Diversity

With Associate Professor Kwaku Dayie, Assistant Professor Nicole LaRonde LeBlanc, and Assistant Professor Herman Sintim, , the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has more faculty of African descent than that at any other Research I university in the United States. Our alignment with NOBCChE (National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers) has placed the University of Maryland in a leadership position for the recruitment of African-American graduate and undergraduate students nationally. The Milligan Fellowship, joint with NIST and offered through NOBCChE, offers a $30,000 stipend for two years. The Milligan competition annually attracts more than fifteen applicants, and between 80 and 100% of the finalists in each year have chosen to pursue their graduate studies at the University of Maryland. Currently, fourteen percent of our graduate students are underrepresented minorities with 79% of those (19) being students of African descent. Our goal is to have our graduate student population reflect that of the community that surrounds us. In addition, there are 74 underrepresented minorities (59 African-American, 12 Hispanic, and 2 Native American) among our 432 declared chemistry and biochemistry majors.