Kwasi Connor Lab Ph.D.

I am the first African American to earn a PhD in marine biology from the University of Southern California (USC) and this is why I spend a lot of time recruiting students of color into the sciences.  Even before Mark Todd, (formerly Associate Provost of Academic Affairs), asked me to represent USC at science conferences, recruitment events, high school science competitions, high school lab demonstrations, and to make recruiting trips to California State University of Los Angeles and Morehouse College, I had been informally recruiting students of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds to major in science, consider careers in science, and for those with the exceptional talent to enroll in PhD programs.  My efforts have been recognized with praise and prizes such as a Certificate of Appreciation from USC for excellent support of student programs, mentoring and role modeling for our youth.  As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), I continued to serve underrepresented groups through an outreach program between my current laboratory and Valencia high school, which has a 78% minority population.  Furthermore, I presented my pathway to science at several Society for the Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science conferences (SACNAS).  As a recipient of the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, I worked directly with the UCI Vice Provost for Academic Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Douglas M. Haynes, to inspire others to apply to the postdoctoral program.  As a postdoctoral fellow at USC Keck School of Medicine, I volunteered to be a mentor for the Bridging the Gap Internship which provides research opportunities from underrepresented groups.  Moreover, my own personal story that includes having been awarded two prestigious fellowships helps show that dreams, hard work and perseverance can pay off.  Additionally, my mother and sister are both scientists, hence I have keen insight into recruitment and mentoring of women.  For example, I currently mentor four students in my laboratory at California Lutheran University.  One of these students is a McNair-scholar; a fellowship program that provides individuals from underrepresented groups, research opportunities that prepare them for the rigors of advanced-degree programs.

 

I am driven by my passion for serving student-needs and providing research opportunities for students with diverse backgrounds.  California Lutheran University is a Hispanic Serving Institution and the research, mentoring, and teaching experiences I attained during my appointment there provides a solid guide that I will use to uplift underrepresented students at UCI.  As a UCI professor, I involve students from all backgrounds in impactful research, while working with programs that broaden participation in STEM fields.  I work with various UCI-Minority Science Programs, UCI-SACNAS chapter, DECADE, and participate in K-12 activities.