Abstract:

This talk will focus primarily on strategies that have been instituted at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) to increase the diversity of its student body in the sciences. The recruitment and retention of students in the sciences is an increasing problem for universities everywhere. This is particularly true for underserved populations such as women and underrepresented minorities (defined as Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders) that are historically underrepresented in higher education in general, and in the sciences in particular. The Graduate Center, which is devoted primarily to doctoral study and awards most of CUNY's doctoral degrees, has instituted strategies to increase the diversity of its student body. These strategies include: 1) an office of educational opportunity and diversity programs that provides academic, financial and social resources; 2) development and implementation of programs that recruit and prepare doctoral students, especially women and those from minority groups, for careers as scientists. 3) professional development activities that include workshops on preparing students for future workforce and making the transition into postdoctoral and professorial positions; 4) career placement at both postdoctoral and professional levels; 5) creating and fostering a vibrant collaboration between CUNY and foreign universities which aims at greater mobility of students and researchers; and 6) creation of sustainable institutional cultural changes. We continue to evaluate and monitor progress in all of these areas to gauge success.

The City University of New York (CUNY) is the nation’s leading urban public university serving more than 480,000 students at 23 colleges and institutions in New York City.

Keywords:

graduate science education, underrepresented minorities, recruitment, retention.