Diversity in Neuroscience: How This Moment Is Different

Anyone familiar with me knows that I have been a tireless advocate for diversity in neuroscience for almost 40 years. As a Black woman neuroscientist and, now, as Trinity College president, I have spoken about the compelling arguments for diversity in science and education: A diverse team is stronger and better at developing creative solutions (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2017). A diverse workforce yields better outcomes (Strauss Einhorn, 2019) for an organization. A diverse group of scientists is more likely to pursue a wider variety of important research questions, such as those that fulfill needs in their diverse communities. For example, those who are more familiar with economic structural inequalities and racism may want to study these societal effects on early brain development.

And I've advocated for the urgent need for diversity: If the United States is to remain an international leader in neuroscience, we must develop the diverse talent that exists throughout our country in every zip code and not limit access to science to those in wealthy zip codes. We must increase opportunities for access to more of our talented youth to succeed in scientific discovery. Our continued success as a leader in neuroscience requires nurturing the best talent from all parts of society.

Correspondence should be addressed to Joanne Berger-Sweeney at president{at}trincoll.edu