Congratulations to doctoral student Jemar Bather on publishing his paper, “Racial and Ethnic Composition of Students, Graduates, and Faculty in Environmental Health Sciences, 2011 to 2021”, which was an invited paper for Environmental Health Insights’ Special Collection on Insights into Diversity in the Environmental Health Science Workforce. Jemar is the first author of the paper, with alumna and NYU Professor Melody Goodman, PhD ’06, as the senior author. They collaborated with colleagues from the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.This is the third paper from a series of related papers on increasing diversity in the public health research workforce.
- First paper – schools of public health
- Second paper – biostatistics and epidemiology departments
Abstract Summary:The lack of diversity among the environmental health sciences (EHS) workforce has been an ongoing concern. However, limited research exists on the racial and ethnic composition of EHS students and faculty over time. We analyzed 2011 and 2021 data on EHS students, graduates, and faculty to compare changes in the racial and ethnic composition among Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health-member institutions. We observed significant increases among Hispanic enrolled students, Multiracial enrolled students and graduates, and Asian tenured professors. Significant decreases were observed among Unknown enrolled students and master’s level graduates, AI/AN enrolled students, and White full professors and tenured faculty. Despite these findings, no substantial change existed among the other racial and ethnic groups. More efforts are needed to recruit, train, and promote racial and ethnic minorities who can leverage their lived experiences to provide novel solutions to environmental challenges.
