Below we highlight published items of interest to current/future postdocs and other PhD professionals. We are especially interested in drawing attention to policy issues, minority postdocs, and national/regional postdoc diversity affinity groups. For busy PhD professionals, we will scan the diversity literature and news outlets.
Faculty of color wouldn’t be seen as rare and exotic species if college campuses were more diversified and more integrated. It would also help minimize the circus sideshow during faculty orientation. What I am opposed to, however, is all the talk and emphasis that administrators put on our diversity to the detriment and outright neglect of everything else we bring to the table.
...a lot is already known about why students drop out of STEM studies. Among the leading reasons are uninspiring introductory courses, difficulty with the required math because of a lack of adequate preparation, and an academic culture that is sometimes not welcoming, particularly to women and minorities, who constitute 70 percent of college students but earn only 45 percent of STEM degrees.
There often is a commonality of experience made unique by our race and gender. Consequently, from one Black woman to another there can be a uniquely crafted kind of mentorship relative to the challenges of being black and female in a white and male dominated profession.
...the fact is, community colleges have been hiring more and more Ph.D.'s—mostly because they can, given the glut of Ph.D.'s on the market, but also because many two-year colleges these days aspire to become four-year institutions.
Today's typical college leader is a married white male with a doctorate in education. He is 61 years old... racial and ethnic minorities, who represent 13 percent of college presidents, are slightly less prevalent than they were in 2006, when 14 percent of college leaders were members of minority groups.
...this is about more than diversifying undergraduate education. When we look at the relatively small change that has happened across the board, change has been very minuscule. When it comes to diversifying top positions, we have to be more intentional.
If the recent research showing that students of color do better with professors of their same background is correct, then there’s a real social justice need to address.
...the 'NSF Career-Life Balance Initiative,' will allow researchers who receive NSF grants to delay their awards for up to one year to care for a newborn or a newly adopted child...
...graduate schools and professors should play a 'key role in ensuring that students are aware of, and prepared for, a wide array of careers in the academic, public and private sectors.'