Howard Hughes Medical Institute Makes Major Commitment to STEM Diversity

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has selected 24 educational institutions to receive $1 million grants as part of it Inclusive Excellence initiative. The initiative’s broad objective is to help colleges and universities to encourage participation and cultivate the talent of students in the natural sciences. In particular, the initiative focuses on those undergraduates who come to college from diverse backgrounds and pathways.

“Too many times we approach diversity with a deficit mindset in which interventions are aimed at ‘fixing the students,’” said David Asai, senior director for science education at HHMI. Instead, the new initiative focuses on the important work of making the culture of the institution more inclusive, he said. “We want to change the way schools do business.”

The 24, four-year institutions receiving the grants include only one historically Black university, Delaware State. Here is the complete list of the 24 schools receiving the $1 million grants for programs in increase diversity in STEM fields.

Chaminade University of Honolulu Tufts University
Delaware State University University of California Davis
Kenyon College University of California Los Angeles
Lawrence Technological University University of Colorado Denver
Northeastern University University of Northern Colorado
Oberlin College University of South Dakota
Radford University University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Rochester Institute of Technology University of Utah
San Francisco State University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Stony Brook University Washington University in St. Louis
Towson University Western Washington University
Trinity Washington University

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