Black scholars speak on racial disparities in academia

Black scholars speak on racial disparities in academia

In this video, four black scholars discuss the major factors in racial disparities in academia.

According to umn.edu, Large segments of society are under-represented in science and engineering within academia at every level, but particularly among tenured professors. Moreover, the groups that are most under-represented are the fastest growing in the U.S. population. This is often attributed to challenges in recruiting graduate students and faculty from these groups. A new study published in PLoS One points to another key reason: retention.

“Although many academics wish to think of academia as unbiased, our findings indicate this is not the case: retention biases within academia are contributing to low diversity of scholars,” says lead author Allison Shaw, an associate professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior.

A common explanation for low diversity in academia is challenges with recruitment based on a lack of applicants. The new study shows that failure to retain scholars is a major contributor to disparities as well. Researchers from the University of Minnesota’s College of Biological Sciences used a combination of data from the National Science Foundation and a new mathematical model, which answers a ‘what if’ question: What would academia look like if there were no racial or ethnic differences in tendency to move between academic stages? Comparing the model predictions to NSF data quantifies how skewed representation actually is.

“This project is part of an effort to take the tools that biologists have developed to understand diverse and complex natural systems, and use them to apply a critical look at our own discipline,” says co-author Daniel Stanton, an assistant professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior in the college.

Black scholars speak on racial disparities in academia
Tags used for this video:

Black scholars speak on racial disparities in academia,academia,black scholars,tenured professors,PHD,low diversity of scholars,black people,black communities,black education,education,raising a black scholar,school,black community,black culture,black women,black men,black professors,diversity,inclusion,microagression,affirmative action,corporate america,racism,systematic racism,white supremacy,black PHDs,PWI,black students,teacher,most under-represented

#blackscholars #PHD #racism #racialdisparities

You can learn more about The Black Business School by visiting http://TheBlackBusinessSchool.com. You can learn more about the Dr Boyce Watkins Black Stock Market Program by visiting http://TheBlackStockMarketProgram.com.

Black scholars speak on racial disparities in academiaacademiablack scholars