Urban University Blog

Whether you like it or not, everyone has bias. The way we perceive the world is influenced by the environments in which we grew up, cultural norms, and the people we surround ourselves with. Many of these factors act upon our behavior without our knowledge, leading us to do things that would appall our conscious mind, such as treat a colleague differently because of his race, or overlook a talented candidate for a job because of stereotypes about her ability. Unconscious bias

The pathway to becoming a scientist leads through graduate school, and graduate admissions committees are the gatekeepers. How do they determine who will be successful in a research career and who will not? Admission processes vary widely by discipline and are often opaque, but we do know that the top two strongest predictors of admission to graduate school in general are GRE scores and the selectivity of the student’s undergraduate institution. Though these factors may deter

As the healthcare landscape in America continues to change after the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, we are seeing an even more diverse group of patients seeking care across the nation. As rapidly as these demographics are changing, however, there is still progress to be made in diversity of healthcare providers who treat these patients. For instance, although 13 percent of Americans are of African descent, Black physicians only make up about 4% of all physicians in thi

“I know I’m supposed to go to college after high school, but is it really worth it?” This question, asked by high school student Patience Johnson in the University of Cincinnati (UC) Academic Health Center’s new recruitment video, is common among urban youth who lack college-educated role models. High school students in distressed communities may find it difficult to gauge the value of a college degree or see themselves in career fields that require higher education. For urba