Ferguson
Fellowship Program
The
Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Disease Fellowship Program
provides educational and experiential opportunities for racial and
ethnic minority medical, dental, pharmacy, veterinary, and public
health graduate students in a broad array of public health activities.
Ferguson Fellows are engaged for eight weeks in a rigorous program
of public health research and/or intervention, which they summarize
in a scientific presentation at the end of the session. Ferguson
Fellows' travel and housing expenses are paid, and they receive
a stipend for the summer.
Training
the Next Generation of Public Health Professionals
As
of August, 2004, 339 students have participated in the Ferguson
Emerging Infectious Disease Fellowship Program. The program now
includes medical, veterinary and pharmacy doctoral students,
and masters of public health students. Students are recruited
from all over the United States and are assigned to conduct research
in laboratories and other public health settings in Atlanta,
Georgia; Anchorage, Alaska; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
History
of the Program
Dr.
James A. Ferguson (1938-1998) was the fourth Dean of Tuskegee University's
School of Veterinary Medicine, and the first Tuskegee alumnus to
serve in this capacity. Dr. Ferguson was appointed Dean in 1991,
after two years of service as its Associate Dean for administration.
Dr.
Ferguson had the distinction of heading the most racially, culturally,
and ethnically diverse school of veterinary medicine in North America.
His is also the only one of the 27 schools of veterinary medicine
in the United States located at a predominantly African American
university. Tuskegee University has graduated over 71% of all African
American veterinarians working in the United States.
While
at Tuskegee, Dr. Ferguson was instrumental in encouraging the establishment
of the Summer Research Fellowship Program at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. This program was instituted at the National
Center for Infectious Diseases at CDC in 1989. The program was designed
to provide opportunities for racial and ethnic minority medical
and veterinary students to explore the broad range of public health
career options available to them upon graduation. Initially the
partnership only involved two institutions (Tuskegee University
School of Veterinary and Morehouse School of Medicine), but has
now expanded to include all nine Minority Health Professions Schools.
In the year 2000 the Ferguson Fellowship Program was expanded to
include racial and ethnic minority students from schools of public
health.
In
honor of the late Dr. James Ferguson and in recognition of his contributions
to the mission of the National Center for Infectious Diseases of
the CDC, as well as his commitment to helping minority students
pursue careers in public health, the program was renamed the "Dr.
James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program"
in 1999.
The
Ferguson Fellowship Program is administered by the Minority Health
Professions Foundation, one of CDC's key partners. For more information
or to request an application, contact the Minority Health Professions
Foundation at 404-756-8931, or go to their website at http://www.minorityhealth.org.
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