September 9, 2022 – Baxter reinforced its commitment to expand the pipeline of Black healthcare professionals through several programs that support Black students pursuing health and science degrees at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
For the 2022-2023 calendar year, Baxter is committing $200,000 to create the Baxter Nursing Scholars Award at Tennessee State University’s (TSU) School of Nursing and $200,000 to establish the Baxter Healthcare Scholarship at the Howard University College of Pharmacy, respectively. The announcement follows a $1.2 million commitment established by Baxter in 2021 to support similar programs at Tennessee State University, Meharry Medical College and Morehouse College and a $3.5 million partnership between the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Baxter International Foundation. Announced earlier this year, the Baxter HBCU STEM Scholars Program is a three-year, $3.5 million initiative that funds scholarships and mentoring to support students at HBCUs pursuing careers primarily in STEM as well as education.
“Representation in healthcare is a critical factor to improving the relationship between providers and patients,” said Angela Lee, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Baxter. “We are proud to expand our relationships with several highly respected HBCUs, supporting programming that increases the pipeline of Black students in health and sciences fields through the Baxter’s Activating Change Today (ACT) initiative.”
Baxter Nursing Scholars Award at Tennessee State University
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, an anticipated 500,000 nurses will leave the workforce in 2022, bringing the overall shortage to 1.1 million nurses. In partnership with Tennessee State University, Baxter is establishing the Baxter Nursing Scholars Award, awarding four students enrolled in TSU’s School of Nursing $50,000 each for the 2022-2023 calendar year. The aim of the Baxter Nursing Scholars Award is to help combat the increasingly acute nursing shortage and expand the number of skilled nursing professionals from underrepresented communities who may commit to serving Black populated communities, recognizing these communities have traditionally underserved health care needs.
Baxter Healthcare Scholarship at Howard University’s College of Pharmacy
While the pharmacy field continues to experience more racial diversification, the percentage of Black pharmacists remains low, at 4.9%, according to a 2019 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy study.1 To further support diversity and equity in this field, Baxter is committing $200,000 to establish the Baxter Healthcare Scholarship at Howard University’s College of Pharmacy. Through this program, 8 scholarships of $25,000 will be distributed for the 2022-2023 academic year to students who have displayed an ongoing commitment to serving underprivileged populations through community service and other endeavors during their time as a student at Howard University’s College of Pharmacy.