Last year Washington D.C.-based science writer, Ashley Smart of Physics Today – currently a 2015-16 Knight Science Journalism fellow – co-founded a website focused on reporting and highlighting research done by scientists at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
“In 2014, HBCUs collectively received $91 million in NSF funding. But their research doesn’t tend to get much news coverage,” said Smart. “Many scientists at HBCUs are taking on problems—hypertension, high cholesterol, sustainable growth in the developing world—of special relevance to black communities.” The website, HBSciU.com, has reported on those stories as well as research done by graduates of the universities and other scholars of African descent.
This spring, in addition, the program is offering special training in science journalism to three HBCU students. The HBSciU Science Writing fellowship, funded by a grant from the National Association of Science Writers (NAS), will award a $1,500 stipend to each fellow, plus travel funding to the annual science writers conference this fall. ScienceWriters 2016 will be held in San Antonio, Texas, late this October. In return fellows will produce three stories for the website, edited and mentored by professional science journalists, including Smart.
He said that the fellowship’s purpose is to encourage HBCU students to become science writers: “One of the science-writing community’s worst-kept secrets is its lack of diversity—particularly with respect to African-American writers. And where there’s a lack of diverse perspectives, there’s always the risk that important stories will go untold. “We want to introduce students at black colleges to the idea of science writing as a viable career option.”
HBSciU.com is accepting applications for the fellowship until April 18, 2016, and any HBCU student is eligible to apply. To apply and for more information, please visit http://hbsciu.com/fellowship/ or e-mail hbsciu.editors@gmail.com.
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