Freeman A. Hrabowski III

Not only is this book inspirational, it gives a great history lesson from a point of view that we often don't hear. This point of view is from Dr. Hrabowski, a child growing up in the south during the civil rights movement. He describes not only the struggles, but the successes he experiences during his schooling. I enjoyed reading about his life and appreciated the support and encouragement he received from his parents. As he moved on with his career, he set up programs which opened up show more countless opportunities for exceptional minority students to advance in STEM. These programs were then offered to all students. This book is a great read for all! Dr. Hrabowski is a true role model. show less

I started this book expecting it to be a quick, light read like several of the others of this sort that I've reviewed. Instead, it was packed with thinking: I cannot believe I got it through the Early Reviewers program.
In his first chapter, Hrabowski discusses some of his experiences growing up with those who had directly experienced the segregated South. For the most part, the rest of the book discusses the founding of the Meyerhoff program, initially aimed at helping promising Black men show more achieve in STEM fields, and later expanded to women. Hrabowski details which aspects of the Meyerhoff program were significant in its achieving success, and how faculty and students at UMBC responded to its creation. As a teacher, I gained further understanding of my Black students' experience and cultural background, and came away from the book with several ideas for my classroom. show less

I'm not sure how widely read this book is going to be as it concentrates on a very specific topic - how to get African American men to achieve PhDs or MD-PhDs in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). I was totally captivated by this book even though I am neither black nor male. My first encounter with Dr. Hrabowski was at my daughter's freshman orientation to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), the university of which Dr. Hraboski has been president for twenty show more years. I remember Dr. Hrabowski talking proudly about how many of his alumnae go on to get graduate degrees and my daughter saying that she would never go to graduate school. I also remember Dr. Hrabowski's great enthusiasm when talking about his University and his exceptional pride in it. That was ten years ago.

Dr Hrabowski is still proud of his school and especially of his work to empower our youth to achieve. In this book, he talks about what he has done in conjunction with other educators to provide the certainty that African American men who enter his University as freshmen in the field of STEM will go on to graduate and seek advanced degrees in that field. He was quite successful in his endeavor as UMBC can now boast of being the American, white-dominant university with the most African American men who have gone on to achieve a PhD or a MD-PhD in STEM.

I had not previously known of Dr. Hrabowski's involvement with Dr. Martin Luther King during the marches in Birmingham, Alabama, back in 1963. Neither did I know of his being imprisoned at the age of twelve because he marched on behalf of desegregation. What an amazing background this man has!

Proudly I can say that my daughter did go to grad school (although not in STEM) and just passed the Maryland bar. She will soon be sworn in as an attorney at law. I can also say that I immensely enjoyed learning so much about Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, none of which I formerly knew. I am very happy that this book, written from speeches that he gave, enlightened me on his contributions to education in the state of Maryland.

I also admire the fact that proceeds from the sale of this book will go to UMBC, in this way furthering Dr. Hrabowski's dream. Excellent! show less

I found this to be a very readable, inspiring and fascinating book. I will not summarize what it is about because that has been done. It is an interesting book in that it tells two linked but separate stories: 1) that of the author's involvement in the Civil Rights movement as a youth and 2) the story of the program at UMBC which recruits and supports minority students in the STEM fields. Both stories held my attention and were very readable. In the description of the latter program, the show more author takes us through the genesis and development of the program in a manner which is quite clear. If you are not in the field of education, it's one of those memorable books which make you feel you have had a good look at someone else's world. If you are in the field of education, I think it has a lot to say about our system and what can make the difference for students who come from less privileged backgrounds and schools. show less