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On
Thursday May 6, APS was awarded the 2003 Presidential Award for Excellence
in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM). Executive
Director Martin Frank received the award on behalf of APS in a ceremony at
the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC. Speakers at
the award ceremony included John H. Marburger III, director of the Office
of Science and Technology Policy and Arden L. Bement Jr., Acting Director
of the National Science Foundation, which coordinates the PAESMEM program.
APS was one of eight institutions and nine
individuals to receive the Presidential Award. The award includes a
$10,000 grant, which APS will use to help fund the Porter Program designed
to encourage underrepresented minority students pursuing a doctorate in
the physiological sciences.
Also attending the ceremony
were APS President-Elect Douglas Eaton, Pamela J. Gunter-Smith, co-chair
of the APS Porter Physiology Development Program, and APS Education
Officer, Marsha L. Matyas, who developed the nomination document.
Based on APS’ 40-year effort to bring underrepresented minorities into
physiology, the Presidential Award citation said in part: “The American
Physiological Society has undertaken initiatives across multiple levels of
the education continuum to: develop long-term targeted programs for
minority students and teachers; increase diversity among physiologists;
and monitor the progress of minorities in the field of physiology.”
Frank observed that, “The Society’s programs to promote physiology among
underrepresented minority students from kindergarten through postdoctoral
studies started in 1966 when the Porter Fellowship was refocused to
encourage postdoctoral minority students. That was followed in 1987 by the
APS Minority Travel Fellowships for our scientific meetings and in 1990
with the establishment of the APS high school science teachers program.”
According to Matyas, “The APS’
efforts to increase the diversity of the physiology research and teaching
community are truly a collective and collaborative effort, involving not
just the APS staff, but volunteer time and expertise contributed by more
than 100 APS members each year. Whether it involves hosting an
undergraduate or high school teacher in one’s lab, mentoring a minority
student at an APS meeting, sharing lunch and giving a tour to high school
students at the annual Experimental Biology meeting, or serving on a
committee, APS members enthusiastically share their love of science and
their interest in physiology.”
Gunter-Smith, who after a
sabbatical year will return in the fall as the Porter Professor of
Physiology at Spelman College, added, “Most, if not all, of the minority
physiologists who have successful careers in science can point to the APS
as being pivotal in supporting their careers.” A former Porter Fellow
herself, Gunter-Smith said, “Without that support it would have been very
difficult for me to get my PhD in physiology. One of the achievements of
which I am most proud is that of my students who have completed their
PhDs, two are physiologists and both are former Porter Fellows.”
Addressing a similar point,
Matyas noted that, “The success of APS programs is due to the continued
contributions of multiple “generations” of minority physiologists.
Students who were initially participants in these efforts now serve as
mentors, role models, and committee members, reaching out to the next
generation of minority physiologists to offer guidance and encouragement.
This heritage of diversity in physiology is the true measure of success of
the APS efforts.”
The nomination package
emphasized the APS’ long-standing efforts toward diversity, describing
both APS’ targeted programs that specifically focus on minority
participants and broader programs that emphasize excellence in science
education and professional development for all students. The programs
cited include:
-
Porter Physiology
Development Program (1967-present);
-
Minority Travel Fellows
Program (1987-present);
-
APS Career Web
(2003-present);
-
Promoting Effective
Program Evaluation (1997-2002);
-
APS Undergraduate Summer
Research Program (2000-present);
-
Explorations in
Biomedicine: Native Americans & Research Careers (1996-present);
-
Physiology Insights:
Undergradu-ate Faculty Enhancement Program (1996-2001);
-
APS Summer Research
Program for Middle/High School Science Teachers (1990-present);
-
EB High School Teacher and
Student Workshop (1990-present);
-
APS K-12 Local Outreach
Team Program (1994-present); and
-
My Health, My World
Elementary Curriculum Development (1995-present).
Information about each program can be accessed via the APS Education
website (http://www.the-aps.org/education).
Matyas said, “What sets the APS diversity
efforts apart is that all of our programs—from preschool through graduate
education—are carefully designed to encourage active participation by
minority representatives and are evaluated regularly for their impact and
effectiveness. As a result, APS efforts form a cohesive and coherent
support network promoting both diversity and excellence in science
education and biomedical research.” For example, in a recent study, Matyas
and Frank looked at the Porter Fellowship Program since 1967 when it
changed its focus to foster minority study in physiology. They found that
of the 73 Porter Fellowships awarded between 1967 and 2001, 64% were
working in professional positions as physiologists, 20% were still
completing their doctorate and 14% were in postdoctoral studies. Also, 42%
were women, 67% were African-American and 29% were Hispanic. One Native
American and two Pacific Islanders also received awards.
As part of the qualifying process for the
Presidential award, APS received letters of commendation from a number of
individuals. In supporting the nomination, L. Gabriel Navar, Chair, Tulane
University School of Medicine’s Department of Physiology, wrote: “As a
member of the APS for over 30 years and a Mexican-American, it has been
extremely gratifying to see the development of a diverse collection of
programs designed to enhance the participation of members of
underrepresented groups in science in general and the physiological
sciences, in particular.”
Letters of support were also
provided by Gunter-Smith, Marvin H. Bernstein of New Mexico State
University’s Minority Biomedical Research Support-Research Initiative for
Scientific Enhancement Program, Billie J. Foote at Montana State
University’s Center for Learning and Teaching in the West, Martin Farias
III at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of
Physiology and Biophysics, Alice Avila-Villalobos at the University of
Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Department of Environ-mental
Medicine, and Evangeline D. Motley at Meharry Medical College, Department
of Anatomy and Physiology.
Reflecting on receiving the PAESMEM, Frank
noted that the “American Physiological Society is one of the few
scientific organizations that has developed programs to increase diversity
among its professionals. I don’t think a lot of people, especially APS
members, realize how unusual it for an organization like APS to take a
systemic approach to minority recruitment and development.” |
