968. Increasing the diversity of our trainees enriches the educational experience for the entire university community and feeds a much-needed pipeline of talent for future faculty recruitment. Students currently receiving training in the MCB Graduate Program include students from underrepresented minorities, first-generation college graduates and international students. Recent alumni of the program include students who received their undergraduate degrees at minority-serving institutions such as the University of Puerto Rico, Xavier University of Louisiana and California State Polytechnic University.
Diversity Resources
Additional information that may be of special interest to students from under-represented groups can be accessed through the following links.
Nabrit Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA)Named in honor of biologist Samuel Nabrit, Brown’s first African-American PhD recipient, the Nabrit Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA) works to enhance the intellectual growth, professional success, and social enjoyment of graduate students within the African Diaspora at Brown University. Membership is open to all Brown graduate students. Biomed Initiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD)The goal of the Initiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD) program, ‘Advancing the Culture of PhD Learning and Scholarship in Biology and Health Science’, is to double the number of URM pre-doctoral students within the Division of Biology and Medicine over the next four years. Striving to promote community, collaboration and excellence, the program develops a unique advising plan and support structure for each IMSD student throughout the training period. Third World CenterThe Third World Center at Brown University, created in 1976, was designed to serve the interests and meet the needs of all Third World students and to promote racial and ethnic pluralism in the Brown Community. The Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in AmericaThe Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University is an interdisciplinary program that develops and promotes research and programs on race and ethnicity. |
Leadership AllianceThe Leadership Alliance is an academic consortium of 33 institutions of higher learning, including leading research and teaching colleges and universities. The mission of the Leadership Alliance is to develop students from underrepresented groups into outstanding leaders and role models in academia, business and the public sector. Student and Employee Accessibility Services (SEAS)Brown provides extensive support for disabled individuals through the Office of Student and Employee Accessibility Services. Extensive improvements have been made to enhance the accessibility of all major buildings across campus. Most MCB trainees work in Sidney Frank Hall for the Life Sciences and the Laboratories for Molecular Medicine, newly constructed or renovated facilities with excellent accessibility features. Handicapped-accessible transportation between these facilities (and other destinations on campus) is coordinated by SEAS, which provides a shuttle service. Advancing Rhode Island Science Education (ARISE)ARISE is an NIH-funded professional development program for high school biology teachers in Rhode Island, has provided an opportunity for MCB students to contribute to science education at a number of local schools that serve large minority populations. The program is designed to promote inquiry-based approaches in high-school classrooms |
Leadership Roles of Minority PhD Recipients
Brown’s longstanding commitment to diversity in graduate education, especially in the biological sciences, is evident from the list of eminent minority scientists who received their Ph.D. degrees at Brown. Both faculty and alumni from Brown’s Division of Biology and Medicine have played significant and leadership roles in promoting the recruitment of minorities into biomedical research at the national level. Past chairs of the Minority Affairs Committee of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) included PhD graduates (W. Anderson and J. K. Haynes) and a faculty trainer of the MCB Program at Brown. The vigorous activities of this committee have had significant impact at the national level.
The following scientists received their predoctoral training in the MCB Graduate Program or its predecessor graduate program (before 1976) in the Division of Biology and Medicine at Brown.
Daniel Romero GS'86 Gary L. Sanford GS'78 Richard H. Pointer GS'75 |
Margaret Tolbert GS'74 Calbert A. Laing GS'74 John K. Haynes GS'70 |
Winston A. Anderson GS'66 Edwin L. Cooper GS'63 |
