The Charles Drew Science Club, formerly known as the Minority Science Club, was established to provide a vital service at the University at Albany. It fostered students of color interested in medicine and the allied health sciences, and provided a mechanism for minority students and faculty to exchange ideas and interests.

The Charles Drew Science Club was named after Dr. Charles Drew, who in 1940, became the first African-American to receive a Doctorate of Science degree at Columbia University. As the leading authority on the preservation of human blood for transfusion, Dr. Drew organized and directed the blood bank program for the United States and Great Britain in the early years of World War II. He also agitated the authorities to stop excluding the blood of African-Americans from the plasma supplying network. In 1941, Dr. Drew set up the first blood bank for the American Red Cross. His extensive research on blood plasma has saved millions of lives.

Unfortunately, the Charles Drew Science Club became inactive and eventually unrecognized. In 2003, a group of concerned students revived the organization. Renamed the Charles Drew Minority Association of Pre-Health Students, the organization is now part of the Student National Medical Association. Our affiliation with the Albany Medical College SNMA chapter has also strengthened our capability to reach our objectives. It is crucial that we continue to hold and fortify our ties on a local, and now national, level. This will ensure that we continue to grow and remain a major foundation of support for minority pre-health students on this campus long into the future.

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