In addition, Howard University conducts several pipeline preparation programs through the medical school, including: MedStart; Science Connections for Health Careers; Pre-freshman Summer Enrichment Programs (PHSEP); the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program; the Health Professions Admission Test Preparation Program; and the Preliminary Academic Reinforcement Program, which facilitates the entry of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Once the student enters medical school, retention programs include the Medical Student Taught Academic Review Sessions (MedSTARS) and the Summer Directed Study Program.
QU’DERRICK COVINGTON Ph.D. student, Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies Program
Although admissions policies provide a primary strategy for increasing student diversity among health professions, other important approaches include diversifying the applicant pool with outreach and recruitment programs that span all healthcare disciplines, including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing and allied health professions. Some of the programs offered in the health profesions include the Summer Medical/ Dental Enrichment Program, the Pre-Health Scholars Summer Enrichment Program, and the Advanced College Summer Enrichment Program. The Pre-Health Scholars Summer Enrichment Program, a four-week intensive curriculum, is designed to prepare underrepresented minority students from Howard University and other HBCU partner universities for success in the health professional schools.
It provides students with opportunities to meet with academic mentors, physicians, dentists and scientists on campus and other locations to better understand the health professions and the health policymaking process to become effective healthcare and community leaders. Similarly, the goal of the Undergraduate STEM (Students That Excel in Math) Succeeds Program is to increase the enrollment, persistence and completion of underrepresented, underprepared or low-income students in targeted STEM degree areas eventually resulting in advanced degrees, such as Ph.D.’s, M.D.s and PharmD’s.
Beyond the Classroom While educational attainment is on the rise for black males, there are challenges that remain. Opportunities for black males appear to diminish as stereotypes and sensational headlines permeate the public’s attention. Relationships can have both positive and negative influences on career exploration and decisions. In some cases, young black men may be more likely to come from communities where poverty is prevalent or their parents expect them to work while they’re in school. Family members and friends may be supportive of aspirations but often don’t have the knowledge to impart about the pathway to medicine.
Although the U.S. is becoming more diverse, to advance innovation and meet public health demands, there is a need to engage talent from all segments of our society.
PAGE 8 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | JUNE 2019
As a first-generation, traditional college/doctoral student, growing up I never heard anything about black men in higher education and the great work they were doing. It wasn’t until I got to college when I realized that all black men aren’t as the media portrays— drug dealers and absentee fathers. Raised in a single-parent home with no positive male role models, this was a new reality for me. However, I realize now, it's not because they didn't exist. In order to shift away from the negative conversation about black males in higher education, we must show and tell the stories of black men who are excelling in higher education. This will give the world another perspective, while challenging previous notions and offering encouragement. President Frederick has inspired me, and the College and the University Presidency course allowed me to have conversations that revealed his heart and love for Howard, as well as the community at large.
The Importance of Grooming Young Men for Academic Success For the last two years, President Frederick has taught the course College and the University Presidency to Ph.D. students in the School of Education’s Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies program, a course he has committed to teaching through the end of his presidency. For this issue of Bison Beat, we asked his former students, as well as a Howard alum and Ph.D. student in the College of Arts and Sciences, to share their thoughts on black males in higher education and the importance of grooming boys from a young age for the rigors of academia. CALVIN HADLEY Ph.D. student, Department of Sociology As senior adviser for strategic initiatives in the Office of the President, Dr. Frederick has organically provided me with the blueprint for servant leadership. As a Howard University alum and now a Ph.D. student, his mentorship has provided me with the confidence to keep my head down and work as hard as humanly possible without the expectation of rewards or recognition. He helps me realize that excellence is the key. During our first meeting, he recited this quote from Charles Drew: “Excellence of performance will transcend artificial barriers created by man.” Simply stated: It doesn’t mean that societal barriers won’t exist, as a black man you know they will. It simply means that excellence at times can act as a protective shield—a shield that the black men must have in this society.
JUNE 2019 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | PAGE 9