GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina university is being honored for its diversity.
The UNC Greensboro department of chemistry received the 2023 Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for advancing diversity in chemical sciences.
The award recognizes individuals and institutions that have advanced diversity in the chemical sciences and fostered activities that promote inclusiveness.
T'ea Cameron, a third-year Ph.D. student in the chemistry department, is a part of a group of four graduate students who created a chapter of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers that submitted the university for the award.
“I am the NOBCChE chapter president of UNCG," Cameron said. "Without the UNCG support, we wouldn't be able to go to our first conference together, be able to share our research with other people, and actually host events at UNCG campus.”
She said the award is a reflection of the university and addresses the underrepresentation of Black people in chemistry.
“Growing up, I never seen anybody, especially anyone that looks like myself, getting a Ph.D. in chemistry or, honestly, even getting a doctorate. So I want to be that change or that representation that I never had growing up. So I want little girls and little Black boys to see me, saying, oh, I could do that as well,” she said.
According to the university, 66% of undergraduates and 58% of graduate students identify as people of color.