Bristol Myers Squibb Supports Diversity in Sciences at the College of Science & Engineering

Through its corporate giving program, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), a global biopharmaceutical company that develops, researches, and manufactures medicines to help patients with serious diseases, has generously funded the BE-STEM scholarship program since 2020 as well as other programs at other educational institutions that foster the next generation of STEM researchers as part of their commitment to STEM education. Biology Professor and SEO Director Megumi Fuse has been the Principal Investigator (PI) for the BMS program and oversees its programming and awards. The grants are awarded to students who participate in CoSE’s Black Excellence in STEM (BE-STEM) club and conduct research in a lab. “The BMS BE-STEM scholarship program has been extremely successful,” says Megumi. “To date, we have funded 16 students. Of the nine who have already graduated, five received offers to pursue PhDs, and one is now in medical school at Howard University.” 

It is exactly this kind of success that BMS hopes to inspire with the BE-STEM grants. “Investing in STEM not only drives technological advancements, but also promotes diversity, inclusion and equality in the scientific community, which we are very keen on,” says Chétana Rao, Ph.D., Head of Global R&D STEM Strategy at BMS. “10-15 years from now we will see the fruits of our labor with increasing numbers of scientists who come from diverse backgrounds with diverse thoughts, which promotes innovation.”

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