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6. MINORITIES IN THE: BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES The identification and development of science talent is important for the future vitality of scientific research. In the past, white males have constituted a disproportionately large share of the pool of students prepared for science careers. The talents of those outside that pool, i.e., minorities and women, have thereby been lost to science and either have been applied to other areas or remained undeveloped because of limited education or because no effort was made to identify those with talent and interest them in science careers. Because academic ability is not limited to white male students, full development of the nation's science talent means identifying that ability and encouraging an interest in science among minority and nonminority students of both sexes. Furthermore, this development is essential because demographic trends show that in the next 20 years minorities will constitute an increasing portion of the U.S. population, especially in the pool of potential college students. For example, among 18- to 24-year-olds, the proportion of Blacks and other racial minorities {excluding Hispanics) is expected to grow from 14.3 percent in 1980 to 17.9 percent by 1990, and will reach 18.9 percent by the year 2000 (Ue Se Bureau of the Census 1965-80 No. 704)e It is important to recognize the potentially significant impact of minorities on the supply of scientists and, thus, their possible contribution to scientific research. Although it would be absurd to propose a "Chicano biochemistry" or "Black biophysics," one should recognize that minorities, like everyone else, will apply their own values in determining what is an appropriate or interesting problem in health research. Minority scientists are more likely than nonminorities to focus on problems of particular significance to the minority population -- hypertension, for example -- thus broadening the scope of scientific inquiry. A more diverse scientific community can result in greater diversity in research, from which the sciences will benefit. Finally, increasing the participation of minorities in the sciences is also a matter of fairness. The persistent underrepresentation of Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians among doctoral scientists amounts to their near exclusion f rom the science professions. This inequity must be el iminated for the good of both so fence and minority g roups. To understand the issues affecting the participation of minorities in the biomedical and behavioral fields, the Committee reviewed the recent (1974-1980) literature on minorities in the sciences and prepared two background documents, an Issues Paper and an Annotated Bibliography of the references used. These documents, which summarize the literature, are available to interested readers upon request.1 Although the literature describes a wide range of problems that contribute to the low representation of minorities in science careers, there is a clear emphasis on those early factors that discourage minority students from pursuing science education, beginning in the primary grades and continuing through postsecondary levels. These factors, cited by numerous authors, include the following: cultural and language differences; lack of early development of an aptitude for mathematics or science; weak academic preparation, especially in mathematics; lack of science career information, adult role models, and vigorous recruitment; inflexible college admissions criteria; and inadequate financial resources. 110
In addition to reviewing the relevant literature, the Committee examined the most recent statistic s on minority representation among students in higher education and doctorate recipients, particularly in the biomedical and behavioral f ields. The Committee also reviewed the current federal programs to train minority students in those f ields. They are described later in the chapter. Earlier discussions of minorities that appeared in the Committee's Reports from 1977 to 1979 are summarized at the end of this chapter. 2 The Committee's analysis of minority Ph.D. 's in the biomedical and behavioral sciences is limited to consideration of U.S. citizens and permanent visa holders among American Indians, Hispanic Americans, Blacks, and Asians. Although Asians are not underrepresented among students and degree recipients in graduate science education, they are included in these analyses because they are considered a minority group by the U.S. Office for Civil Rights for purposes of affinnati~re action at all educational levels. In the following discussion the representation of minority group members in the biomedical and behavioral sciences is compared to their proportions in the total U.S. population. The percentages of minorities in the population for both 1970 and 1980 are given in Table 6.1 as reference points against which to consider the data presented in this chapter. TABLE 6.1 Percent of Racial/Ethnic Minorities in the U.S. Population 1970 1980 Race/Ethnic Group (O (%) Amencan Indians 0.4 0.6 Blacks 11.1 11.7 Asians 0.8 1.5 Hispanics 4.5 6.4 SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of the Census (1981). MINORITY PH.D. 'S IN THE BIO~:DICAL SCIENCES Data f rom the National Research Council's Survey of Earned Doctorates for the period 1974 through 1980 show that Blacks and Hispanics remain severely underrepresented among Ph.D. 's in the biomedical sciences. American Indians are represented in roughly the same proportion as in the total population, while Asians are statistically overrepresented. The total number of minority Ph.D.'s, including Asians, in biomedical fields has remained stable for the last 7 years, even though the total number of biomedical doctorates awarded annually increased in 1979 and 1980 (Figure 6.1 and Appendix Table All) . Thus, in the last 2 years the percentage of minorities among biomedical Ph.D.'s has declined slightly. The persistent underrepresentation of Blacks and Hispanics is conspicuous. From 1974 to 1980 Blacks were no more than 2.0 percent and Hispanics no more than 1.1 percent of all biomedical doctorates awarded annually, while Asians constituted at least 5.5 percent of the total each year. American Indians amounted to at least 0. 4 percent of biomedical Ph.D. 's every year until 1980 when they were 0.3 percent. 111
3,400 `,' 3,200 ~ 3,000 Cal IL o m 600 he 400 200 Total Nonminorities and Other/Unknown Minorities - 1974 75 76 77 78 79 80 FISCAL YEAR FIGURE 6.1 1974-80 doctorate recipients in the biomedical sciences: U.S. citizens and permanent visa holders. See Appendix Table All. 4,000 3,800 3fiOo CD cat 3,400 o LU of 3,200 3,000 600 400 200 Total Nonminorities and Other/Unknown Minaritiec .... ~ 1974 75 76 77 78 79 80 FISCAL YEAR FIGURE 6.2 1974-80 doctorate recipients in the behavioral sciences: U.S. citizens and permanent visa holders. See Appendix Table A14. 112
T ime to Comp fete the Doc borate In the biomedical fields, Black Ph.D.'s take a longer time than others to complete their doctorate after receiving the bachelor's decree, I-- ~~ - ~ , ~ Although the median time that biomedical Ph.D. 's are enrolled in graduate study is about the same for nonminorities (5. 7 years) and for Blacks 16.1 years), the median total time between the bachelor's and doctoral degrees is 3 years longer for Black Ph.~. 's, who take 10.0 years, compared to 6.8 years for nonminorities (Appendix Table Ally. This difference is illustrated in another way in Figure 6. 3, showing the median age of Blacks and nonminorities at three times: receipt of baccalaureate, entrance to graduate school, and receipt of doctorate. When they have entered graduate school, Blacks are already 1 1/2 years older than nonminorities. By the receipt of doctorate the median age of Blacks is 4 years greater than that of nonminorities, a result of interruptions in study between the bachelor' s and doctor' s degrees. While the reasons for these interruptions cannot be determined from existing data, it is likely that in large measure they result f rom f inancial pressures which arise during the long training period. Thus, the longer time that Blacks take to earn their Ph.D. 's in the biomedical sciences may simply reflect the economic problems cot man to all students of modest means. primarily cue to time not enrolled in arad Hate study 35 34 33 32 31 30 V 29 `,~ 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 . Blacks Non minorities Blacks Blacks Nonminorities _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Non minorities BACHELOR'S DEGREE ENTRANCE TO GRADUATE SCHOOL DOCTO R. ATE DEG R EE FIGURE 6.3 Median age of 1974-80 Ph.D.'s in the biomedical sciences: Blacks and nonminorities. See Appendix Table A16. 113 , _ _,
Sources of Graduate Student Support For both minority and nonminority Ph.D. 's in the biomedical sciences, except Asians, the teaching ass, stantship was the most frequent source of support during graduate school (Appendix Table A12) . This source was followed by research assistantships and the student's own earnings. Asians reported the highest pe rcentage ~ 57 percent) of research assistantships for all biomedical Ph.D. ' s. About the same percentages of nonminorities, Blacks, and Hispanics reported self-support 32-34 percent), but more American Indians ~ 38 percent) and fewer Asians ~ 21 percent) cited it. Asians reported support by NIH fellowships less frequently than did non-minorities while Black Ph.D. ' s cited them more f requently. All four minority groups, however, received NIB traineeships less frequently than did the 33 percent of nonminorities who held them: 22 percent of Blacks, 20 percent of Asians, 26 percent of Hispanics, and 30 percent of American Indians. Among other sources of support, National Direct Student Loans and other loans were used more f requently by American Indians, Blacks, and Hispanics than by nonmi norities; Asians cited loans less frequently than did other racial/ethnic groups. Plans for Postdoctoral Study In recent years the percent of all biomedical Ph.D. Is planning postdoctoral study has grown steadily f rom 50 percent in 1974 to 65 percent in 1980 (Appendix Table Aid. Minorities have shared in this trend in roughly the same proportions as nonminorities, except for Blacks, a much smaller percentage of whom have reported postdoctoral study plans. In 1980, for example, 57 percent of nonminority Ph.D. 's in the biomedical f ields reported they planned postdoctoral study, whi le only 37 percent of Blacks had such plans. The reasons for this difference, evident since 1974, are unknown, and until the postdoctoral activity of Black Ph.D. s has been examined, the Committee can only note this fact. However, one can speculate that both positive and negative factors may be responsible for this difference. The demand for Black doctorates may have created a favorable market in who ch postdoctoral experience may not be a job prerequisite for Black Ph.D.'s. The NRC Committee on Postdoctorals cited evidence that minority scientists and engineers are in demand and noted that many of them took faculty positions immediately after completing their doctoral programs (NRC, 1981a, pp. 143-146~. On the other hand, economic necessity and the lack of role models to guide them may militate against postdoctoral study by Blacks. We have reported that minority Ph.D. 's, with the exception of Asians, are older and have more dependents than others do at the time of doctorate {1977 Report, p. 172~. The Ford Foundation has recognized the latter factors by establishing a Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Minorities with Special provisions addressed to these problems. In its 1977 Report, the Committee noted that the percentage of Blacks planning postdoctoral study was much smaller than other Ph.D. 's and recommended that a special effort be made by each agency to encourage qualif fed minority applicants to undertake postdoctoral training by establishing a special postdoctoral fellowship program targeted to minorities (1977 Report, p. 173~. This was not done. However, the most recent data show that the percentage of Blacks planning postdoctoral study continues to be much smaller than others. The Committee, therefore, urges the agencies to reconsider its previous recommendation. 114
At the same time, the agencies should encourage qualified minority Ph.D. candidates to pursue postdoctoral education and should support them through existing programs in an effort to include them in the mainstream of scientific research and training. MINORITY PH.D. 'S IN To BE - VIO=L SCIENCES The total number of doctorates awarded in the behavioral sciences increased from 1974 to 1976, then levelled off until 1980 {Figure 6.2 and Appendix Table Aim. During this period minority representation has grown among Ph. D. awardees in the behavioral sciences in contrast to the stability of that representation in the biomedical f ields. The number of Ph.D. 's awarded to Hispanics increased from 23 in 1974 to 73 in 1980. The number of Ph.D. 's awarded to Blacks has grown from 79 in 1974 to 156 in 1980. Thus, there has been a three-fold rise in Hispanic Ph.D. ' s and a near doubling of Blacks. However, in order to approach their pro- portions in the national population, they would have had to grow much faster than they did in these years. The percentage of all behavioral sciences Ph.D. 's planning postdoctoral study has gradually increased since 1974 (Appendix Table A15), but not to the same level as in the biomedical f ields. For example, in 1980 while 65.5 percent of biomedical doctorates planned further study, only 16. 2 percent in the behavioral sciences had such plans. For American Indians and Blacks the percentage of those planning postdoctoral study has been somewhat lower than for nonminorities, 7.1 and 12.2 percent, respectively, while it has generally been higher for Asians and Hispanics, 17.3 and 16.4 percent, respectively. The percentages of American Indians, Asians, and Hispanics fluctuate widely from year to year, but this variability may be exaggerated because the numbers of Ph.D.'s are very small. MINORITIES IN THE EDUCATIONAL "PIPELINES According to the 1979 Survey of Doctorate Recipients, U.S.-born minorities excluding Asians were only 1.6 percent of the estimated Pb.D. labor force in science and engineering. Although this underrep- resentation is widely recognized as a persistent problem at the doctorate level, it is the result of the limited flow of minority students into science at the lower educational levels. Data on enrollments and degrees earned by race are sparse and do not permit one to follow a group of individuals through the educational Hpipeline. f rom the undergraduate to the doctoral level. Still, the data available do provide a prof ile of students and degrees at several points in time. These data are summarized in Table 6.2 for Blacks and in Table 6.3 for Hispanics. These figures support two conclusions: First, minorities are represented less among bachelor' s degree holders than among undergraduate enrollees, and still less among Ph.D. recipients. Second, minority graduate students are concentrated in conscience fields, especially education. These facts are the result of both the small number of minorities who continue on to graduate education and the lack of minority students selecting science careers. Increasing minority representation among biomedical and behavioral scientists will require increasing the 115
TABLE 6.2 Summary of Data on Blacks in the Educational "Pipeline" 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL Percentage of Total Bachelor's Degrees:a All Fields Education Biological Sciences Psychology Percentage of Total Undergraduate Enrollment: b All Fields Percentage Distribution by Type of Ins~dtution:c Undersides 4-Year Colleges 2-Year Colleges GRADUATE LEVEL Percentage of Total Master's Degrees:a All Fields Education Biological Sciences Psychology Percentage of Total Graduate Enrollment: b All Fields Biological Sciences DOCTORATE LEVEL Percentage of Total Ph.D.'s:d AB Fields Education Biomedical Sciences Behavioral Sciences Percentage Distribution of Black Doctorates:d Physical Sciences Engineenng Life Sciences Social Sciences Education Humanides Other Fields aFrom U.S. Department of Education (1948-81). b From U.S. Department of Education (1961-79). CFrom U.S. Department of Education (1980). dFrom NRC (1958-80). 6.4 9.1 4.3 6.4 10.2 6.5 9.7 3.3 5.3 606 2.6 4.0 9.4 1.8 3.5 100.0 2.6 1.8 6.4 16.5 59.4 8.6 4.7 7.5 8.9 4.5 6.7 N/A 6.~/ 10.0 2.9 6.1 N/A N/A 10.0 1.4 3.5 100.0 3.7 1.3 5.7 18.8 57.7 9.0 3.8 N/A N/A N/A N/A 10.2 100.0 13.9 44.1 42.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A 5.7 2.6 4.2 9.1 2.0 3.5 100.0 4.9 1.2 7.1 19.3 54.3 8.2 4.9 NOTE: Backs were 11.1 Grunt of the U.S. pop~don ~ 1970 "d 11.7 percent in 1980. 116 6.5 9.0 5.0 7.5 N/A 6.4 9.7 3.1 5.9 N/A N/A 4.2 8.6 1.5 4.1 100.0 4.7 1.8 5.5 20.2 51.4 11.7 4.8 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 4.1 8.8 1.4 4.0 100.0 2.6 1.6 6.2 20.3 55.0 9.4 4.8
TABLE 6.3 Summary of Data on Hispanics in the Educational "Pipeline" 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL Percentage of Total Bachelor's Degrees:a All Fields 2.6 3.5 N/A 3.2 N/A Education 2.2 2.3 N/A 2.5 N/A Biological Sciences 2.7 2.9 N/A 3.8 NjA Psychology 3~3 3 4 N/A 4.0 N/A Percentage of Total Undergraduate Enrollment: b All Fields 4.8 N/A 5.3 N/A N/A Percentage Distribution by Type of Institution: C 100.0 Universities 12.7 Year Colleges 32.9 2-Year Colleges 54.4 GRADUATE LEVEL Percentage of Total Master's Degrees:a AB Fields 2.0 2.2 N/A 2.1 N/A Education 2.2 2.3 N/A 2.5 N/A Biological Sciences 1.4 1.5 N/A 1.7 N/A Psychology 2.7 3.9 N/A - 2.4 N/A Percentage of Total Graduate Enrollment: b AN Fields 2.2 N/A 2.3 N/A N/A Biological Sciences 1.4 N/A 1.6 N/A N/A DOCTORATE LEVEL Percentage of Total Ph.D.'s:d AD Fields 1.3 1.7 2.0 2.0 1.8 Education 1.7 2.0 2.5 2.5 2.2 Biomedical Sciences 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.0 0.9 Behavioral Sciences 1.1 1.5 1.9 1.8 1.9 Percentage Distribution of Hispanic Doctorates: d 100.0 100.0 100.0 100~0 100.0 Physical Sciences 7.2 11.6 5.6 9.5 702 Engineering 4.4 4.6 5.9 4.5 5.8 Life Sciences 8.8 7.4 8.7 8.7 8.9 Social Sciences 17.9 17.7 21.6 19.9 21.9 Education 34.2 29.7 30.5 31.2 31.7 Humanities 22.0 25.5 23.~ 24.1 21.3 Other Fields 5.5 3.4 4.5 2.2 3.1 aFrom US. Department of Education (1948-81). bFrom U.S. Department of Education (1961-79). CFrom U.S. Department of Education (1980). dFrom NRC (19S8-80). NOTE: Hispanics were 4.5 percent of the U.S. population in 1970 and 6.4 percent in 1980. 117
pool of minorities who are both academically prepared and motivated to pursue graduate education in the sciences. Current programs to assist the college and graduate training of minority science students are facing an impossible task if unaccompanied by long-range efforts to increase the flow of minorities into higher education. While the critical primary and secondary school levels are not within the direct purview of the Committee, nonetheless educators at those levels are urged to support programs to identify and encourage the development of science talent among minority students. CURRENT PROGRAMS FOR MINORITY STUDENTS The Committee found the current federal programs for increasing the participation of underr~presented minorities in the biomedical and behavioral disciplines to be quite varied. Although they have similar objectives, they take different forms such as institutional training grants, fellowships, and research projects, and are operated by different federal departments and agencies. The Committee has identified the major programs for minorities within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation and has outlined these in Table 6.4. The remainder of this chapter provides brief descriptions of a few of these programs. The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) programs of the National Institutes of Health and the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration fall directly within the purview of this Committee since they are under the authority of the National Research Service Award Act. These include the Honors Undergraduate Research Training Grants, Faculty Fellowships, Graduate Institutional Training Grants, and the Predoctoral Fellowship Program, which are intended for the students and faculty of minority institutions. The core of the MARC programs, however, is the Honors Undergraduate Program, which began in FY 1977 to support college juniors and seniors. The first graduates of this program began their predoctoral training in the 1978-1979 academic year and could have completed 4 years of graduate study by the spring of 1982. However, it is too early to predict when they will earn their Ph.D.'s, although the median registered time between the B.A. and Ph.D. is about 6 years (see Appendix Table Aid. This program has received strong support from NIH in the past and teas shown vigorous growth to date. In FY 1981 there were 35 institutional grants with funds for 305 trainees, compared with 12 grants with 76 trainees in FY 1977. From the outset the strategy of this program was to develop the environment for high-quality research training within minority colleges, which attract a great number of talented undergraduates. The institutional support component of the NRSA training grants has been a crucial feature of this program, making it possible for minority institutions without doctoral programs to begin training a cohort of potential scientists who would be able to enter and complete doctoral study in major research universities. Therefore, the elimination or any substantial reduction of indirect costs and institutional allowances from NRSA training grants would affect minority schools more severely than 118
others, and would seriously jeopardize the future of the MARC Honors Undergraduate program. The Committee hopes that will not occur. The NIH should continue to follow the careers of those trainees who have participated to date, so that the results of the past investment in this program will be known. The Predoctoral Fellowship Program, designed for students who have completed the Honors Undergraduate Program, and who have already proven their ability to move on to graduate study in research universities, is only in its f irst year. Although not a training program per se, the NIH Minority Biomedical Support (MBS) program shares the MARC program's objective of increasing the number of minorities in research careers. The MBS program is technically a program of inst itut tonal research proj eat g rants f unded by the NIH and ADAMHA, which employ f acuity and students at minority institutions. A special feature of the MBS program is its emphasis on underg raduate part ic ipation in all phases of research f rom conceptualization to reporting results at meetings and in scientif ic journals. The Annual MBS Symposium provides an opportunity for students to present their work in a national forum and serves as a strong incentive to academic achievement. In addition to the biomedical research conducted since the MBS Program began in 1973, the prog ram has provided support for 2,878 students who completed bachelor's degrees, 76 percent of whom continued on to graduate or professional schools, and 30 students who completed Ph.D. 's as of 1979. The MARC and MBS programs thus both emphasize identifying and recruiting talented students at the college level and assisting in their further development, an emphasis essential to improving the flow of minorities into doctoral education. Another approach to training minority scientists is taken by the Minority Hypertension Research Develooment Summer Program, which awards NBSA training grants to university medical school Hypertension Centers for continuing summer training programs in cooperation with minority institutions. One of today's ma jor health problems, hypertension affects one-seventh of the U. S. adult population and is of particular concern to the Black population, of whom an estimated one-third have high blood pressure. The program seeks to enhance the research capabilities of the trainees and encourage the recruitment and development of minority investigators in hypertension. The minority institutions provide trainees f rom among their f acuity and graduate students, while the training centers provide the research facilities and preceptors, who guide the activity of individual trainees. The summer of 1980 was the program's fourth year of operation and involved 17 Hypertension Training Centers with 68 minority institutions. In that summer 133 trainees, 93 faculty, and 40 graduate students participated in the 12-week session. This program employs the research training mechanism of the NRSA institutional grant in the highly focused research setting of the Hypertension Centers. The Committee encourages NIH to thoroughly evaluate the effectiveness of this innovative approach to training. In the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration there is another variation on the use of the NRSA authority, the Minority Fellowship Programs. These are administered by four professional associations: the American Nurses' Association, the Council on Social Work Education, the American Psychological Association, and the American Sociological Association. The associations receive NRSA funds from the National Institute of Mental Health {NIMH) and award fellowships to minority group members, providing support for up to three years of doctoral study in their f ields. In FY 1980 these programs supported the 119
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following number of research fellows: Nursing 13, Social Work 14, Sociology 48, and Psychology 36. The programs began in 1975, and by 1979 42 fellows had completed Ph.D.'s, including 10 psychologists, 6 nurses, 5 social workers, and 11 sociologists. Since FY 1979, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has also sponsored a Minority Graduate Fellowship Prog ram, which awards 3-year fellowships on the basis of a national competition open only to members of underrepresented minority groups. The awards provide support for study leading to master ' s or doctor' s degrees in all science f ields. In 1979 the NSF gave 65, and in 1980 55, new fellowships to minority graduate students; in 1981 105 new awards were offered, including 32 in the life and medical sciences. A continuous number of such awards could have a noticeable impact on the pool of minority Ph.D. 's. A significant nongovernmental program at the graduate level, the Ford Foundation's Graduate Fellowships for Blacks, Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, and American Indians, ended this year. The Ford program provided funds for doctoral dissertation research and supported 1, 650 Ph.D. candidates during its existence f ram 1969 to June 1981. A new program, however, got under way in 19 80 when the Ford Foundation initiated a Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Minorities under the auspices of the National Research Council. In both 1980 and 1981 35 grants were awarded to Pb.~. 's for 1 year of study in the humanities and the sciences. While most of the current national programs support minorities at the higher levels of academic training, there are a, so programs at the high school level to attract minorities of ability. The Biomedical Research Support Grants (BRSGs) of the National Institutes of Health provide Minority High School Research Apprenticeships in the form of sununer jobs designed to interest minorities in health research. Some 200 students participated in the summer of 1980, the first year of that program. The Biomedical Sciences Program administered by the Department of Education made its first awards in FY 1980 to selected postsecondary schools that developed 5-year projects to motivate, educate, and prepare high school students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds for biomedical careers. RECOMMENDAT ION All of the existing programs mentioned above deserve close monitoring by their sponsors and should be improved if possible. The Committee commends the respective agencies for their efforts and supports their common goal of attracting more minorities into research careers. However, since there is a lack of literature evaluating the various approaches taken, the Committee has no basis on which to judge whether one method is superior to another. Recommendation. Current federal programs that recruit and train minority students in the biomedical and behav- ioral so fences should be evaluated in order to identify the most successful approaches to increasing minority par- ticipation in the sciences. Existing programs should be continued pending the outcome of this evaluation. 124
NOTES 1. Staff working documents describing the review of literature (1974-1980) on minorities in science, Issues Affecting the Partici- pation of Minorities in Science and An Annotated Bibliography on Issues Affecting the Participation of Minorities in Science, by Richard Albert and Dr. Harold Delaney, are available upon request b5r writing to: Committee on a Study of National Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Research Personnel, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room JH 717, Washington, D.C., 20418. 2. In its 1977 Report the Committee f irst discussed minority participa- tion in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. Upon examining data compiled by the National Research Council' s Survey of Earned Doctorates, the Committee found a gradual increase during the years 1973 to 1976 in minority representation among doctoral rec ipients in all areas of learning but a decrease in the percent of minorities in the biomedical sciences. An examination of the baccalaureate fields of doctorate recipients showed that many minority Phi. 's, especially Blacks with baccalaureates in the biomedical fields, shifted to graduate study in other areas, principally education, where they earned their doctoral de- grees. Survey data also showed that minority doctorates, except Asians, took longer to earn the degree and received it at a later age than Whites. A strikingly high percentage {25 percent) of 1973~1976 Black doctorates in the biomedical/bebavioral sciences interrupted their graduate study for more than 3 years. All minority doctorates, except Asians, had more dependents at the time they completed their degrees than did Whites. Black Ph.D.'s also were less likely than Whites to pursue postdoctoral study. However, the Committee believed that employment prospects in science f ields appeared good for minority doctorates. The Committee cone luded that in order to provide more opportuni- ties for minorities to enter and to complete predoctoral programs, ef- forts were needed in addition to the NTH programs of Minority Access to Research Careers, Minority Biomedical Support, and the ADAMHA Minority Fellowship Programs. The Committee made two recommendations designed to encourage more minority applicants to enter and complete g raduate training without undue delay: ( 1) ADAMHA should provide predoctoral support for minorities starting with the f irst year of graduate training, instead of the third year under then-current policy, to meet the f inancial needs of these students; and ~ 2) spec ial ef f arts should be made be' each agency to encourage qualif fed minority applicants to undertake postdoctoral training by establi shing a special postdoctoral fellowship program for minorities ( 1977 Report, pp. 170-173) . While the second recommendation was never implemented ADAMHA did change its policy in 1977 in accordance with the f irst recommendation. In its 19 78 Report the Committee again addressed the partic ipa- tion of minorities but only in its section on behavioral sc ien<:es. The Committee reiterated its recommendation that ADAMa~ waive its "two-year restriction" for minority students in the belief that this change would promote the recruitment of minority scientists through current NRSA programs. However, the Committee did commend the agency for its efforts in developing spec ial programs for minorities. Finally the Committee noted that it had commissioned a study to review the issues affecting 125
the recruitment and training of minorities in science careers { 1978 Report, pp. 7 7-78), the results of which are reported in this chapter. In the 1979 Report the Committee noted its approval of ADAMHA' s change in policy to support promising f irst- and second-year students who otherwise would not have the resources to pursue full-time research training. The Committee also noted ADANHA's announcement of its new Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) programs in f ields relating to alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental health, and contended the agency for its efforts to provide National Research Service Award support to minority group students ( 1979 Report, pp. 45-46~ . 126
