Nurturing Ph.D.s
To boost the number of minority professors, start by seeing doctoral candidates through their journey.
By Blair S. Walker
MIAMI
When minority doctoral candidates fail, the reason is seldom academic in nature, says the leader of a program focusing on increasing the ranks of minorities holding doctorates.
Minority doctoral candidates typically throw in the towel because they feel alone and unsupported, says Dr. Ansley A. Abraham, director of the Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board’s State Doctoral Scholars Program.
“Alienation and isolation are two areas that minority students frequently identify as being huge barriers to their being successful at the graduate level,” Abraham says.
“Research will tell you that for all graduate students, the number one barrier to getting an advanced degree or Ph.D. is finances. But very close to finances for minority students is alienation and isolation,” he said during SREB’s 13th Annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, a conference on overcoming the shortage of minority faculty by nurturing future doctorate-level scholars.
Ramping up the number of minorities with doctorates is a critical first step toward addressing the low percentage of minority professors nationwide. Currently, only 5 percent of college faculty are Black, 3 percent are Hispanic and 0.5 percent are American Indian, according to SREB spokesman Alan Richard.
