Doctoral Scholars Program
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program
Note: The 2020 Institute on Teaching and Mentoring has been rescheduled to April 22-25, 2021. Read the full statement >.
Increasing Faculty Diversity
More than one-third of America’s college students are people of color. But racial and ethnic minorities make up only small fractions of college faculty. Nationwide, about 5 percent of faculty are African-American, about 3 percent are Hispanic and about 1 percent are Native American. The SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program is working to change that.
The 2020 DSP Fellowship application is now closed
The goal: more minority Ph.D. students who seek
careers as faculty on college campuses
The Doctoral Scholars Program provides multiple layers of support — not only financial assistance and research funding, but also career counseling, job postings and a scholar directory for networking and recruiting. Mentoring and advocacy for scholars is crucial, and support continues into early careers as graduates become faculty members. And each fall, a thousand scholars and young faculty members convene to learn and support one another at the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring.
5-minute version of this video
Almost 1,000 Graduates and Counting
The goal of the Doctoral Scholars Program is to increase the number of minority students who earn doctorates and choose to become faculty at colleges and universities. Since its founding in 1993, the program has supported more than 1,660 scholars who have attended 107 institutions in more than 30 states.
Dr. Abraham’s 2020 Giving Campaign appeal
Dr. Ansley Abraham, director of the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program, makes an appeal for donations to the 2020 Giving Campaign, which provides developmental support for minority doctoral scholars and graduates.
Dr. Abraham DSP update – 4-6-2020
Dr. Ansley Abraham, director of the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program, shares a weekly DSP update and words of congratulations to three SREB scholars who successfully defended their dissertations.
Georgia College Faculty Member Wins National Faculty Mentor Award
Stephanie McClure, a professor of sociology at Georgia College, was awarded one of six national Faculty Mentor of the Year awards at the 26th annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring in October in Atlanta, Georgia. The Institute is the nation’s largest annual gathering of underrepresented Ph.D. students and college faculty members of color.
Purdue University Faculty Member Wins National Faculty of the Year Award
Levon T. Esters, an associate professor of agricultural sciences education and communication, was awarded one of six national Faculty Mentor of the Year awards at the 26th annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring in October in Atlanta, Georgia. The Institute is the nation’s largest annual gathering of underrepresented Ph.D. students and college faculty members of color.
Fixing the Pipeline of Possibility
A recent Atlantic article, “The Disciplines Where No Black People Earn Ph.D.s,” is eye-opening for its title alone. “In 2017,” author Adam Harris says, “there were more than a dozen fields” — largely within STEM — “in which not a single doctoral degree was awarded to a black person anywhere in the United States.”
Tips from Women of Color on Succeeding in Academia
Finishing the Ph.D. and Advancing in Higher Education
Women represent a majority of Ph.D. students nationally, but overcoming hurdles relating to both gender and race can make life in academia especially challenging for women scholars.
That was a major theme among scholars and experts at the 2018 annual Institute on Teaching and Learning, hosted by the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program and its partner programs.
‘I almost wasn’t’: Ph.D. graduates, experts urge self-care
A critical topic that often gets overlooked in the drive to earn a Ph.D.: taking care of yourself.
The issue was on full, courageous display at the 2018 Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, the nation’s largest gathering of underrepresented Ph.D. students and graduates of color. At the banquet celebrating the previous year’s newly minted graduates, many spoke of their emotional and health struggles during their long journey to the doctorate.
Sloan Foundation’s Elizabeth Boylan Honored with Frank Abbott Award
Elizabeth S. Boylan, director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s programs on STEM higher education, was honored with the 2018 Frank Abbott Award at the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring in October in Arlington, Virginia.
Since joining Sloan in 2011, Dr. Boylan has been responsible for the attendance of more than 1,000 Sloan scholars at the Institute and leads the design of a number of sessions at the event.
University of Arkansas Faculty Member Wins National Mentor of the Year Award
Ana Julia Bridges, an associate professor in the University of Arkansas department of psychological science, was awarded one of two national Faculty Mentor of the Year awards at the 25th annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring in October in Arlington, Virginia. The Institute is the nation’s largest annual gathering of underrepresented Ph.D. students and college faculty members of color.
Cornell Faculty Member Wins National Mentor of the Year Award
Chris Fromme, an associate professor at Cornell University in Ithica, N.Y., was awarded one of two national Faculty Mentor of the Year awards at the 25th annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring in October in Arlington, Virginia. The Institute is the nation’s largest annual gathering of underrepresented minority Ph.D. students and college faculty.
Finding Faculty
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program graduates paying it forward
As if the percentages of African-American or Hispanic faculty aren’t stark enough, consider the shortage of Native American scholars: a miniscule 0.01 percent of postdoctoral faculty and scholars nationally.
Reflecting on 25 years
of the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring
As one of only three people who have attended every Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, Dr. Robert (Bob) Belle, the longtime associate director of the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program, reflects on the Institute’s growth and importance, marking the 25th year of the conference.
Shortages and Support
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program graduates paying it forward
For Dr. Lorrie Frasure-Yokley, a graduate from the University of Maryland, College Park, the SREB program “paid for my tuition and fees, allowing me the freedom to join several research projects” rather than to work as a teaching assistant. She is the first woman of color to attain a tenure-track position and to earn tenure in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Giving Back
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program graduates paying it forward
Former SREB scholar Dr. Fashaad Crawford is the associate vice provost for assessment and accreditation at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Crawford aids in the planning process for new academic programming and oversees the university’s regional accreditation and assessment of student learning processes. Throughout his career, he has worked to promote greater access and retention for faculty and students from underrepresented origins.
Changing the face of college faculty
25 Years of Increasing Faculty Diversity
SREB’s Doctoral Scholars Program is marking its 25th year of service to the South and the nation, having helped nearly 1,000 underrepresented students of color graduate with a Ph.D. Another 400 doctoral students are now working on a Ph.D. through the program. Nearly three out of four graduates of the program are teaching in college classrooms, in 43 states and counting. Despite this progress, the situation remains dire. Major shortages of faculty members of color persist, as many older professors retire and the nation’s student demographics continue to shift substantially.
DSP Graduate Featured on PBS NewsHour Segment
Congratulations to SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program graduate Dr. Lorrie Frasure-Yokley, an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her work as a faculty mentor was highlighted in a PBS NewsHour special series. The interview with Dr. Frasure-Yokley appears in the weekly Making the Grade series segment. ”How faculty mentors can help first-generation students succeed.”
It’s All About Community
An interview with Ansley Abraham
What’s the best advice to propel a doctoral candidate toward a successful completion of their Ph.D. goal? According to Dr. Ansley Abraham, director of the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program, it boils down to connecting with “people who are vested in your success.”
Dr. Abraham has been doling out that advice to doctoral students for over 25 years. In the article below, originally published on the blog – Grad | Logic: Navigating the Ups and Downs of Graduate School, Dr. Abraham shared some of his wisdom in an interview with Dr. Chris Golde.
Why supporting doctoral students of color is more important than ever
Twenty-five years ago, the South was graduating so few Ph.D. students of color that, in some fields, the annual number of graduates could fit into the same car.
Fortunately that has changed, but not enough to graduate all the scholars of color we need.
Science and Engineering for Social Good
Dr. Bob Belle, associate director of the Doctoral Scholars Program, will present during the Science and Engineering for Social Good conference, hosted by the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement (NCSCE) February 9-11, 2018 at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The conference, presented in partnership with Georgia Tech, Stony Brook University and The SUNY Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP), will feature content of interest to faculty, future faculty, staff and administrators.
For more information please contact Kyle Simmons, NCSCE’s faculty development events manager, at 202-276-2343 or kyle.ncsce@gmail.com or visit the NCSCE conference site.
Tips for Exemplary Teaching from Award-Winning Faculty
24th Annual Institute on Teaching and Learning
The 24th Institute on Teaching and Mentoring publication highlights the personal stories of six award-winning Institute scholars on best practices to engage and encourage students in college classrooms.