Resource Library

Our IGEN Project Quarterly Newsletter highlights the work being done by our alliance members and partners.

Featured in this issue:

• New Professional Networking Group
• Workshops and Resources for Equity in Graduate Admissions
• Disciplinary Partner Updates

Selected research curated to foster learning and adoption of inclusive practices in graduate education.

The APS Bridge Program Student Induction Manual documents effective practices for inducting new students into graduate programs, as identified and described by APS Bridge Sites. It also includes specific strategies for developing a solid foundation for students before and well after their arrival on campus.

These quarterly gatherings break down research studies and social theories that are relevant to equity in graduate education, with attention to practical implications.  

OVERVIEW & GOALS

• Preparing higher education change agents to facilitate interactive workshops on holistic graduate admissions.
• Faculty and administrators with an interest in improving graduate education in STEM, and without competing financial interests, are welcome to apply.
• Preference will be given to applicants who are faculty in the physical or social sciences and who have with demonstrated effort increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in doctoral education.

ChemIDP is an Individual Development Plan designed specifically for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in the chemical sciences. Through immersive, self-paced activities, users explore potential careers, determine specific skills needed for success, and develop plans to achieve professional goals. ChemIDP tracks user progress and input, providing tips and strategies to complete goals and guide career exploration.

The Facilitator Workshop: Learn to Implement Mentor Training is a two-day workshop designed to increase the capacity for research mentor trainings offered at colleges and universities, research institutes, and organizations.

During this workshop, participants are introduced to the Entering Mentoring curricula, which addresses the following themes: aligning expectations, addressing equity and inclusion, articulating your mentoring philosophy and plan, assessing understanding, cultivating ethical behavior, enhancing work-life integration, fostering independence, maintaining effective communication, and promoting professional development. Workshop participants become familiar with the curricula, practice facilitating training components, and develop a plan for implementing the training at their institution or organization.

Presentation on how Physical Sciences Bridge Programs affected the participation rates of Underrepresented Minority (URM) in graduate degree programs.

Biases, conscious or unconscious, are learned social stereotypes that have real effects in the workplace. This series explores individual, organizational and societal factors that influence the intersection of diversity, equity and inclusion. Participants will be challenged to examine their actions and inactions. This series is designed to provide practical tools and resources that interrupt bias and promote workplace inclusion.

Presentation on the results of NSF-funded research on holistic review as one strategy for broadening who has access to STEM graduate education.  How to facilitate conversations about how STEM faculty can catalyze institutional change, and how structuring holistic review using evaluation rubrics may be part of those efforts.

Stories and statistics abound about the struggles of graduate education and the risks for wellbeing that it poses to students. In this plenary, we’ll explore both root causes of mental illness among today’s generation of graduate students, the unique barriers experienced by members of minoritized communities, as well as the proactive steps that faculty, friends, and family can take to provide support and challenge toxic norms within academia. Posselt will present research completed through a two year National Academy of Education fellowship on graduate student mental health, sharing findings from two studies: 1) A large-scale national analysis of 20,000 students’ views on competition, discrimination, and support in relation to depression and anxiety, and 2) A qualitative study of the ways that doctoral students of color within STEM conceptualize faculty support.

Frequently asked questions regarding GRE and Graduate Admissions Like you, I’ve struggled with what to use for graduate admission criteria in the Geosciences. A little over a year ago, I intended to write about why we should use the GRE for admissions, but the more I read, the more I decided it was a flawed measure. Since writing my post, To GRE or not to GRE, I’ve received several questions that I’d like to respond to here, publicly. Given that COVID -19 has drastically changed testing, I also discuss that.

The Genentech Foundation has provided support to the ACS Bridge Program.

In its first year, 20% of the 250 active Earth and space science graduate programs in the United States applied for partnership with the program.

Underrepresented minority students make up a third of college-age US citizens and earn roughly 18% of US chemistry bachelor’s degrees and 11% of chemistry PhDs, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

Even if wealthy parents don't resort to the kind of illegal tactics in the recent college cheating scandal revealed by the FBI, the college admission process still favors the rich, scholars argue.

...The data shows that the GRE gives us no predictive information on who will succeed in graduate school (even among men) and simultaneously acts to weed out people of color and underrepresented minorities and, as a whole, doesn’t help women applicants either.

© 2019 SPEAKING OF GEOSCIENCE

...AGU is one of five scientific societies that have formed the Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN), which will increase the participation of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities in graduate studies in the physical sciences. 

Abstract

Higher Education Administration for Social Justice and Equity empowers all administrators in higher education to engage in their work—to make decisions, hire, mentor, budget, create plans, and carry out other day-to-day operations—with a clear commitment to justice, sensitivity to power and privilege, and capacity to facilitate equitable outcomes. Grounding administration for social justice as a matter of daily work, this book translates abstract concepts and theory into the work of hiring, socialization, budgeting, and decision-making. Contributed chapters by renowned scholars and current practitioners examine the way higher education administration is organized, and will help readers both question existing structures and practices, and consider new and different ways of organizing campuses based on equity and social justice. Rich with case studies and pedagogical tools, this book connects theory to practice, and is an invaluable resource for current and aspiring administrators.

Abstract

Change comes slowly in higher education, or so the best theory and evidence say. Yet there are exceptions to every rule, and exogenous shocks such as protests, wars, natural disasters and, as we are now seeing, a global pandemic can compel decisive, transformational changes that colleges, universities, and their members would otherwise resist. 

INCLUDES Alliance awards fund partnerships across higher education

The initiative brings together USC Rossier and more than two dozen other organizations.

Our IGEN Project Quarterly Newsletter highlights the work being done by our alliance members and partners.

Featured in this issue:

• Supporting Graduate Student Well-Being
• IGEN Bridge Application 
• Partner Updates
• Equity in Graduate Admissions

Our IGEN Project Quarterly Newsletter highlights the most impactful work being done by our alliance members and partners.

Featured in this issue:

• IGEN 2019 National Meeting
• Partner Spotlight
• Collective Activities

New programme aims to boost the number of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities in science

A set of role-play, avatar modules to educate faculty, staff, and students about mental health and suicide prevention.

Presentation addressing recruitment and admissions challenges facing graduate education in light of COVID-19.  The panelists will present research and institutional responses that, together, highlight paths for administrators and faculty toward equitable enrollment management. How should we communicate with incoming and prospective students given universities’ quickly changing policy landscape? How can we design holistic review processes that account for new variations in applicant grades, experiences, and obstacles during this time? 

Crises are moments for culture building. During this time we are learning that connections, communication, and critical conversations matter more than ever. As we think about preparing our institutions for annual graduate admissions and recruitment processes, awareness about our respective institutional contexts and individual identities matter. Context and identity matter on their own, and they matter in combination by affecting the resources likely available to us, the constraints and norms we are more likely to face, and the networks of which we are part.

Webinar and discussion session presenting data and research about the role of typical admissions criteria and practices in maintaining racial/ethnic inequalities in graduate education. Practical strategies for rethinking typical admissions criteria and processes are introduced, with a focus on equity-based holistic review and embedding attention to equity throughout the admissions and recruitment process. 

Current Data to support the charge of the IGEN Project and its measured success.

Presentation on how Physical Sciences Bridge Programs affected the participation rates of Underrepresented Minority (URM) in graduate degree programs.

Conference poster.  

Presentation on the benefits of diverse leadership in business and how IGEN goals look to increase the participation gap. 

Research and reports about transforming undergraduate STEM education highlight the need to implement research-based practices and to learn from that process, expanding the research base.

Presentation on how the APS Bridge program works to decrease the achievement gap in doctoral education for underrepresented minority students in Physics degrees.   

Presentation on the efforts to increase diversity in graduate education, and providing practical strategies for doing so by rethinking typical recruitment and admission processes. Including how common admissions mindsets and practices inhibit access for underrepresented groups, and concrete strategies to change admission processes to yield improved diversity and equity.

Presentation on IGEN at NSF Includes: Journey to an Alliance webinar, a series designed to introduce the network to the NSF INCLUDES Alliances and learn about the successes, challenges and lessons learned about launching their partnerships and backbone organizations. 

Workshop presentation by Dr. Melissa McDaniels from Michigan State University, graduate student and postdoctoral participants will be urged to think about the proactive roles they can play in ‘mentoring up’ – strategically and authentically negotiating their constellation of mentoring relationships. Using this lens, participants will be brought through a series of guided conversations and exercises to help them thing about how they might ‘map’ their mentoring networks, anchored by professional competencies, to empower themselves to optimize all mentoring relationships.

Presentation on project goals and activities of the NSF INCLUDES Alliance grant awarded to the Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN). 

High quality mentoring is an important predictor of persistence for researchers pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and can influence the confidence of historically underrepresented trainees' ability to successfully conduct research. Despite this, mentors typically do not receive any training on how to optimize their mentoring relationships. Stories from student mentees from historically underrepresented backgrounds will be shared to learn from their perspectives. Mentors will learn new approaches from each other as they work through mentoring challenges, reflect upon their mentoring experiences, and refine their individual approaches to mentoring. Workshop leaders will provide concrete tools and strategies mentors can incorporate into their practice and extrapolate to their own context. Participants are expected to gain confidence in proactively working with students from diverse backgrounds. See Key Strategies for Mentoring Parts I and II.

Discussion with faculty and staff, touching on various aspects of the mentoring experience, including work-life balance concerns. The focus is on discussing the mentoring relationship in graduate school, building mentoring relationships, and supporting students' growth. 

Workshop Presentation: High quality mentoring is an important predictor of persistence for researchers pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and can influence the confidence of historically underrepresented trainees’ ability to successfully conduct research. Despite this, mentors typically do not receive any training on how to optimize their mentoring relationships. In this interactive workshop, mentors will engage in case studies, activities and small-group discussions aimed to accelerate the acquisition of the mentoring skills and insights needed to cultivate effective mentee-mentor relationships. In part II of this interactive workshop, mentors will discuss the challenges of accurately assessing understanding and providing constructive feedback. Mentors will also discuss ways to foster mentee independence and build their research self-efficacy. Through the workshop, participating mentors will learn new approaches from each other as they work through mentoring challenges, reflect upon their mentoring experiences, and refine their individual approaches to mentoring. Workshop leaders will provide concrete tools and strategies mentors can incorporate into their practice and extrapolate to their own context. Through this process, participants are expected to gain confidence in proactively working with students from diverse backgrounds.

Worksop Presentation: High quality mentoring is an important predictor of persistence for researchers pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and can influence the confidence of historically underrepresented trainees' ability to successfully conduct research. Despite this, mentors typically do not receive any training on how to optimize their mentoring relationships. In this interactive workshop, mentors will engage in case studies, activities and small-group discussions aimed to accelerate the acquisition of the mentoring skills and insights needed to cultivate effective mentee-mentor relationships. In part I of this interactive workshop, mentors will discuss the challenges of misaligned expectations and explore the use of mentoring compacts to convey expectations in a transparent and equitable manner. Mentors will also complete a communication style inventory and explore ways to optimize communication in their mentoring relationships. Through the workshop, participating mentors will learn new approaches from each other as they work through mentoring challenges, reflect upon their mentoring experiences, and refine their individual approaches to mentoring. Workshop leaders will provide concrete tools and strategies mentors can incorporate into their practice and extrapolate to their own context. Through this process, participants are expected to gain confidence in proactively working with students from diverse backgrounds.

Mentoring is an important factor in the satisfaction, productivity and persistence of mentees across disciplines yet research shows that the landscape of mentoring is unequal. Mentees from traditionally underrepresented groups (UG) report less access to mentoring and rate the mentoring they do receive lower in quality. Moreover, mentees from UGs more frequently report feeling a sense of isolation in their research environments and pressure to hide their cultural identities while at work. Mentors of these diverse mentees report uncertainty about if and how to broach topics of belonging, diversity and inclusion in their mentoring relationships. In this plenary session, we will explore the concept of culturally aware mentoring. Following a brief introductory presentation, four mentees will share insights gained from their lived experience; how they are navigating their science and cultural identities and how mentoring has played a role in their educational path. Each panelist will address the following questions: •What has worked for you in your mentoring relationship overall? •What did not work so well? •Around the topic of culturally aware mentoring: Have you been able to share salient aspects of cultural identity (-ies) with your mentor and/or your research team members? Why or why not? •What approaches have mentors used to demonstrate their support of you and all of your identities? How have they or could they demonstrate their cultural awareness in this regard?

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is one of five leading scientific societies that have formed the Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN) to increase the participation of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities in graduate studies in the physical sciences.

The American Institute of Physics aims to double the number of black undergraduates in the field.

Conference brings together champions of diversity and inclusion to increase the number of under-represented minority students earning PhDs.

This article examines the ways diversity is framed at schools with race-neutral admissions policies.

© 2019 American Psychological Association

In March of 2019, William Rick Singer plead guilty to federal conspiracy, bribery and obstruction of justice charges for his work as an academic admissions “fixer.” Following an FBI sting, Singer admitted to bribing college admissions staff, getting ringers to take ACT and SAT tests, and fabricating athletic resumes, all on behalf of the offspring …

2019 Back Porch Broadcasting, Inc.