PARTNERS IN EDUCATION CONSORTIUM KICKS OFF MINORITY YOUTH PROGRAM

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 29 -- Partners In Education Consortium (PIEC), eight Pittsburgh-based organizations working to increase the number of African American students entering health professions, will hold its opening ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Carnegie Science Center, Northside.

"There are too few African-Americans who pursue careers in the health sciences," said Barbara Evans, PIEC director and assistant dean of the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health. "There are a variety of reasons why, including inadequate pre-college preparation in math and sciences and a lack of exposure to role models and career options in medicine, public health, pharmacy, nursing, dental medicine and health and rehabilitative sciences."

More than 80 students from Milliones Technology Academy and Schenley High School are expected to attend, along with their teachers, PIEC members and community representatives.

The consortium was formed as a local adjunct to the national "Project 3000 by 2000," initiated by the Association of American Medical Colleges to enroll 3000 African American students in medical schools by the year 2000.

The students in the program will participate in Saturday Health Sciences Academies, taught by University of Pittsburgh health science faculty, at the Milliones Technology Academy and at Pitt. PIEC students will also be paired with mentors from the University of Pittsburgh faculty and health science professionals from Pitt, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health System, Gateway Medical Society and Chi Delta Mu.

"The Saturday Academies will show students applications of science in the real world, using stimulating activities, exercises, field trips and presentations," said Evans. "Among these are computer simulations of disease stages of cancer, exploring the anatomy of the normal brain and the brain with neurological disease and examining chromosomes to learn about the field of genetics."

PIEC is composed of the University of Pittsburgh College of Arts and Sciences and schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC Health System, the Pittsburgh Board of Education, the Hill House Association, the Carnegie Science Center, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Gateway Medical Society.

"Too often, minority students are not encouraged to explore the sciences," said Loren Roth, M.D., associate vice chancellor for health sciences at Pitt and principal investigator of the program. "This is an important step in showing these students that science and health are viable career options."

PIEC is underwritten by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

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