A crowd of scientists, educators and scholars flooded into Choppin Hall on Tuesday night to witness the “Meeting of the Minds,” a discussion panel billed as a conversation between educated African-American men at the University.
The panel was hosted by the University chapter of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, or NOBCChE. Two prominent African-American scholars led the discussion: Isiah Warner, vice chancellor of Strategic Initiatives, and Herman Kelly, professor of African American studies and a pastor at Bethel AME Church.
The University’s chapter of NOBCChE, led by President Pamela Brady, worked in conjunction with Warner and Kelly to organize the event in an effort to reach out to minority scholars at the University and in the greater Baton Rouge area. Brady said the panel gave many students a chance to listen to some of the technical and philosophical ideas the most prominent figures within the University community had to offer.
“There are more female Ph.D. students in the chemistry department than there are males. And there are even fewer black male students,” Brady said.
The panel leaders held a cerebral and practical discourse at the event and engaged their audience with a structured discussion followed by an open question and answer session. Topics discussed included professional accomplishments, research and development and the state of black male leadership within and outside of the University. NOBCChE treasurer Ashley Taylor said both male and female attendants benefited from their mentors’ wisdom.
“There aren’t a lot of women or black men in STEM and a lot of people don’t know what to aspire to if they don’t have any role models who resemble them, so this was a great opportunity to show them that they’re out there,” Taylor said.
Warner and Kelly, two seasoned scholars, spent much of the discussion talking about their roots in small towns and told their audience personal and professional stories they hoped would inspire them to action.
Though many in attendance were graduate students who work under Warner’s tutelage, Brady and Turner joined with the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition to bring undergraduates and local high school students to the panel as well.
As a Boyd professor, Turner is one of the most published and tenured chemists at the University. The focus of his talk, however, was not on chemistry itself. Instead, he extolled the virtues of the scientific disciplines by recounting his own difficult but profitable path to the top of his field.
Kelly, a reverend and an adjunct professor of African American Studies, brought his own brand of wisdom to the table and gave his audience advice on how to become engaged with and succeed in a professional field.
“They both had unique perspectives, and people definitely got a lot out of it,” Taylor said.
Warner and Kelly also discussed the female dynamic of the STEM professions and told the young men in attendance learning to work alongside professionals was essential to personal growth, especially at the University, where, according to Brady, most of the candidates for chemistry Ph.D.s are female.
While the panelists discussed several controversial topics, the meeting was professional and cordial, and it ended with a networking session during which high school students had the chance to talk to University chemists.
“This is really important, and I think this one talk today inspired a lot of men,” Taylor said.

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Charles Champagne

Dr. Isiah Warner joins a panel discussion for "Voices of Educated Black Men" Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 held by the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).