Dr. Mark Melton, professor of biology and dean of the School of Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering, attended the 30th Anniversary of the Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity (CPPFD) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Faced with a shortage of minority faculty during the 1980s, administrators at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill founded CPPFD in 1984 with the goal of providing minority doctoral holders the space to research, write and teach as they matured into seasoned scholars and teachers.

Today, CPPFD has become one of the most recognized and competitive postdoctoral programs in the country with about 700 applicants vying each year for four to five coveted spots.

“It was great to see some of the postdoctoral fellows that were at Carolina during the same period (1993-1995) that I was there and to also meet fellows from other years,” Melton said. “It was fun to read and hear about some of the awesome accomplishments of my fellow scholars, including authorships, deans, provosts and university presidents! The speakers were insightful and the think tank sessions were very effective as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the reunion activities!”