Including the Excluded: Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Minority Doctoral Students

• Activity Number: 254
• Type: Invited
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Teaching Statistics in the Health Sciences
• Author(s): Mary W. Gray*+
• Companies: American University
• Keywords: minorities ; doctoral students ; recruitment ; retention ; statistics ; biostatistics

Abstract

A substantial source of potential statisticians has been largely overlooked in efforts to increase the number of U.S. resident students who obtain PhDs in statistics and biostatistics: namely, the African American, Latino, and Native American community. With the tightening of U.S. visa regulations and the perception of an unwelcoming climate, the number of foreign nationals in doctoral programs will certainly not increase to meet the nation's future needs, making it all the more important that all segments of our resident population are included in recruitment and retention efforts. As many potential students from underrepresented minorities graduate from smaller institutions, many will lack adequate preparation for graduate study even though they may have done very well in the courses they have taken. Departments must recognize this by being prepared to provide support for students to make up prerequisites, thus taking longer to finish their degrees. Equally important is to engage faculty and students in providing a supportive atmosphere, including arranging for such mechanisms as study groups, and a safety net, should emergencies arise.