What could help more African Americans be successful in science, technology, engineering, and math? Janelle Simmons, Sigma Xi's manager of programs, moderated a discussion on this topic that was held over a Google Hangout on February 22, 2016.
The panelists were Ashanti Johnson, assistant vice provost for faculty recruitment and associate professor of environmental science for the University of Texas at Arlington as well as executive director of the Institute for Broadening Participation; Melanie Harrison Okoro, water quality specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its National Marine Fisheries Service West Region aquatic invasive species coordinator; and Danielle Lee of Cornell University, a TED fellow and a biologist who studies animal behavior, mammalogy, and ecology.
Lee also writes the blog, The Urban Scientist. Johnson and Okoro co-wrote "How to Recruit and Retain Underrepresented Minorities," an article published in the March–April 2016 issue of Sigma Xi's magazine, American Scientist.