Collaborative Research: SBES Alliance: Diversifying Graduate Education in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) Sciences

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Collaborative ProposalSES-0750597Robert HummerDarlene GrantUniversity of Texas at AustinSES-0750160Jean MorrisonUniversity of Southern CaliforniaSES- 0750723Karen CookStanford UniversitySES-0750645Rogelio SaenzTexas A & M Research FoundationThe under-representation of African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American students in U.S. universities continues to be an important impediment to the goal of a more equitable society. At the graduate level, under-representation among minority groups is even more striking than at the undergraduate level; for example, African Americans comprised fewer than nine percent of graduate school enrollments and Hispanics comprised just five percent of graduate school enrollments in the early 21st Century in U.S. universities. Under-representation may even be more important in California and Texas, which are the two largest states in the country in terms of population and also two of the most racially and ethnically diverse states. Indeed, both California and Texas are now considered to be "majority-minority" population states. This collaborative renewal project -- which includes proposals from the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Southern California -- will continue to address the under representation of Hispanics, African Americans, and Native Americans in graduate programs in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) sciences at these four institutions. The project will continue to increase the enrollment, retention, and successful completion of under-represented minority (URM) graduate students in the SBE Sciences at alliance institutions, with the long-term intent to increase representation among URM groups on university faculties in the SBE sciences. Two principles continue to guide efforts. Alliance partners will: 1) share ideas, best practices, and resources, and create a network to recruit and retain students for alliance universities; and 2) build on successful initiatives that have already been developed on each of the campuses so that efforts can be as cost-effective and successful as possible. Highly collaborative and innovative methods will be used to improve efforts in recruiting and retaining minority graduate students at the institutions. Broader Impact The broader impact of this program is to influence the future of higher education in bothCalifornia and Texas. The future of higher education in these two critical majority-minority states in part depends on the ability of universities in these states to diversify the racial/ethnic mix of faculty. The collaborative effort presents one model of how to do so within the SBE sciences.