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Beyond a seat at the table

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 6, pages 235–236 (2022)Cite this article

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A student-designed, student–faculty partnership was piloted to increase representation from diverse voices in the faculty hiring process while also rebuilding trust between faculty and students.

Academia could be viewed as a microcosm of the Black experience in America. However, instead of blatant racism, police profiling and physical harm, Black students often are met with mental and/or emotional distress, tokenization, and microaggressions — actions that signal a lack of belonging to a Black scholar. A Black graduate student at Yale falls asleep in the common room, and a white student calls the police to report that she is trespassing1. A signal that there is no ‘appropriate’ reason a Black scholar would be in an Ivy League environment. Black students have the lowest six-year completion rate among students who started in four-year institutions2. A signal that the Black student experience in academia is unique compared with their peers. It is time that we move beyond scholars from minoritized groups in STEM merely having a seat at the table. Additional aims should include uplifting the voice of every member who dwells in academia, while constantly leaving the door easily accessible and open to those who don’t.

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References

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks the 2020–2021 Emory Department of Chemistry Hiring Faculty Committee and the >24 students who dedicated their time to this process. Special thanks to the Emory Chapters of NOBCChE, AWIS, PACs and IGSS.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Tamra C. Blue

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  1. Tamra C. Blue
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Correspondence to Tamra C. Blue.

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Blue, T.C. Beyond a seat at the table. Nat Rev Chem 6, 235–236 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-022-00377-7

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