Change is the essence of progress. We now stand at the crossroads of our civilization where change is essential in the conduct of our institu- tions, in the plans and models we project for the future, and in the very patterns of our thinking if we are to survive as "one nation under God ...with liberty and justice for all. " Opportunity to participate and fulfill the responsibility of building the nation must be available to all citizens in a true republic. For the viability of governmental institutions, in a modem democratic nation- state, rests on the diversity of the genius of her citizens, and this enables the nation to accommodate herself better to changes of the times. But if the nation becomes impervious to change and resistant to modify its institutions to keep in pace with the times, then the nation will indeed be doomed to wither and perish. History is replete with examples of civilizations that have gone that course. It is therefore our responsibility to insure that our government institutions are kept receptive to change and reflective of the needs and concerns of her citizenry. In America today, economic and social powers generally go to those who can claim a superior education and professional experience. As our society, and indeed the world, becomes increasingly dependent on science and technology, education in those fields becomes impera- tive to the power equation.

Table of Contents:
I. Minorities in Science: Availability and Barriers That Affect Availability.- 1. Black Americans in the Sciences.- 2. Spanish-Surnamed Americans in Science: Availability and Barriers.- 3. The New Medical College Admission Test: New Dimensions in Assessment.- 4. The Graduate Record Examination and the Minority Student.- II. Problems of Minorities at Majority Institutions.- 5. Minority Students and the Political Environment: A Historical Perspective.- 6. Status and Prospects of Minority Students in Traditional Medical Schools.- 7. Sociocultural Factors as a Deterrent to Students' Pursuit of the Sciences.- 8. Problems of Minorities at Majority Institutions: A Student's Perspective.- 9. Medical Education and the Minority Student.- III. Public Policy and Biomedical and Behavioral Training: Effective Development of Existing Potential.- 10. Public Policy for Minority Self-Actualization: Present Realities and Future Possibilities.- 11. Some General Proposals for Increasing the Production of Minority Professionals in the Basic Sciences.- 12. National Institute of Mental Health Research and Training Policies Affecting Minorities: An Outsider's View.- 13. An Informed Constituency with a Representative Bureaucracy: Health Policy and Black People.- 14. Better Health Sciences through Minority Participation: The Case for Community-Based Minority Medical Schools.- IV. Financial Support for Minority Scientific Activities in Education and Research.- 15. Funding of Minority Programs from the Private Sector: A Perspective from the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation.- 16. Graduate Fellowship Opportunities for Minorities Most Commonly Discriminated Against in Higher Education.- 17. National Institutes of Health Minority Research and Training Programs.- 18. Minority Programs Funded by the National Science Foundation.- 19. Minority Programs Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.- 20. The Importance and Impact of Funding Science Programs at Minority Institutions.- V. Affirmative Action: Myth or Reality?.- 21. Affirmative Action: A Congressional Perspective.- 22. A National Policy for Affirmative Action in Higher Education.- 23. Rules of the Game: An Essay in Two Parts.- VI. Special Training Programs for Minority Students in Science: College Level.- 24. Prehealth Summer Programs.- 25. Basic Science Enrichment Courses for Minority Medical Students.- 26. Undergraduate Research Training.- 27. The Harvard Health-Careers Summer Program.- 28. Postbaccalaureate Premedical Programs for Minority Students.- VII. Special Training Programs for Minority Students in Science: Precollege Level.- 29. Training at the Collegiate and Precollegiate Interface: STRIKE as an Example.- 30. Motivating Upper-Elementary-Level Mexican-American Students toward Science Careers.- 31. Ethnoscience: An Educational Concept.- 32. The Utility of a Piagetian Approach in Developing Precollegiate Science Programs for Minorities.- 33. Science Education for Minorities: A Bibliography: A Preliminary Report.- 34. Summary.- Name Index.