On Friday, April 12, 2019, faculty and leaders from various HBCUs and MSIs in North Carolina met to discuss “Innovative, Collaborative, Leadership at Minority Serving Institutions” during the 2nd gathering of the group.

In attendance were (left to right):
Dr. Marino Green, Chair, Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, Saint Augustine’s University
Dr. Cassandra Acheampong, Office of Student Development, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University
Dr. Irma Corral, Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University
Dr. Sarah Straud, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, Saint Augustine’s University
Dr. Dinitra White, Associate Professor of Biology, North Carolina A&T University
Milton Bond, Director, Brody RISE Program, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University
Dr. Kendall Campbell, Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Interim Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University

In attendance, but not pictured, were Dr. Mark Melton, Dean, School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Public Health, Saint Augustine’s University, and Dr. Cedric Bright, Clinical Professor and Associate Dean for Admissions, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University. The meeting, a follow-up to the initial “Innovation, Collaboration, Leadership” Conference held last April 2018 on the campus of Elizabeth City State University, focused on the need to increase the number of underrepresented students entering medical school and related professional health programs. The main themes of the conference focused on student mentoring and faculty mentoring. The follow-up conference was co-organized by Dr. Kendall Campbell and Dr. Sarah Straud.