CONNECT . MOTIVATE . INSPIRE .
RTI International staff from L to R Katie Wong, Courtney Bonner, Tamara Terry and Freda Green at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU) career fair.
of nearly 6,000 accounts for 250 scientific, technical, and professional disciplines across the social and laboratory sciences, engineering, and international development fields. Terry is the University Collaboration Office Director of Academic Research Engagement, one of RTI’s expert scientists in the field of survey research data collection, and a proud NCCU alumna. “Because I’m a proud HBCU alumna, HBCU engagement is a critical part of my work at RTI,” said Terry, who has worked with RTI for 23 years. “The ability to bring HBCUs to RTI’s table is really important to me. I get to play a unique position in aligning community and university partners fostering equity and inclusivity.” Ms. Annette Scarboro, NIH Small Business and Historically Black Colleges and Universities/ Minority Serving Institutions
Program Manager has great appreciation for RTI’s collaboration and support over the ten years the National Institutes of Health Path to Excellence and Innovation Program (PEI) has been in existence. “Our partnership with Hudson Oliveira, Director of Supplier Diversity at RTI has elevated the importance and contribution HBCUs has played in the federal acquisition process. RTI is one of the top prime contractors at NIH that has an aggressive HBCU program in which they receive contract and grant awards at NIH’s (27) Institutes and centers.” Headquartered on a 180- acre campus in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, amongst scores of universities, including three tier-one research institutions–and in the “backyard” of North Carolina Central University (NCCU)–RTI’s collaboration with universities is not just for show. The company
was founded to retain academic talent, and universities are part of RTI’s governance. “Universities are an integral part of who we are. It’s where we thrive,” said Terry. “There is so much great research happening at HBCUs, and there’s so much talent growing in the HBCU space. We are thinking strategically about how their research aligns with our priorities. It is critically important for the work we are doing.” In 2022, the NCCU-RTI Center for Applied Research in Environmental Sciences (CARES) was founded, which includes a shared lab space on RTI’s campus. Researchers from both institutions study the impact the environment has on health and disease, with a focus on populations that have been underserved. NCCU students use the lab for hands-on experience.
In addition to conducting groundbreaking research and lab partnerships with universities, RTI hosts an internship program that includes HBCU students—and in 2022, Terry and Freda Green co-developed an initiative, HBCU MOVES (momentum, opportunity, value and exhilaration), to build momentum for RTI’s engagement with HBCUs. “I help to ensure that we have a strong, diverse pipeline of talent,” said Green, Senior Manager of global talent acquisition. “We make sure we have a diverse array of talent sitting at those tables and represented as we try to solve those complex problems for the world.” An Alabama A & M alumna, Green said her experience as an HBCU student helps her carry out RTI’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) pillars.
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