For years now, he has done just that through his mentoring work at San Francisco State University. The 69-year-old biology professor joined the staff at S.F. State in ’75. Since then, his work mentoring underrepresented minorities in the science field has not gone unnoticed. Bayliss is one of 22 people nationwide to be recognized with a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. The awards are given annually. Recipients also are given $10,000 to further their efforts.

“There is no higher calling than furthering the educational advancement of our nation’s young people and encouraging and inspiring our next generation of leaders,” President Obama said in a prepared statement. “These awards represent a heartfelt salute of appreciation to a remarkable group of individuals who have devoted their lives and careers to helping others and in doing so have helped us all.”

Bayliss created Student Enrichment Opportunities through federal grants in 1992 in hopes of increasing opportunities for underrepresented groups in the sciences.

“What we’re trying to do is level the playing field,” said Bayliss. “If you make it possible for everyone to participate, it turns out well.”

The program offers financial support and mentoring to students. If a student needs to work nearly full time on top of going to school, he or she misses the opportunity to volunteer in the lab. Bayliss offers students the opportunity to get paid while working in the lab.

“You’re not a scientist if you’re doing what we’ve already learned in the past. To many in the California State University system, [working in a laboratory] is a total luxury not many, especially minority, students have,” Bayliss said, who noted all students produce comparable work once the playing field is leveled. In fact, Bayliss noted students who had struggled are hungrier for the opportunity and often become more successful as a result.

Bayliss grew up in Los Angeles. A high school graduate at 16, Bayliss enlisted in the Air Force where he served active duty for four years and two years in the reserves as a corps man and a medical lab technician. He was stationed in Texas, Alabama and San Bernadino.

Bayliss found that he excelled in the sciences and finished three years of college while enlisted. He graduated from Cal State University Long Beach and then attended the University of California at Davis, at which he earned his doctorate degree in microbiology.

Teaching jobs were hard to come by at the time, leading Bayliss to take a job in Pennsylvania before returning to California in 1975 to join the faculty at San Francisco State.

Working in an urban university has its challenges, but Bayliss appreciated the diversity and high-caliber staff attracted to San Francisco State. Diversity really piqued Bayliss’ interest since science careers traditionally have less diversity.

“In the sciences, we’re apprentices that go through apprenticeship after apprenticeship,” Bayliss said. “Science is the product of generations of scientists passing on what they came to know and how they came to know it. You get a tremendous reward watching somebody with potential and talent rise above their history.”

Bayliss’ work has made a difference. From 1984 to 2003, the biology department had 157 undergraduate students go on to earn doctorate degrees. Only one of those students was an underrepresented minority. Since 2003, there have been over 30 doctorate degree earners, with 10 graduating just last year.

Bayliss is constantly writing grant proposals to keep the program going, which will become more challenging given the current economic challenges. But those challenges won’t slow Bayliss for picking winners.

Bayliss, who loves using analogies, compared the program to the famous racing horse Seabiscuit. The horse ran a bit funny, but a trainer saw something special in him.

“I do that all the time,” said Bayliss. “I’m a coach and I have an all-American quarterback and I have all these stars that I mold into this team and mold into doing the best they can be at what they do. … I make the plan, but they do the work.”

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.