The nation's largest gathering of underrepresented Ph.D. students will convene next week in New Orleans.
Scholars affiliated with the SREB-State Doctoral Program and seven other scholarship programs, including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Scholars Program will gather at the 31st annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring.
This year, more than 1,000 are registered to attend the conference hosted by the Southern Regional Education Board’s Doctoral Scholars Program.
SREB officials point out that faculty of color– especially in leadership positions – are still underrepresented in comparison to the racial and ethnic diversity of the students they teach. For instance, nationwide, only about 6% of faculty are Black, just over 5% are Hispanic or Latino and only about 1% are Native American. In addition, research shows that whites are significantly more likely to occupy higher-ranking roles in academia than African Americans, Asian Americans and other races and ethnic groups.
At this year’s conference, more than 225 recruiters will be in attendance and sessions will focus on a wide-range of topics ranging from getting published, to describing research, to financial planning basics.
