December 22, 2012
Dr. Andrew Carnie
Acting Dean of the Graduate College
The University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
Dear Andrew,
The Graduate Council’s Subcommittee on Diversity spent its first meeting getting organized and agreeing that diversity should be increased at all fronts, i.e., historical minorities, international students, women in the physical sciences and engineering, men in nursing, the disabled, in particular in such disciplines where there is significant underrepresentation. The Committee also asks whether it would be possible to return to the UA’s original definition of diversity, i.e., those who are underrepresented in their disciplines.
Following are our committee’s specific recommendations:
- Provide funding from the Graduate College to bring prospective students for a campus visit (for those programs that currently do not have a recruitment weekend).
- Provide funding to admitted students to visit the campus for the first or second time immediately before the deadline for acceptance, April 15. Brown University has benefitted greatly from this second approach.
- Investigate the possibility of once again providing campus housing for graduate students who have families. This is particularly important for international and minority students who are likelier to have children prior to returning to school.
- Provide incentive funding for incoming students in order to ease the financial burden of their transition to UA.
5.Update Graduate College website.Existing language encouraging URM enrollment sounds defensive.
6.Provide at least matching funds for faculty to present their research at colleges and universities with high minority recruitment.
7.Increase recruitment of international students besides those from India and China.
8.Encourage departments to assign an older URM or underrepresented peer mentor to each prospective URM or underrepresented student during their visit and/or over the phone. Ensure that underrepresented students meetor have the opportunity to email or talk on the phone with current students of their own gender, race, ethnicity, national origin or, if possible, disability.
Diversity subcommittee, p. 2
Retention
9. Encourage the assigned older peer mentor to contact admitted students before they arrive on campus to offer help with relocating, transitioning and, in particular, academic and other advising during their first year at UA.
10.Encourage departments to assign a graduate student meeting room where all students can informally socialize.
11.Involve GPSC in designing a plan to help underrepresented students transition into their respective colleges.
12.Provide additional writing support for graduate international and URM students whose first language is not English, and graduate students taking online courses where such support does not currently exist.
13.Better disseminate resources available from the different campus libraries which can be of great help to students who may not be familiar with cutting-edge technology.
14.Build a systematic way of providing social support to URM students through the four Minority Resource Centers at UA, Minority Alumni Clubs and the President’s Minority Advisory Boards, e.g., monthly dinners, socials, “adopt a grad student” for Tucson families who can invite students for meals, watch games, special occasions, etc., in particular since many URMs are away from their families and don’t have the funds to go home on holidays.
15.Develop web sites for underrepresented groups identifying resources available in the Tucson community, e.g., churches, hair salons, ethnic food restaurants, physicians, dentists, etc.
16.Develop web site on best practices for recruiting and retaining underrepresented students, e.g., programming recognizing that URM graduate students tend not follow a linear path, emphasizing building an academic community that empowers rather than isolates or marginalizes, obtaining and assessing data on reasons and timing of student decisions to leave PhD programs.
17.Create a Diversity Committee as part of faculty governance to organize outreach initiatives, recognize faculty diversity efforts, and recognize departments that go out of their way to support graduate diversity, i.e.,“Build a community of faculty advocates with clout.”
18.Increase institutional funding for special hires that can teach and mentor students who come from diverse backgrounds.
Diversity subcommittee, p. 3
19.Establish a larger fund to assist students when they are writing thesis and
dissertations.
20. Identify funding for master’s students since most departments can no longer provide financial assistance to these students, given the greater likelihood that master’s students come from Arizona, include a larger representation URMs, and are likely to stay in the state after obtaining their graduate degree.
Respectfully submitted by subcommittee chair,
Maria Teresa Velez, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Graduate College
The University of Arizona
Administration #302
Tucson, Arizona 85721