By Sholnn Z. Freeman
Howard University today has announced a $200,000 commitment from Baxter International to establish the Baxter Healthcare Scholarship in the College of Pharmacy. With the scholarships, Baxter, a leading global supplier in medical technology around the world, is seeking to boost racial diversification in the pharmacy field.
Through the program, eight scholarships of $25,000 will be distributed for the current academic year to Howard pharmacy students who display ongoing commitments to serving underprivileged groups through community service or other endeavors.
“Representation in health care is a critical factor to improving the relationship between providers and patients,” said Angela Lee, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Baxter. “We are proud to expand our relationships with several highly respected HBCUs, supporting programming that increases the pipeline of Black students in health and sciences fields through the Baxter’s Activating Change Today (ACT) initiative.”
While the U.S. pharmacy field continues to experience more racial diversification, the percentage of Black pharmacists remains low, at 4.9 percent, according to a 2019 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy study.
“Howard’s College of Pharmacy fosters the creation of new knowledge through innovative research and scholarship, commitment to community service, continuous professional development, and dedication to superior pharmacy practice locally and globally,” said Ranti Akiyode, Pharm.D., interim dean of the Howard University College of Pharmacy. “Baxter’s scholarship will enable more students to experience the dedicated cadre of Howard faculty members who are highly experienced in teaching, professional practice, and research, ultimately benefitting their community.”
The Baxter pharmacy scholarship at Howard University caps off a series of new Baxter HBCU initiatives devoted to promoting diversity and equity in health care. Along with today’s Howard University announcement, Baxter also committed $200,000 to Tennessee State University. That gift is aimed at confronting an anticipated large-scale shortage of nurses in the country. A year ago, Baxter made a $1.2 million commitment to individual HBCUs and announced a $3.5 million partnership between the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Baxter International Foundation.
