Chemistry is hard, but a recent study shows underrepresented minorities at the University may be up for the challenge.
“Trends in Ph.D. Productivity and Diversity in Top-50 U.S. Chemistry Departments: An Institutional Analysis,” a study published in the Journal of Chemical Education in June 2014, ranks the University’s chemistry department as the top producer of African American and female doctoral graduates.
The University’s chemistry graduate program currently comprises 132 students, 57 of which are female while the other 75 are male. Of those, 69 are U.S. citizens — 13 African American, four Latino, seven Asian-American and 45 white — and 63 are international students.
When chemistry doctoral candidate Ciera Duronslet talks about her field of study with others, she said, more often than not people admire her intelligence.
“I hear a lot of students say they like chemistry, but they’re afraid to keep going with it,” Duronslet said. “I would tell them that if they really enjoy it … lock out that outside influence that tells [them] chemistry is hard. If you really like it and see yourself doing it, go with it.”
In recent years, universities across the U.S. experienced a decrease in the number of college students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields — like chemistry, said chemistry department chair Luigi Marzilli.
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives Isiah Warner said the University produces the largest percentage of women doctoral graduates in chemistry, but not the highest number, while producing the highest percentage and highest number of African American chemistry doctoral graduates in the nation.
Warner said the diversification of the department’s faculty over the years and word of mouth explain the increase in minority students.
“It has a lot to do with our faculty,” Warner said. “Ten years ago, we had no women in the faculty. … [Now] we have at least half a dozen. Not as many as we should have, but the numbers are beginning to increase. Diversity is a process that feeds off of each other. As the student body gets more diverse, the faculty gets more diverse, and so on.”
Marzilli said to increase diversity in departments across the University, the first step is to hire a more diverse faculty.
“Once you start getting some faculty who are in those categories of gender and ethnicity, that tends to make it easier to attract [students and other faculty],” Marzilli said.
Duronslet said the chemistry department’s diverse population encouraged her to enroll at the University because she wouldn’t have to worry about being looked down upon or discriminated against because of her race.
She said being exposed to people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds makes her a more well-rounded person.
“When I came for my [prospective student] visit, I met students of a wide range of different races and ethnic backgrounds here,” Duronslet said. “To me, it makes a student feel more welcome. … [Both faculty and students in other departments] should be more open to different types of ethnic backgrounds and different walks of life.”
Other universities ranked in the study include Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, Texas A&M University, California Institute of Technology, Harvard University and others, showing diversity is increasing across the U.S.
Duronslet — who expects to complete her Ph.D. in December 2015 or May 2016 — said she hopes to work for an industrial company.
She said once she has experienced the industry and is ready to settle down, she would consider becoming a chemistry professor in the future.
“There’s a lot of data … that demonstrate that institutions that have the most diversity are the most successful in terms of their education and research mission,” said College of Science Dean Cynthia Peterson. “[The University is] moving in the right direction, and there’ll be great outcomes across the board.”

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Emily Brauner

LSU PHD chemsitry student Ciera Duronslet joined LSU’s program after discovering the worker diversity on March 26, 2015 at Chopin Hall.