Student Debt & Faculty Diversity
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Webinar Series
View the webinar recording
As tuition costs have risen over the past decade, student debt accumulation has reached critical levels. Beyond the eye-boggling dollar numbers in the headlines, however, it is important to dive deeper and understand how student debt has impacted certain student groups. In particular, students of color tend to carry a heavier student debt burden than their peers. When considering faculty diversity, this disproportionate student debt is concerning, given that students who have already accumulated high levels of debt from their undergraduate education may be less likely to pursue graduate school.
In this webinar, SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program alumni discussed why addressing the student debt crisis is a key component of diversifying the graduate school pipeline and ultimately diversifying the professoriate, as well as thoughts on how systemic policy change can help address this issue.
The webinar also referenced the SREB-DSP brief, Student Debt Stifles Faculty Diversity >
SPEAKERS:
Sybrina Y.
Atwaters, Ph.D., is an interdisciplinary sociologist
with research interests in sociology of technology and social
inequality. Her broad experience includes collaborative
research with the National Academies, Georgia Institute of
Technology, Iowa State University, the Fund for Theological
Education, and the Association of Theological Schools. She has
presented her work at both national and international
professional conferences. Her research has been published by
Spring International and John Hopkins University Press.
Dr. Atwaters currently serves as director, OMED: Educational Services, for Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Georgia Institute of Technology. She supervises several programs and grant initiatives under her purview, including the nine-time award winning African American Male Initiative (AAMI); Challenge, OMED’s signature five-week summer academic intensive residential program; and Focus, an annual institute-wide diversity graduate recruitment program; and the Women of Color Initiative (WOCI), a city-wide collaborative with Georgia Tech, Spelman College, Emory University, and STEM Atlanta Women non-profit. Most recently she became affiliated faculty with the School of History and Sociology.
Dr. Atwaters is a three-time graduate from Georgia Institute of Technology, receiving her B.S. in electrical engineering and master’s and Ph.D. in sociology of technology and science. She also earned her master’s degrees from Emory University in Theological Studies and Georgia State University in Instructional Technology. Dr. Atwaters has over nine years of experience as a senior wireless design engineer, eight years in STEM diversity research and programming, and 15 years in higher education instruction. More about Dr. Atwaters >
Elsa Camargo,
Ph.D., will begin her appointment as assistant professor of
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University
of Texas at Arlington in the fall. Between 2018 and
2021, she was an assistant professor of Higher
Education at the University of Arkansas and while
there also served as Junior Research Fellow at the Office
for Diversity and Inclusion. She holds degrees from Virginia
Tech (Ph.D. in Higher Education) and the University of Illinois
at Chicago (B.A. in English and Spanish and M.A. in Hispanic
Studies). Her research interests are in the areas of college
access and success for minority students and career advancement
of underrepresented faculty in higher education. Dr.
Camargo’s research areas of expertise are in diversity and
inclusion, organizational culture, and faculty. Currently,
Dr. Camargo is researching the experiences of Latino/a/x college
students in the Nuevo South. Her research has appeared
in academic journals including the Journal of Diversity
in Higher Education, Journal of Education and
Training Studies and Gender Transformation in
the Academy. She has also been invited to publish in
the Magazine of the Society of Women. More about Dr. Camargo >
Armon Perry,
Ph.D., is a professor and BSW Program Director at the
University of Louisville. Dr. Perry’s research efforts
center on the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and external factors
that influence men’s involvement in the lives of their children
and families, as well as the impact of that involvement on the
well-being of the family. The findings of his research have
pointed to the tools, resources, and experiences that shape men’s
ability to be involved fathers, the role that mothers play
in facilitating or truncating fathers’ involvement, and social
service providers’ attitudes toward engaging fathers. The
findings of Dr. Perry’s research have also highlighted the
relationship between fathers’ provision of instrumental and
effective support and positive outcomes for families, such as
fewer behavioral problems in children and lower levels of
reported maternal stress.
With regard to the potential impact of his work, Dr. Perry is interested in not only understanding the factors that encourage or discourage fathers’ involvement in the family, but ultimately, participating in projects to enhance the quantity and quality of their involvement. Consistent with his interest, Dr. Perry’s most recent project involves him serving as the PI on 4 Your Child, a federally funded project that provides responsible fatherhood, healthy relationship, and economic self-sufficiency services to non-resident fathers across several counties in Kentucky. To date, over 1000 fathers have been recruited into the program and preliminary data analysis indicate that fathers increase their parenting knowledge and report more empathy for their co-parents over time. More about Dr. Perry >