ED363249 HE026913

 

Title: Environments of Support.
Author(s): Wagner, Ursula
Author Affiliation: American Council on Education, Washington, DC. Office of Minorities in Higher Education.(BBB29536)
Pages: 142
Publication Date: 1992
Sponsoring Agency: Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New York, NY. (BBB11711)
Available from: EDRS Price MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS.
Availability: American Council on Education, Publications Department ES, One Dupont Circle, Washington, DC 20036 ($20).
Language: English
Document Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data (110); Reports--Descriptive (141)
Geographic Source: U.S.; District of Columbia
Journal Announcement: RIEMAR1994

This report describes findings of a study concerned with identifying environments of support to increase the participation and success of African Americans, American Indians, Hispanics, and U.S.-born Asian Americans in doctoral programs. The project found that supportive environments include: (1) aggressive and targeted recruitment efforts; (2) substantial, multi-year fellowships and assistantships; (3) a locus of academic and social support services for minority graduate students; (4) an atmosphere of expected success; (5) departmental culture that supports faculty mentoring; (6) student support groups; (7) curricula which encompass diversity issues; and (8) a "critical mass" of minority students and faculty within individual departments. Preliminary information documents the extent of the problem and the study's approach. Six case studies describe programs at the following institutions: the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York; the University of Michigan; Brown University; the University of Texas at Austin; the University of Florida; and the University of California at Berkeley. Extensive appendices include: a list of persons interviewed for the study; a checklist for universities; suggested resources; tables listing minority Ph.D.s from 1979-89 at the top 50 universities, and doctorates awarded U.S. citizens by institution, major field, and ethnic group, 1979-89. (DB)

Descriptors: Academic Persistence; American Indians; Asian Americans; Black Students; *Demonstration Programs; *Doctoral Programs; *Ethnic Groups; *Graduate Study; Higher Education; Hispanic Americans; Mentors; *Minority Groups; Multicultural Education; Statistical Data; Student Development; Student Financial Aid; Student Needs; *Student Personnel Services; Student Recruitment; Teaching Assistants
Identifiers: African Americans; City University of New York; *Diversity (Student); University of California; University of Florida; University of Michigan; University of Texas Austin