What Should We Be Worried About?

WHO GETS TO PLAY IN THE SCIENCE BALLPARK

STEPHON H. ALEXANDER

Ernest Everett Just 1907 Professor of Natural Sciences & associate professor of physics & astronomy, Dartmouth College

I am worried about who gets to be a player in the science game—and who is left out. As I was growing up in New York, I was always encouraged and rewarded for my involvement in jazz. Fellow musicians, elders, and contemporaries, while demanding excellence, remained inclusive; everyone was given a chance to solo, and if you were good enough you could get called back up.

Unfortunately, with the exception of a few enlightened individuals, professional inclusion has not been the collective experience of underrepresented groups in certain scientific disciplines. (This goes beyond ethnicity and includes underrepresented people who also “think differently.”) Given the U.S. population trends, some argue that for us to be competitive in STEM-related fields we’ll need to extend the scientific enterprise to the increasing Latino and black populations. I worry that while funding structures tend to address this issue at the K-12 and college levels, there has been little serious discussion about recruiting and promoting persons of color in the academy. Much research has shown that a lack of role models for these underrepresented groups negatively affects excellence and retention.

The issue of lack of inclusivity in science goes beyond the usual discourse surrounding affirmative action. Exceptionally talented individuals, regardless of their background, should not be made to feel that an opportunity was bestowed on them because of a policy instead of their abilities. The scientific community needs to go beyond tolerance of difference, to the genuine appreciation of difference, including those differences that make us feel uncomfortable. Especially an appreciation of those who see the world differently from us and think differently from us.

I understand that the issue of racial inclusivity is sensitive and loaded with complicated sociological and political overtones. I do think it is an elephant in the room that needs to be dealt with by us as a scientific community. We need to be honest and open. As the demographics of the United States (and the world at large) change, do we care to prepare our academies, at all levels, to share resources and influence with the currently underrepresented. In the spirit of my friend Brian Eno’s contribution, I have taken the challenge to bring up something that may make people uncomfortable—because it is more productive to do so than to be polite.