The article discusses the rigorous analysis being
applied to study and remedy a shortage of minority scientists
reflected in the low rate of minorities receiving NIH grants in
certain fields. The article does not consider the effect on the
number of science-trained attorneys, but there is a direct
relationship.
AIPLA identified this issue long ago. That is why
AIPLA, in cooperation with other like-minded organizations,
founded the American
Intellectual Property Education Foundation in 2001. AIPLEF,
as the foundation is known, promotes diversity in intellectual
property law by providing educational, mentoring, scholarship
and employment opportunities to minority law students,
including for students interested in patent law where science
knowledge can be necessary. The foundation has granted more
than $1 million in scholarships to promote diversity and
excellence in legal education.
AIPLA continues to further the goal of promoting
science education, both by helping AIPLEF support law students
and by promoting a number of educational initiatives such as
our "Creativity in Bloom" website for youth education, all the
while keeping in mind the needs of those groups that have
historically been under-represented. So while we commend NIH
for the steps it has taken to make sure that all groups are
properly represented when grants are awarded, there's more we
can do as individuals by supporting organizations such as
AIPLEF.
Thanks for reading,
Jeff