Researchers 'stunned' after HHMI abruptly cancels program to make science more inclusive

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the nation’s largest private funder of biomedical research, this week abruptly ended a $60 million program aimed at improving the retention of a diverse student body in undergraduate science and engineering programs.

The decision came as a shock to the 104 institutions receiving funding through the program, called Inclusive Excellence, or IE3, especially because HHMI has vocally heralded moves to increase diversity in science in the past. In 2021, it announced it was committing $2 billion over 10 years to accelerate inclusion and equity throughout the academic science pipeline. 

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