Robert Hummer Darlene Grant University of Texas at Austin
SES-0750160 Jean Morrison University of Southern California
SES- 0750723 Karen Cook Stanford University
SES-0750645 Rogelio Saenz Texas A & M Research Foundation
The under-representation of African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American students in U.S. universities continues to be an important impediment to the goal of a more equitable society. At the graduate level, under-representation among minority groups is even more striking than at the undergraduate level; for example, African Americans comprised fewer than nine percent of graduate school enrollments and Hispanics comprised just five percent of graduate school enrollments in the early 21st Century in U.S. universities. Under-representation may even be more important in California and Texas, which are the two largest states in the country in terms of population and also two of the most racially and ethnically diverse states. Indeed, both California and Texas are now considered to be "majority-minority" population states.
This collaborative renewal project -- which includes proposals from the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Southern California -- will continue to address the under representation of Hispanics, African Americans, and Native Americans in graduate programs in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) sciences at these four institutions. The project will continue to increase the enrollment, retention, and successful completion of under-represented minority (URM) graduate students in the SBE Sciences at alliance institutions, with the long-term intent to increase representation among URM groups on university faculties in the SBE sciences. Two principles continue to guide efforts. Alliance partners will: 1) share ideas, best practices, and resources, and create a network to recruit and retain students for alliance universities; and 2) build on successful initiatives that have already been developed on each of the campuses so that efforts can be as cost-effective and successful as possible. Highly collaborative and innovative methods will be used to improve efforts in recruiting and retaining minority graduate students at the institutions.
Broader Impact
The broader impact of this program is to influence the future of higher education in both California and Texas. The future of higher education in these two critical majority-minority states in part depends on the ability of universities in these states to diversify the racial/ethnic mix of faculty. The collaborative effort presents one model of how to do so within the SBE sciences.
The racial and ethnic demographics of America are undergoing a rapid transformation, with declining growth in the white population and dramatic growth in Latinos, Asians and other non-whites creating a more racially/ethnically diverse United States. In this context, it is vital to the nation’s competitive interests to expand participation in STEM fields by all sectors of society. Failure to attract students to STEM fields from all sectors of our society represents talent loss that threatens our nation’s ability to expand the frontiers of knowledge that are foundational for innovation and economic competitiveness. Thus, the Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (EDGE-SBE) program at Stanford University aimed to increase the participation of students from underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds in STEM, with a focus on URM recruitment and retention in doctoral programs in the social sciences at Stanford. The EDGE-SBE program is part of a larger collaborative effort between Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A & M University. EDGE-SBE supports students with fellowship and research funding, one-on-one mentoring, support for advanced methodological training, regular seminars and research workshops. The EDGE-SBE programs enhance professional development and the cultivation of scholarly networks, create interdisciplinary learning opportunities, and foster a welcoming environment for URM doctoral students. There is solid evidence that EDGE-SBE has helped to increase the first-year enrollments of URM doctoral students in the five social science departments that have participated (anthropology, economics, sociology, political science and psychology). Originally the program focused on three departments sociology, political science and psychology. Later it was expanded to include anthropology and when needed economics.)Compared to the baseline year of 2005-2006, new enrollments of URM students have fluctuated between 7 and 11 students, or 40-120 percent higher than the baseline year. The EDGE-SBE program has contributed to the development of human resources in the social sciences. EDGE-SBE has provided a key training and professional development opportunity for a new generation of social scientists. The contributions to human resources are reflected in the PhD degree completion of EDGE-SBE graduates. Through 2012-2013, eleven students who were affiliated with EDGE-SBE completed their PhDs. Employment patterns of EDGE-SBE graduates provide further evidence of the contributions of the program to human resources in STEM fields. Seven graduates have accepted faculty positions at Nevada State College, Northwestern University, Occidental College, Princeton University, San Diego State University, University of Illinois and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The remaining PhD graduates have obtained research positions, including postdoctoral appointments at Stanford. EDGE-SBE graduates have been awarded prestigious postdoctoral fellowships including the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Scholars Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Program at the University of California, Berkeley. Additionally, thirty-eight EDGE-SBE students are making timely progress toward the completion of their degrees. Many of the EDGE-SBE students have been awarded prestigious fellowships that support their doctoral studies, including Stanford’s Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence (DARE) Fellowship, as well as fellowships with the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, and the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS). The EDGE-SBE has fostered institutional changes at Stanford that will last beyond the grant period. The program has been enthusiastically embraced. EDGE-SBE was recognized for outstanding contributions to Stanford, receiving the President’s Award for Excellence Through Diversity. EDGE-SBE has galvanized efforts at Stanford to support students who have the potential to diversify STEM fields. As a result of the program’s success, Stanford has committed to continue to support and to expand the EDGE-SBE program. As a result of the institutional support, EDGE now consists of two programs: EDGE-SBE, which targets doctoral students in the social sciences and education; and EDGE-STEM, which serves students in engineering, natural sciences and earth sciences.
