Science Posse goes to Washington

Brandeis President Frederick M. Lawrence, Aissatou Ka '13, Gloriya Nedler '12, Nana Owusu '12, Usman Hameedi '12, Nicholas Medina ’14, and Vice Provost Irv Epstein in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington.

Brandeis President Frederick M. Lawrence, Vice Provost Irv Epstein, and several current and former Brandeis students met with members of President Obama’s administration in Washington yesterday to talk about Brandeis’ Science Posse program.

The meeting, sponsored by the White House and the Posse Foundation, focused on the work of the Posse Foundation to increase the number of undergraduate urban students who pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees. It also provided a forum for the presidents from 10 universities that have a Science Posse program to discuss best practices and program-related challenges.

Joining Lawrence and Epstein, the Henry F. Fischbach Professor of Chemistry, at the meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building were Nicholas Medina ’14, Aissatou Ka '13, Usman Hameedi '12, Gloriya Nedler '12, and Nana Owusu '12, who shared their thoughts on being a member of a Science Posse.

Brandeis alumna Deborah Bial ’87 founded the Posse Foundation in 1989 after witnessing the challenges inner-city students faced in accessing and graduating from college.  In collaboration with Epstein, it created the first Science Posse program in the nation at Brandeis in 2006. Brandeis’ Science Posse has served as a national model and continues to be adopted by universities around the country.

Categories: Science and Technology, Student Life

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