9

Closing Reflections

At the end of the workshop, co-chairs André Churchwell, M.D. (Vanderbilt University), and Shirley Malcom, Ph.D. (American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS]), shared their thoughts about some of the points raised during the keynote address and panels. Cato Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Connecticut), chair of the Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, closed the 2-day session by thanking them and their committee, as well as presenters, participants, and staff.

REFLECTIONS FROM THE WORKSHOP CO-CHAIRS

Shirley Malcom, Ph.D.

Dr. Malcom reflected on the professional and personal reasons behind why she considers change and community so vital. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she entered a Predominantly White Institution as the only Black zoology major among 800 students. After earning her Ph.D. and spending some time as a faculty member, she joined the staff of AAAS in the mid-1970s. In identifying programs that were trying to bring more people of color into the science, engineering, and biomedical fields, she observed many disparate projects, but they were not adding up to make big changes. It was in part because they were not linked to each other or to the community, she posited. To move forward, it is important to create belong-

ing and understand that we need mentoring. She said that it is critical to both mentor and be mentored, “to pass on what we have learned over the years.”

Reviewing the workshop, Dr. Malcom pointed to Dr. Montgomery Rice’s keynote address about putting the pieces together to build community (see Chapter 2). As illustrated in the panel moderated by Dr. Reede, other organizations beyond higher education institutions are willing to come into the space to make a difference, including churches, community-based organizations, and academic health centers willing to serve as community anchors (see Chapter 3). “We have this sense there are a lot of people and organizations willing to come together. How does that take place. Who organizes or leads it?” she asked, commenting that the leadership panel provided some of the answers because leaders can control resources, pull pieces together, and support the work going on organically from the community (see Chapter 3). She referred to Kenneth Hill’s emphasis on math, on believing in young people, and on engaging parents and others to work with young people to help them build connections and linkages, and how to sustain these programs over time.

While supportive of these efforts, she expressed concern that they are needed because the systems that exist are not working. She questioned how to move school systems so that they deliver the programs and services that these nonschool programs do, and how to scale these programs. She also noted that in finding ways to help undergraduates succeed on their pathways, many presenters touched on the work of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority-Serving Institutions, and community colleges to show how that can happen. She suggested “making ourselves porous and open and sufficiently available that we can go toward the expertise, which may be beyond our own institutions.” The example presented by Dr. Montgomery Rice of how Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) has shifted the curve in student performance shows how to build on potential, Dr. Malcom said.

The use of data to empower students and support their success is very powerful, she continued. She also said the work within the community that was highlighted during the workshop has been incredible, but she expressed the hope to align these efforts to make them more powerful, analogous to the power of a laser compared with that of diffuse light. She noted her own work, including institutional transformation through Sea Change at AAAS.¹

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¹ For more information, see https://seachange.aaas.org.

She continued, “I want our funders to ask more of our institutions, not just support their research but understand that they are also supporting the environment in which the research and teaching are being done.” She agreed with presenters who said it is important to have powerful messaging and messengers to communicate why science, engineering, and medicine (SEM) is important and why it is important to have people of color doing SEM work. She also underscored the need for representation where decisions are made. She expressed pride that AAAS has stepped up to become a visible advocate.

The pandemic taught lessons, Dr. Malcom said. While there were some challenges in sequencing the virus, developing a vaccine, setting up diverse clinical trials, and distributing the vaccine, she observed, the greatest challenge turned out to be vaccine uptake. Former National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins acknowledged that the basic science was better known than the community aspects, perhaps because [community aspects have] not been well funded.² Moving lessons like this into the work of the Roundtable means supporting community and participatory work, and a better understanding not only of basic science but also of translational, clinical, and community work. “We have work to do. We do it with community, and we do it in partnerships. We invest in relationships for the long term,” she concluded.

André Churchwell, M.D.

Dr. Churchwell said Dr. Malcom’s summary pointed to the challenges and opportunities that can guide the work of the Roundtable going forward. He reflected that when he began his work in diversity, equity, and inclusion, it was considered “minority affairs” in the 1970s and 1980s. The work will go on for a long time because the challenges are myriad, siloed, and not as connected as they could be. “I see the work of this Roundtable being a voice of reason and social conscience for the scientists in America, for the NAS [National Academy of Sciences] and others who work in this space.”

Reviewing the workshop structure, he said it was built around support for student success (see Figure 9-1). He noted a key concept brought up by Dr. Camara Jones about institutional porosity (see Chapter 8). It is

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² Francis Collins has acknowledged that trust in science resulted in an underinvestment in research on human behavior. See https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/dr-collins-reflects-on-career-at-nih-covid-response-effort-work-on-genome-sequencing.

important to get the messages and work done in the community back into institutions.

“We were trying to look broadly in this workshop to a holistic community response,” Dr. Churchwell continued. Dr. Montgomery Rice showed what progress looks like in a well-run, well-imagined, diverse institution around its mission to create students to go out and practice medicine and change the trajectory of health care of minority populations. Data are needed, he concurred. He also underscored that the inclusive practices used at MSM can work for all students. “Inclusive education is not just for Black students, it elevates everyone to succeed.”

Moving to the presenters from Northwestern University and Vanderbilt University (see Chapter 5), Dr. Churchwell said it is vital to reach students early. Once they hit college, the paradigm of 19th century European education comes into play that assumes that students who are struggling do not study enough or are not smart enough. Instead, “Evidence on inclusive education clearly shows that you need to make information relevant for the 21st century, imbued with social mission and vision.” As shown at Olin College, this changes how students do engineering (see Chapters 7 and 8). He urged all schools to embrace this type of inclusive education. It challenges teaching and researching assumptions.

Tailoring education is essential because needs are different. It is important to build mental wellness and resilience in a thoughtful way and with appropriate training for teachers so that students do well. Dr. Churchwell reflected that another message he heard during the workshop is that “we live in the ecosystem of social and moral justice. It is part of everything we are involved in.” On a personal note, he and his brothers chose the careers they did because their father stressed the importance not just to receive a great education but to invest back in community. “The whole issue of giving back to communities to build better education and health was lived out in all the sessions throughout the workshop,” he concluded.

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