At the University of Texas San Antonio, 44% of the undergraduates are the first in their families to attend college. More than 61% of undergraduates identify as Latino or Hispanic.
An outstanding program at UTSA was MARC : Maximizing Access to Research Careers, a program funded by NIH to support students from under-represented groups to imagine careers as scientists and to develop as researchers. Many students develop their interests in science from their families' jobs, can take advanced science courses in high school, or enroll in summer research projects at museums or colleges in their communities. Many other students attend schools where science courses are taught by people without degrees in those fields, know few people who work in science, or know little about science career paths. MARC was designed to help to level those very unequal playing fields.
There is a strong public interest in ensuring that all of the bright students who might become excellent scientists have that opportunity.
There is a strong public interest against a system in which only those from privileged communities set scientific research agendas when crises in climate, health, and environmental degradation all disproportionately harm low-income communities.
If you've clicked that link (or noticed the past tense I've used), you'll see the new information box on the UTSA website announcing that the NIH grant supporting the work was abruptly canceled, the program has closed, and enrolled students are stranded without funding mid-program.
The Hechinger Report has more on the grant cancelation along with profiles of other federally mandated changes on campuses , none of which are good for poor and working-class students.
