Professor Pearson is comparing the relative status of African- American and White doctoral chemists in the American scientific community. Previous studies of the career patterns of American chemists have not included racial status. This research seeks to contribute to this literature by examining the participation of African-Americans in chemistry. Professor Pearson is examining the career patterns of all African- Americans known to have earned chemistry doctorates. He and his student assistants are collecting data by means of a mailed questionnaire and personal interviews. The control group is comprised of White chemists matched on four criteria: (1) Ph.D.- granting department, (2) sex, (3) thesis advisor (where possible), and (4) research specialty. Professor Pearson is analyzing the data by means of bivariate and multivariate statistics. Because much of the existing knowledge of the role of race in science in general and chemistry in particular is unsystematic and anecdotal, the results of the study will advance our knowledge of the career patterns of African-American doctoral scientists. The results should provide data that permit scholars to revise our understanding the experiences of African- American chemists vis-a-vis their white counterparts. While this history cannot correct past wrongs, it can point the way to avoiding those mistakes in the future. And to the extent that recent policy has ameliorated past wrongs, the study should help to assess what works and does not work in the effort to create true equal opportunity within science.
