I’m honored to have contributed to a piece recently published in the 2012 summer edition of The Review of Higher Education. The article focuses on efforts to diversify graduate education at research-intensive universities across the country. While underrepresented minority students comprise about a quarter (and growing) of the nation’s undergraduate population, just 11 percent of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) doctoral degrees were granted to minorities in 2009.
Most readers know that building a diverse student body doesn’t happen by accident. And though there is much effort invested in and discussion about undergraduate recruitment and admissions, there is a lesser known group of individuals working to build a diverse student body of entering graduate students: Graduate Diversity Officers.
While there is some precedent for the work of GDOs—think minority recruitment staff in undergraduate admissions offices or the recent establishment of “Chief Diversity Officers” among senior campus leadership—attempts to diversify the graduate ranks is a special and challenging professional niche.
Graduate Diversity Officers don’t exist on every campus, although they should. In 2008-09, my fellow researchers and I identified and interviewed 14 GDOs on 11 university campuses in an effort to understand just how they go about their charge to attract, enroll, and support diverse graduate students at predominantly White institutions.
Unlike undergraduate admissions conducted by trained, professional staff, GDOs have no role in the actual selection of graduate students; that privilege is conferred on faculty alone.
Most GDOs are instead charged with attracting potential students to apply to their university, which often includes guidance through the admissions process and, in many cases, support for these students once they are enrolled. Such support may include applying for grants to bring in scholarship dollars, helping students identify alternative sources of financial aid, and providing academic and social enrichment opportunities—all of which are meant to keep students enrolled and on track to graduation.
Graduate Diversity Officers Face Common Challenges
