Minority Training Initiative

I read, with great interest, your articles in The Scientist, Volume 11, No. 4, dated Feb. 17, 1997, concerning underrepresentation of minorities in science. I congratulate you for presenting an excellent array of diverse points of view involving minorities in science and technology. While the reasons for the underrepresentation of women and minorities in science are numerous, few discussions have focused on solutions to reduce the imbalances and oversights affecting these groups.

I would like to share with you what has happened in North Carolina since a small group dared to address how-not whether-efforts should be made to contribute to increasing the presence of minorities and women in science and technology.

Several years ago, a group of visionary people, including Gov. Jim Hunt, key state legislators, and Charles E. Hamner (president of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center) discussed the collaborative role that all could play toward enhancing bioscience/biotechnology...