Francis made his remarks as an attendant of a discussion group at the TIME Summit on Higher Education, which brought together a cohort of leaders to discuss ways to garner more esteem and public dollars for basic research. Francis’ discussion group was charged with tackling the issue of preparing the next generation of faculty researchers and teachers.
As one of the few Black university leaders to attend the summit, Francis, who noted that large numbers of the next generation of college students will be African-American and Hispanic, said it is crucial that those students be educated in the sciences.
“If we don’t educate them in the sciences, to say nothing about all American youngsters, we’re not going to have the kind of legacy that we’ve had in this country for a long time,” Francis said.
