Part 1 of 2
Graduate student diversity levels in multiple hard science departments have remained near constant over the past decade despite recruitment efforts.
Underrepresented groups in graduate science departments include African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Southeast Asian Americans, according to enrollment documents provided by the UW-Madison Office of the Registrar.
The percent of underrepresented graduate students in the sciences has remained almost constant at 4 percent from 1994 to 2008, according to the documents. In 2000 4.3 percent of graduate students in the sciences were minorities and in 2005 it dropped to 3.5 percent.
According to Damon Williams, UW-Madison Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate, diversity numbers are low in graduate science departments at every ""institution across the country.""
""These communities are very underrepresented at Michigan, Indiana, Harvard and Stanford,"" Williams said. ""The pipeline of talent amongst those communities is underrepresented across every institution.""
Minorities are underrepresented in higher education overall but there is an even greater disparity in some of the programs, Williams said.
Common factors for UW-Madison's low diversity numbers are the weather and lack of money, according to Theresa Duello, associate director of Diversity Initiatives for the Endocrinology – Reproductive Physiology Program.
""I don't believe that the weather is a breaking point here, and we've got money, we could raise money,"" said Duello. ""You cannot be passive about this, it's not adequate or sufficient to just send an e-mail to somebody.""
According to Duello, the lack of diversity in science graduate programs makes recruitment difficult.
Flow of Undergraduates
The lack of diversity throughout the ""pipeline"" of undergraduate students moving to graduate school has ""locked us in inactivity,"" she said. ""It is pretty safe to say there isn't going to be a huge increase in the budget to work on this, so we all have to do a little more.""
""Nationally, when students in their first year enroll for college and declare majors, underrepresented minorities declare science majors at the same frequency … as their white counterparts,"" Williams said. There's the same amount of interest in completing a science program but somewhere along the way that goal is not accomplished, according to him.
""[We] can't increase graduate initiatives in science if minorities aren't getting through undergrad programs,"" Duello said.
According to the Office of the Registrar, 7.2 percent of UW undergraduates in 2008 were targeted minorities.
""One of the things I am working on with the Chancellor is potentially some new strategies that might help us to increase the numbers at the undergraduate level,"" said Williams. ""Hopefully going forward, we will be developing strategies at the graduate level.""
Williams said he could not comment on any specific initiatives.
Williams added that he doesn't think southern institutions with warmer climates are doing much better with diversity efforts for science programs than UW-Madison. ""This is a major topic of discussion nationally, it is a national crisis whether you're at Southern Mississippi or at the University of Wisconsin,"" he said.
The challenge UW has to face is cultural, faculty need to support students in ways that are going to help diverse students be successful, according to Williams. ""I hope that every student, every faculty, every staff would all find some level of shared ownership of the challenge of improving the atmosphere,"" Williams said.
Need Different Approach
""Outside of the general challenges that all institutions deal with regarding diversifying the graduate programs, one of UW-Madison's major challenges is the lack of competitive financial packages,"" Jerlando Jackson, associate professor of Higher and Postsecondary education and an expert on higher education administration and policy, said in an e-mail.
According to Jackson, UW-Madison loses students of color to other schools that can guarantee them more funding for their desired programs. ""[UW needs to] establish a system for the identification and recruitment of diverse undergraduate and master's students and guarantee funding for them,"" he said.
He said Vice Provost Williams has developed a set of plans to enhance the ""diversity landscape"" at UW-Madison.
""His plans are grounded in the best thinking and research focused on harnessing the benefits of diversity in higher education,"" Jackson said. ""If given the proper support, both financial and mission-based, he could move UW-Madison to an epicenter of diversity practice in higher education.""
According to Jackson, the best strategy would be comprehensive and target undergraduates, along with current graduate and professional students.
""More attention needs to be placed on understanding important factors that encourage diverse groups to pursue science-related fields,"" Jackson said. ""Once we understand what encourages degree and career aspirations in this regard, we can then turn our attention to developing programs to address the dilemma.""
Look for Part 2 in Monday's edition.
