Expansion of VU-EDGE
The Graduate Diversity and Inclusion Committee Contacts: Ali Lutz ([email protected]) and Stacey Houston ([email protected])
Expansion of VU-EDGE This proposal recommends the expansion of the budget for the Vanderbilt Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (VU-EDGE) office. Currently, this office is the main proactive force Vanderbilt has available for addressing the recruitment and retention of graduate students from underrepresented populations. However, the budget for this office is limited, and as such VUEDGE is currently not able to address all of the needs and programming that it might be able to host with an expanded budget, especially as it pertains to issues of retention. This proposal was written by current members of the Graduate Diversity and Inclusion committee, which, among other things, has committed itself to supporting Vanderbilt’s efforts to create a more diverse campus. We believe that expanding the VU-EDGE office, as recommended by this committee and the Vanderbilt Diversity, Inclusion, and Community committee, will be a great step forward in enhancing Vanderbilt’s graduate education community. Problem During the 2015-16 school year, Vanderbilt University convened a committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Community to draft recommendations to campus administration on the steps forward the university needs to take on issues of diversity. Concurrently, the Graduate Diversity and Inclusion (GDI) committee was formed through the Graduate Student Council with the aim of providing graduate student voice to this process. This committee successfully gathered student feedback through multiple media, and our feedback became incorporated into the recommendations delivered to the Chancellor. The creation of these recommendations was a giant step for the Vanderbilt campus. The next step, then, is to work diligently with a combination of thoughtful reflection and due haste to implement the recommendations. For the 2016-17 academic year, the GDI committee identified five recommendations specific to graduate student needs to drive forward as first priorities. Among these five was a recommendation pertaining to the Vanderbilt Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education office, led by Dr. Don Brunson: “Recommendation: Sustain and expand the Diversity Recruitment Office for Graduate 1
Education (VU-EDGE), and increase collaboration with programs such as AccessStem (pairs students with disabilities with faculty mentors) and The KC Potter Center.” The VU-EDGE office and Dr. Brunson are currently a major resource on campus for the recruitment and retention of graduate student from underrepresented backgrounds. We are thankful for the work that has been done, and we look forward to seeing this work be sustained in the future. However, this work comes at a significant cost, particularly because there is simply so much work to do. The work Dr. Brunson does includes a variety of programs and activities ranging from organizing university visits, the Pre-VU PhD recruitment event, attending national graduate recruitment fairs, the Leadership Alliance summer research program, and a diversity recruitment fair. Altogether, these programs, which thus stated so far only focus on recruitment, can cost more than $1,000 per student. For example, typically, between 35 and 50 students participate in the Pre-VU program each year. These efforts currently account for over 40% of the VU-EDGE operating budget, and as such, sacrifices to programming need to be made in order to fund other successful programs. In addition, as noted, existing efforts primarily have focused on recruitment. Another recommendation delivered to the Chancellor at the end of the 2015-16 school year was to make Vanderbilt the leading producer of PhDs from diverse groups. The accomplishment of that goal requires not only work to get underrepresented students to attend Vanderbilt, but also requires work to get them to stay. As it stands now, a minority of the VU-EDGE office’s work can be focused on retention efforts because of the aforementioned budgeting challenges.
Solution We propose that a portion of the funds from this endowment go towards the expansion of the budget for the VU-EDGE office in the amount of $10,000.
IMPACT With increased funding, VU-EDGE can enhance its focus on retention. One important impact will be the collection of data to quantify Vanderbilt’s retention rates of graduate students from underrepresented groups and to qualify the pressures that inhibit retention in order to develop and implement innovative and effective strategies for retaining and producing PhDs from diverse groups. At many other universities, offices for diversity and inclusion in graduate education organize special seminars and mentoring opportunities—both with faculty and peer-to-peer—to help graduate students from underrepresented groups navigate the particular challenges they face in graduate school and as the enter the academic job market. The National Postdoctoral Association calls particular attention to the initiatives at Yale and the University of Washington. Increased funding for VU-EDGE will allow Vanderbilt to implement similar mentoring and seminar programs as well as to evaluate their effectiveness, positioning Vanderbilt as a true leader in retaining and producing PhDs from diverse
2
groups. Dr. Brunson and the VU-EDGE office have a suite of programs from which to choose from already, and it would be good for Vanderbilt for this office to be able to implement more programs.
IMPLEMENTATION The objectives outlined in this proposal will be implemented through the VU-EDGE office and directed by Dean Brunson, whose input was sought in the creation of this proposal.
ESTIMATED COST The cost for this proposal would be a recurring cost of $10,000.
3
Expansion of VU-EDGE This proposal recommends the expansion of the budget for the Vanderbilt Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (VU-EDGE) office. Currently, this office is the main proactive force Vanderbilt has available for addressing the recruitment and retention of graduate students from underrepresented populations. However, the budget for this office is limited, and as such VUEDGE is currently not able to address all of the needs and programming that it might be able to host with an expanded budget, especially as it pertains to issues of retention. This proposal was written by current members of the Graduate Diversity and Inclusion committee, which, among other things, has committed itself to supporting Vanderbilt’s efforts to create a more diverse campus. We believe that expanding the VU-EDGE office, as recommended by this committee and the Vanderbilt Diversity, Inclusion, and Community committee, will be a great step forward in enhancing Vanderbilt’s graduate education community. Problem During the 2015-16 school year, Vanderbilt University convened a committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Community to draft recommendations to campus administration on the steps forward the university needs to take on issues of diversity. Concurrently, the Graduate Diversity and Inclusion (GDI) committee was formed through the Graduate Student Council with the aim of providing graduate student voice to this process. This committee successfully gathered student feedback through multiple media, and our feedback became incorporated into the recommendations delivered to the Chancellor. The creation of these recommendations was a giant step for the Vanderbilt campus. The next step, then, is to work diligently with a combination of thoughtful reflection and due haste to implement the recommendations. For the 2016-17 academic year, the GDI committee identified five recommendations specific to graduate student needs to drive forward as first priorities. Among these five was a recommendation pertaining to the Vanderbilt Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education office, led by Dr. Don Brunson: “Recommendation: Sustain and expand the Diversity Recruitment Office for Graduate 1
Education (VU-EDGE), and increase collaboration with programs such as AccessStem (pairs students with disabilities with faculty mentors) and The KC Potter Center.” The VU-EDGE office and Dr. Brunson are currently a major resource on campus for the recruitment and retention of graduate student from underrepresented backgrounds. We are thankful for the work that has been done, and we look forward to seeing this work be sustained in the future. However, this work comes at a significant cost, particularly because there is simply so much work to do. The work Dr. Brunson does includes a variety of programs and activities ranging from organizing university visits, the Pre-VU PhD recruitment event, attending national graduate recruitment fairs, the Leadership Alliance summer research program, and a diversity recruitment fair. Altogether, these programs, which thus stated so far only focus on recruitment, can cost more than $1,000 per student. For example, typically, between 35 and 50 students participate in the Pre-VU program each year. These efforts currently account for over 40% of the VU-EDGE operating budget, and as such, sacrifices to programming need to be made in order to fund other successful programs. In addition, as noted, existing efforts primarily have focused on recruitment. Another recommendation delivered to the Chancellor at the end of the 2015-16 school year was to make Vanderbilt the leading producer of PhDs from diverse groups. The accomplishment of that goal requires not only work to get underrepresented students to attend Vanderbilt, but also requires work to get them to stay. As it stands now, a minority of the VU-EDGE office’s work can be focused on retention efforts because of the aforementioned budgeting challenges.
Solution We propose that a portion of the funds from this endowment go towards the expansion of the budget for the VU-EDGE office in the amount of $10,000.
IMPACT With increased funding, VU-EDGE can enhance its focus on retention. One important impact will be the collection of data to quantify Vanderbilt’s retention rates of graduate students from underrepresented groups and to qualify the pressures that inhibit retention in order to develop and implement innovative and effective strategies for retaining and producing PhDs from diverse groups. At many other universities, offices for diversity and inclusion in graduate education organize special seminars and mentoring opportunities—both with faculty and peer-to-peer—to help graduate students from underrepresented groups navigate the particular challenges they face in graduate school and as the enter the academic job market. The National Postdoctoral Association calls particular attention to the initiatives at Yale and the University of Washington. Increased funding for VU-EDGE will allow Vanderbilt to implement similar mentoring and seminar programs as well as to evaluate their effectiveness, positioning Vanderbilt as a true leader in retaining and producing PhDs from diverse
2
groups. Dr. Brunson and the VU-EDGE office have a suite of programs from which to choose from already, and it would be good for Vanderbilt for this office to be able to implement more programs.
IMPLEMENTATION The objectives outlined in this proposal will be implemented through the VU-EDGE office and directed by Dean Brunson, whose input was sought in the creation of this proposal.
ESTIMATED COST The cost for this proposal would be a recurring cost of $10,000.
3
