Bayer Scholars Program Continues Effort to Enhance Diversity

The Bayer Scholars Program will welcome three incoming freshmen this fall as part of the initiative’s continuing goal to enhance diversity in the academic setting and the scientific work force.

The Bayer Scholars Program, open to women and minority students, accepts academically talented and motivated freshman chemistry or environmental chemistry majors. This cooperative program between Duquesne University and the Bayer Corporation was initiated in 2009 after the Bayer USA Foundation provided an $800,000, eight-year grant to fund the program.

Benefits of the program include:

  • Four-year scholarship support
  • Mentoring by Duquesne science faculty and Bayer professionals
  • Funded summer research experiences at Duquesne
  • Paid summer internships at Bayer Material Science.

“At Bayer we understand that creating a diverse science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce begins by educating a diverse STEM workforce,” said Rebecca Lucore, executive director of the Bayer USA Foundation. “By providing women and other minorities with tangible support such as financial aid, mentoring and internships, the Bayer Scholars Program is successfully attracting and retaining more of these students in the chemical and material sciences fields.”

Dr. David Seybert, dean of the Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, also addressed the benefits of the scholars program.

“Our collaboration with Bayer USA Foundation in offering this program reflects our common vision that a more diverse scientific workforce is a healthier and more productive workforce,” Seybert said.

There are currently 10 Bayer Scholars in the program, including the following incoming freshmen:

  • Kasey Devlin, environmental chemistry major
  • Allison Jansto, chemistry major
  • Sarah Richards, chemistry major.

“The students in the Bayer Scholars Program have formed a tight-knit community under the excellent mentoring provided by Dr. Ellen Gawalt from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,” added Seybert. “The experiences of high quality research and internships in both academic and industrial settings will provide graduates from this program with a skill set that is unique among their peers.”