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HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE SYMPOSIUM:
Defining the Key Work of the Consortium
A consortium of institutions committed to diversity initiatives could tackle several challenges in implementing strategies to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) students in science, according to participants at the January 2008 symposium.
The key challenges for diversity programs, identified during earlier symposia, are:
- assessment and evaluation
- faculty and administrative engagement
- student recruitment
- student support, retention, and success
- training faculty and peer mentors
- staffing and sustainability
A consortium could help address these by playing a central role in collecting data, developing an information exchange, and articulating common norms, such as reward structures for faculty, participants said.
Data collection and analysis
Expanding the data collection already under way would be a critical first step. Having data to determine how many URM students are enrolled in science classes at different institutions across the nation, at what point in their academic careers these students are dropping out of science, and what impact diversity programs are having on retaining students would be valuable. "There is no question in my mind that we need to continue with data collection," says Robert Lue of Harvard University. "Data is a powerful way to convince faculty and administrators of the value of diversity initiatives. But at a more basic level, we need to know that our programs are working."
Symposia organizers collected data from participants about the numbers and grades of URM and majority students enrolled in all biology and chemistry classes–data that institutions do not normally track. Most participants suggested submitting data annually to a central body defined by the consortium. The data would then be analyzed and made available to consortium members and other organizations, such as funding agencies.
Community of collaborators and advisers
A consortium of institutions committed to diversity could share strategies for obtaining funding for programs, for recruiting and training faculty, and for supporting and retaining students, participants said. Site visits or regional conferences could help maintain the information exchange that is already under way.
Such collaborations could not only help institutions implement their programs but could also broaden the range of opportunities for URM students by providing networks of institutions committed to their development and career advancement. "For example," says Craig Woodard of Mount Holyoke College, "we are an independent New England liberal arts college and want to hire URM faculty. If we know people at a graduate school that has a lot of URM students, we can say, 'We have a position in biochemistry. Do you know any postdoc or graduate students who might be interested?' Or they might have a student thinking of getting a position at a liberal arts college. They now have a contact that they can pursue."
Public advocacy
Participants said they thought the consortium could serve as a central body to articulate common norms for activities, specific to different institutions, geared toward increasing diversity in the sciences. Creating reward structures for diversity work at a college or university would be an example of such an activity. "Faculty is somewhat stuck because they have all these pressures on their time," says Lue. "Teaching and mentoring require time and effort, and institutions have to value this effort publicly. But they also have to carve out time so that faculty can be engaged in these activities."
Next steps
Building on participants' desire to start to define possible functions for the consortium, Barbara Wakimoto of the University of Washington has taken the lead in gathering opinions from participants through an electronic survey. "The consortium is in the process of being defined," she says. "We will need to look at the responses and then decide where to go from here."
"After evaluating the responses, we will start forming different planning groups. One of the questions asked in the survey is whether people are interested in taking on a leadership role," says Woodard. "The current leadership will stay on, but we need to expand the group. All of us are without a doubt committed to continuing, but we need more help."
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