Xavier, Jefferson Seek Greater Minority-Student Participation in Scientific Research

Kenneth G. Boutte, PhD, professor and chair of the department of biology at Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, was invited to visit Jefferson by Jussi J. Saukkonen, MD, dean of the College of Graduate Studies (CGS).

Xavier University, the only black Catholic university in the western hemisphere, has earned the distinction of having the highest ratio of students pursuing graduate education of any historically black college or university in the nation.

"This distinction is due primarily to the devotion and commitment of the dedicated Xavier faculty members, such as Dr. Boutte," said Jessie F. Pervall, director of admissions, CGS. Dr. Boutte and his colleagues have contributed to Xavier's success by maximizing the potential of highly qualified and under-prepared minority students by providing the academic preparation and training needed to succeed in graduate and professional schools.

Dr. Boutte's "visit will foster our rapport with Xavier and allow us to share information first-hand about graduate opportunities at Jefferson," Dr. Saukkonen said.

In response to a request from CGS graduate faculty members, Dr. Boutte discussed "Enhancing Minority Student Participation in Scientific Research."

Afterwards, Dr. Boutte visited the laboratories of James H. Keen, PhD, professor of pharmacology; David Abraham, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology; Linda Siracusa, PhD, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology; Timothy Block, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, and Irene Weber, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology, and had the opportunity to see first-hand some of the many research projects under way at Jefferson.

A tour of campus facilities, led by Leonard M. Rosenfeld, PhD, assistant professor of physiology, Jefferson Medical College (JMC), and assistant dean, CGS, followed.

Dr. Boutte, an Xavier alumnus, received his PhD in zoology from the University of California at Berkeley, becoming the fourth African-American to whom the department had granted this degree and the only African-American to do so in the field of immunoparasitology. He became a member of the faculty of North Carolina Central University in Durham in 1984, and joined Xavier's biology department the following year. In May 1995, he became its chair.