In the U.S., the Latino population is expanding faster than any other ethnic group, with almost 1 in 5 Americans (19%) identifying as Latino, with the vast majority (62.3% or 37.2 million) of Latinos identifying as individuals of Mexican ancestry (1, 2). The number of Latinos in the biomedical workforce is disproportionately low, especially in science and medicine. Currently, 9.6% of PhDs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) are earned by Latinos (3) and only 6% of U.S. physicians are Latino (4). At colleges and universities, 6% of faculty identify as Latinos and 3.2% of medical school faculty are Latino (5). The representation of Latina faculty members is not known but estimated to be less than 1% (1).
The inclusion of Latinos in the biomedical workforce is important because they bring diverse perspectives and experiences that are critical for enhancing science innovation, health equity and inclusive excellence. Latino faculty and other faculty of color also serve as vital role models for Latino students’ persistence in science and medicine. However, despite efforts to increase Latino and other faculty of color in medical schools, they remain well below their proportional representation in the population (5), have a higher attrition rate (6) and receive less grant funding (7,8). The key barriers to Latino faculty success include a lack of effective mentorship, formal structured faculty development programs, and community or networks to mitigate perceptions of unwelcoming institutional culture (9, 10).
In 2017, the University of California (UC) San Diego Health Sciences Office of Faculty Affairs was awarded a 5-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to support the Hispanic Center of Excellence (HCOE) faculty development program. We utilized data-driven strategies to design and implement an innovative HCOE faculty development program, through a collaborative process. We work with the Health Sciences Office of Faculty Affairs faculty directors and staff who have experience and expertise in faculty development program design and implementation. The HCOE program was expanded to all underrepresented faculty in Health Sciences to enhance the demographics of the biomedical workforce. In 2022, HCOE was institutionalized and renamed Health Sciences Center of Excellence (HSCOE).
The UC San Diego HSCOE faculty development program aims to improve recruitment, inclusion and retention of diverse faculty, enhance career success through effective mentorship, and increase a sense of community and belonging. Health Sciences underrepresented faculty are invited to join HSCOE upon their arrival at UC San Diego. A series of HSCOE workshops provide faculty with knowledge and skills in career development, academic promotion and effective mentorship. Additionally, HSCOE faculty are matched with a senior faculty mentor, and work together to develop a core area “capstone” project (CAP). CAPs are related to teaching and mentoring, research and program development, or leadership and community engagement. HSCOE faculty are also matched with a near-peer mentor, a more experienced HSCOE faculty alum. These near-peer mentors facilitate the transition to UC San Diego faculty, providing advice, guidance and support on academic and psychosocial issues as well as navigating a complex matrix institution. They also facilitate institutional networking and serve as role models. All Health Sciences faculty mentors are trained in effective mentorship through the Health Sciences Faculty Mentor Training Program(10).
HSCOE faculty are also encouraged to enhance critical academic skills through participation in other structured faculty development programs at UC San Diego, including the Health Sciences National Center for Leadership in Academic Medicine, Grant Writing Course, Building a Respectful, Inclusive Culture, Faculty Mentor Training Program, Culturally Aware Mentor Training, and Leadership Training. Since the inception of HCOE in 2017, most eligible Health Sciences underrepresented faculty (80% Latino) matriculated from the School of Medicine, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science. HSCOE faculty have also served as mentors to hundreds of trainees, mostly from Latino backgrounds. The innovative design and implementation of the HSCOE faculty development program have a positive, additive impact on Latino faculty success, morale and perceptions of institutional inclusivity.
About the author
JoAnn Trejo, PhD, MBA, is a professor and senior assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences Faculty Affairs at UC San Diego. She leads several NIH-funded programs and is a highly recognized leader for her work embracing mentorship and effective strategies to enhance faculty career development and inclusive excellence. She was elected as Fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology, and included among the 100 Inspiring Hispanic / Latinx Scientists in America and in the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Trejo is a first-generation Mexican American scientist who received her PhD and MBA at UC San Diego and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at UC San Francisco.
References
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