Hrabowski Inspires "Talented Tenth"
at Berkeley Edge Conference

by Colette Patt, Ph.D.

[View the webcast of Dr. Hrabowski's talk]

Freeman A. Hrabowski III, President of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, addressed Berkeley Edge Conference participants on Friday, October 28 in a speech that conference participants described as "the most inspiring speech of my life," "Phenomenal!" and "Fantástico!"

Dr. Hrabowski reminded the audience that only 29 percent of whites, 17-18 percent of blacks and the same percentage of Hispanics earn BAs in the US, and very few are competitive for graduate school at top- ranked programs, such as UC Berkeley.

Citing W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. Hrabowski urged the students to think of themselves as the "talented tenth," the best in the country who may well have the opportunity to come to "the best university in the world." And he echoed President John F. Kennedy in reminding students, "Of those to whom much is given, much is required."

Dr. Hrabowski also emphasized that minority students will often have a different experience than their non-minority counterparts, but passed on the message he was given as a student, "You don't have time to be a victim." He said, &quout;Prepare for a world in which very few people will look like you. Prepare for faculty who won't expect you to do well. You must believe in yourselves enough to not focus on that point, you must believe in yourselves enough to aspire to your dream."

The conference's attendees were graduating college seniors in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering who were invited to participate in the conference based on high achievement in their respective fields. The purpose of the Berkeley Edge Conference is to boost Berkeley's recruitment of outstanding students who are minority groups underrepresented in these disciplines.

In addition to attending the conference, students had the opportunity to visit graduate departments of their choice, meet with faculty, tour campus laboratories, share meals with current graduate students, and get a feel for life at Cal. The prospective students enjoyed informational sessions on applying to Berkeley hosted by the departments and diversity staff on campus.

The students were warmly welcomed to the campus by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, and the deans of Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and the Graduate Division.

The conference is sponsored by the campus, the National Science Foundation UC Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate and the MK Level Playing Field Institute.

Dr. Hrabowski was born in Birmingham, Alabama and graduated from Hampton Institute with highest honors in mathematics at 19. He earned his Masters degree in Mathematics at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and four years later received his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and Statistics at age 24.

In closing, Dr. Hrabowski inspired the audience with this message, "Watch your thoughts, for they become your actions. Watch your actions for they become your habits. Watch your habits for they become your character. Watch your character for it becomes your destiny."

For more information about the Berkeley Edge program, visit http://ls.berkeley.edu/diversity/bep/.