OHI In the News
Research Universities Empower Diverse Students, Faculty to Engage in Scholarship
INSIGHT Into Diversity
September 1, 2017
The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), one of the nation’s top-ranked research universities, has devoted many resources to supporting research by and about diverse scholars. While the university’s primary focus is the study of technology, the campus community recognizes the importance of understanding the cultural and social contexts in which this research takes place, which is why Georgia Tech supports interdisciplinary research focused on “the impact and power of tech in society,” says vice president of Institute Diversity Archie Ervin, Ph.D.
National Conversation
Even with Affirmative Action, Blacks and Hispanics Are More Underrepresented at Top Colleges Than 35 Years Ago
The New York Times
August 24, 2017
Even after decades of affirmative action, black and Hispanic students are more underrepresented at the nation’s top colleges and universities than they were 35 years ago, according to a New York Times analysis. The share of black freshmen at elite schools is virtually unchanged since 1980. Black students are just 6 percent of freshmen but 15 percent of college-age Americans. More Hispanics are attending elite schools, but the increase has not kept up with the huge growth of young Hispanics in the United States, so the gap between students and the college-age population has widened.
Professors See Charlottesville as a Starting Point for Discussions on Race
The Chronicle of Higher Education
August 18, 2017
Students aren’t always comfortable talking about race, especially at the beginning of the semester in a classroom led by a professor they don’t know yet. But this semester, Wendy Christensen, an associate professor of sociology at William Paterson University, in New Jersey, is starting off her course by tackling racism head-on. "Social Stratifications," will begin on September 6 with a discussion about the violent weekend in Charlottesville, Va., she said.
Study Finds Female Students Less Likely to Drop Engineering Program If Female Mentored
Phys.org
May 22, 2017
A pair of researchers with the University of Massachusetts has found evidence that suggests women are more likely to continue to pursue a degree in engineering if they have a female mentor. Nilanjana Dasgupta, an instructor, and her Ph.D. student Tara Dennehy paired first-year female engineering majors with older mentors for a year and then looked at the impact mentoring had the decision to continue pursuing their degree as they moved into their second year. They have published their findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Graduation Rates and Race
Inside Higher Ed
April 26, 2017
College completion rates vary widely along racial and ethnic lines, with black and Hispanic students earning credentials at a much lower rate than white and Asian students do, according to a report released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. These numbers likely won’t surprise most people who track higher education closely, as they fall in line with what other studies have found over the years, but “it will certainly reinforce the point that there’s more work to be done,” said Doug Shapiro, one of the lead authors of the report.
Why Young Girls Don't Think They Are Smart Enough
The New York Times
January 26, 2017
By the age of six, young girls are less likely than boys to view their own gender as brilliant. In later life, these differences in children’s perceptions are likely to be consequential. In fact, in a paper published in the journal Science in 2015, women are underrepresented in fields thought to require brilliance – fields that include some of the most prestigious careers in society, such as those in science and engineering. It may be that the roots of this underrepresentation stretch all the way back to childhood.
This Engineering Student Is Leading an Effort to Graduate 10,000 Black Engineers Annually
Mic
October 11, 2016
Despite African-Americans being 13.3 percent of the U.S. population, there's a disproportionately low number of black students graduating with technical degrees. In 2010, only 1 percent of black American college freshmen were in engineering programs, according to NSBE cited by The Atlantic. Some schools and nonprofits have noticed the gap and are taking calculated initiatives to change the current trends. In particular, the NSBE set what Nelson called a "big, hairy, audacious" societal goal of getting 10,000 black engineering graduates annually by 2025. But it's going to take focus and commitment.
Hispanic Heritage Month
NBC News
September 15, 2016
Hispanic Heritage Month, beginning September 15 and continuing throughout a month-long celebration, centers around the history and culture of U.S. Latinos and their families' homelands. The period includes the anniversaries of independence of several Latin American countries (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chile, Belize, and Costa Rica) as well as Columbus Day on October 12. As the voice of American Hispanics, NBC Latino is proud to promote our rich cultural history and highlight the contributions of Latinos who are making a difference through their work and their stories.
Freshmen Starting Georgia Tech Set New High for Achievement
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
August 16, 2016
As has been the trend in recent years, Georgia Tech's credentials set new highs for an incoming class. The students represent 69 countries, 43 states, 89 Georgia counties, and 1,429 high schools (307 in Georgia). The class is 42 percent female — an Institute record for the second year — and 58 percent male.
Five Facts about Latinos and Education
Pew Research Center
July 28, 2016
Educational attainment among U.S. Latinos has been changing rapidly in recent years, reflecting the group’s growth in the nation’s public K-12 schools and colleges. Over the past decade, the Hispanic high school dropout rate has declined and college enrollment has increased, even as Hispanics trail other groups in earning a bachelor’s degree.
More Female International Students Pursue STEM Degrees at U.S. Universities
U.S. News & World Report
July 19, 2016
According to the U.S. government's Student and Exchange Visitor Program, the total number of active female international students studying STEM in the U.S. increased more than 68 percent from 76,638 students in 2010 to 128,807 in 2015, with the largest increase at the master's degree level. The majority of those students were from India and China.
Are Colleges’ Diversity Efforts Putting Students in ‘Silos’?
The Chronicle of Higher Education
May 15, 2016
But critics of Connecticut’s housing project and similar efforts say such diversity "silos" can be limiting, leading students who identify with particular groups to confine much of their intellectual and social life to narrow factions. One recent study suggests that membership in ethnically segregated organizations can actually increase tensions among students of different races. And some critics go further, saying these silos are nothing more than segregation in disguise.
