More than one-third of America's college students are people of color. But the percentages of college and university faculty who are members of racial/ethnic minority groups are only small fractions of the total. Nationwide, about 5 percent of faculty are African-American, about 3 percent are Hispanic and about 1 percent are Native American. The SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program is working to change that.

The program is part of a nationwide initiative, the Compact for Faculty Diversity, to produce more minority Ph.D.s and encourage them to seek faculty positions.

Dr. Betina Wilkinson, a new faculty member at Wake Forest University and the program's 500th graduate, describes what the program has meant to her.

Developed with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Ford Foundation, the program offers financial support and other services to doctoral scholars nationwide. SREB also hosts the annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, the largest gathering of minority doctoral scholars in the country.

More than 500 Graduates and Counting

Through the program, SREB states share resources, work to expand their minority applicant pools, support qualified candidates with financial assistance, and assist graduates and higher education institutions in identifying employment opportunities. Since its founding in 1993, the Doctoral Scholars Program has supported more than 900 scholars at 83 institutions in 29 states.

Dr. Abraham, program director, discusses increasing minority faculty in this interview by Dr. Lamont Flowers, director of the Houston Center for the Study of the Black Experience in Education at Clemson University.

In 2010, the program received the prestigious John Hope Franklin Award by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine and proudly marked its 500th graduate. The program currently assists more than 300 scholars actively pursuing Ph.D.s. More than 80 percent of its graduates have begun academic careers in higher education, and more than 70 percent are employed in SREB states. The next participant could be you.

To apply:

See the menu for new applicants at left.

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SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program

Increasing Faculty Diversity

More than 500 Graduates and Counting

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