It Began With a Dream
When visionary philanthropist Robert Meyerhoff and Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, partnered in 1988 to address underrepresentation of Black researchers and professionals in science, technology, and medicine they had no idea how far the impact would reach.
Starting with a class of 19 undergraduates, the Meyerhoff Scholars Program is now an American epicenter for producing Black graduates who go on to earn STEM Ph.D. degrees—increasing diversity and equity in biomedical research, engineering, and other STEM fields.
Read about the earliest Meyerhoffs in the New York Times.
Success is Never Final
1,400
Scholars who have earned undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and social sciences.
#1
UMBC’s national rank in producing Black graduates who go on to earn Ph.D.s in natural sciences and engineering.
#1
UMBC’s national rank in producing Black graduates who go on to earn M.D./Ph.D. degrees.
800+
Meyerhoff Scholars who have earned graduate and professional degrees. 300 more are completing graduate degrees.
12+
Institutions across the country that have adapted the Meyerhoff Program model, from Penn State and UNC Chapel Hill to UC San Diego and UC Berkeley.
Meet Our Meyerhoff Class of 2021
This spring, we celebrate the 59 members of our Class of 2021 who embody this dream and stand poised to continue making lasting, necessary change as they go on to top graduate and professional programs at Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, to name a few.
Hear about our new graduates’ exciting plans.
How Can We Increase Diversity in STEM? Support Students
– by Samuel Patterson ’21, M29, and Jordan Troutman ’21, M29, in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education
Samuel Patterson ’21, M29, mathematics and statistics, economics
Rhodes Scholar, Oxford University, economics
Hana Flores ’21, M29, chemical engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, biology
Autumn Cook ’21, M29, chemistry and gender, women’s, + sexuality studies
University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, chemistry
Jordan Troutman ’21, M29, computer science, mathematics
Knight-Hennessy Scholar, Stanford University, computer science
UMBC Valedictorian
Our Alumni Are Changing the World
Here are just a few examples of how our Meyerhoff alumni are making their mark everywhere they go, breaking boundaries and opening doors for the next generation. Read about more Meyerhoff alumni here.
Kizzmekia Corbett, Ph.D.,
’08, M16
Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Developer of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
Read More
Kafui Dzirasa, M.D., Ph.D.,
’01, M8
Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers recipient
Read More
Robert Deloatch, Ph.D.,
’11, M19
Human Factors Engineer, Apple, Inc.
Lead author on study of relationship between anxiety and social media use among test-taking college students
Read More
Chelsea Pinnix, M.D., Ph.D.,
’99, M7
Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Director of the Radiation Oncology Residency at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Add to the Ripple Effect.
One generation opens doors…
So the next can break boundaries.
Support the growth of the next generation of Meyerhoffs.
“
Three decades ago, we invested in the Meyerhoff program because of its potential to catalyze change at UMBC and in the scientific community through a student-centered approach, and it’s done just that, enduring 30 years later as evidence of what’s possible. Only by taking the lessons we learn and adapting them in response will we transform the culture of STEM such that inclusivity becomes the norm, not the exception.
– Erin K. O’Shea, Ph.D.
President, Howard Hughes Medical Institute