Justgarciahill
JustGarciaHill.org is a membership-only, social networking website aimed at increasing the number of minorities entering science careers and at recognizing contributions to science by minority scientists. The JGH portal provides an environment that helps underrepresented minorities to pursue and strengthen scientific output in the United States.
The website has tools for social networking among scientists, topical articles, biographies of scientists, and databases for finding jobs and summer internships. The site has common interest groups for summer undergraduate researchers and a forum for discussing science policy.
The site started in the late 1990s. It originated from the Coalition for the Advancement of Blacks in Biomedical Sciences (CABBS), which was a published directory with similar goals of building community for the development of minority scientists.
JGH’s focus is now broader than CABBS, as it includes Latinos and other minorities underrepresented in sciences. JGH addresses the need for a means to help minorities underrepresented in science — primarily Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans, and Native Alaskans — and facilitates communication and professional development. JGH has no access fees.
The membership, of around 5,000, mostly consists of minorities. The database of members facilitates identification by research area, location, and level of training.
JustGarciaHill is dedicated to three outstanding minority scientists: Ernest Everett Just, 1883–1941; Fabian Garcia, 1871–1948; and Rosa Minoka Hill, 1875 - 1952.
Ernest Everett Just was an African American biologist whose prolific research in early development brought him international recognition. However, because of racism and segregation, the gates of the research establishment in the U.S. remained closed to him. Rosa Minoka Hill was the second Native American to receive a medical degree. She served the poor Indian and white community of Oneida, Wisconsin for forty years. Fabian Garcia was a Chicano biotechnologist, a pioneer who engineered chili plants that have launched the US southwest as a major player in agrobusiness.
JustGarciaHill's job board is powered by NewScientistJobs.com, branded as ScienceJobs.com. It is funded by the Clinical and Translational Science Center with additional support from The Center for Study of Gene Structure and Function.