In an effort to increase faculty diversity, Stanford is focusing on long-term solutions by encouraging more women and underrepresented minorities (URMs) to pursue Ph.D.s and academic careers.

This spring, the Vice Provost for Graduate Education will launch the Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence (DARE) Fellowship Program, providing two-year fellowships for students interested in academia.

The effort marks an attempt to combat the “pipeline” problem, which is based on the idea that a shortage of diverse graduate students reduces the number of diverse faculty. Professor Donna Nelson of Oklahoma University, a leader in faculty diversity research, published a 2007 report that found that blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans are underrepresented at each point in academia. Figures for women are more encouraging, although Nelson found that female undergraduates in chemistry, math and astronomy often lack same-gender role models and mentors.

Nelson’s is one of several similar studies that have helped spur efforts to tackle the pipeline problem at Stanford.

“Our student body is so diverse in comparison to our faculty,” said Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity Jacyn Lewis. “With that striking gap in the demographics, people are now taking notice. And we’re beginning to act in a systematic way.”

Professors and administrators highlighted the effect of community and cultural attitudes on the decision by many URMs to pursue professional opportunities or schooling — especially law, medicine and business — over academic paths as a key factor in the disparity.

“Some students are coming from communities where not many people have an undergraduate education,” said Laura Selznick, special assistant for diversity outreach in the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. “It’s hard for parents to understand why you would want to learn more. So we need to have respectful conversations with families, who might not know what an academic career would look like.”

“Doctors and lawyers are paid well, and they have a real status within the community” she added. “We’re helping students to get an idea of the benefits of other careers.”

Those involved in the effort emphasized that the end goal is not an artificial quota or a reduction of standards.

“People have to see diversity in relation to excellence,” said Drama Prof. Harry Elam. “And we’re not reducing excellence, we’re increasing excellence and possibilities. And it’s critical, given the changing diversity of our school, other schools and, really, the whole country.”

The DARE program will play a key role in drawing more minorities to academia, and will run as a pilot program for the next four years. The first 12 fellows will be selected in the spring.

“The program works on the academic pipeline in two ways,” said Vice Provost for Graduate Education Patricia Gumport. “First, to prepare the Fellows by providing mentoring, structured seminars, peer support and information about the wide range of academic career options; and, second, by giving the Fellows an opportunity to encourage undergraduates to consider grad school and academic careers.”

“This initiative is unique nationally because it also includes a handful of acting assistant professorships for which each cohort of DARE Fellows can compete at the end of their program,” she added.

But DARE is not the University’s only effort at improving graduate diversity. A cornerstone of Stanford’s efforts to increase diversity in Ph.D. candidates is the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program, which provides support to students who have “an interest in a career in college or university teaching” and a “demonstrated commitment to diversity, broadly defined.”

“It’s a great financial boon to those selected,” Elam said. “And it helps develop a community of scholars.” He added that the program is looking to expand.

Administrators and faculty also emphasized the importance of mentoring and role models in providing guidance, especially in informing students of the opportunities of an academic career.

“All students need to be advised early in their undergraduate career on how to prepare for the possibility of graduate school,” said Physics Prof. Patricia Burchat. “In physics, for example, this means that students should pursue summer research while an undergraduate. I have advised students who tell me that they haven’t considered summer research because they need to work in the summer to make some money to support their education; they are then surprised to learn that there are programs that will pay them to do research in the summer. These ‘obvious’ facts need to be made explicit to all students. Otherwise, it’s an old-boys network that determines who is well prepared to apply to graduate school.”

The 2008 Distinguished Alumni Day aims to provide students with a chance to see the range of opportunities and experiences available to URMs and women who pursue academic careers.

“It allows us to show the number and breadth of scholars from different disciplines,” Lewis said. “If faculty reflect the students they are teaching, it makes it so much more noticeable”

All involved in the effort, however, recognized that Stanford’s role in the process will have to fit into a larger and more complicated national picture.

“I’m really proud of what Stanford is doing,” said Chemistry Prof. Richard Zare. “But these are problems that go all the way back to grade school, deep problems. There’s no quick solution. And we’re going to need leadership on that.”

“Stanford does a pretty good job of opening up the campus to URMs,” said fourth-year Chemistry graduate student Charles McCrory. “But the long and short of it is that Stanford can’t really do anything besides make a step in the right direction.”

Others emphasized the value of Stanford’s symbolic leadership in pushing for diversity.

“For any one university, there isn’t much effect,” said fifth-year Mechanical Engineering student Cullen Buie, who is a member of the Graduate Student Council’s Diversity Advocacy Committee. “But if Stanford takes a leadership role, people notice. You hear about this pipeline problem, and we all know about that, but are we doing anything to increase the pipeline? I’d prefer Stanford to say, let’s dictate how society is going, and be a leader in the world.”