Grants from the Sloan Foundation and the National Science Foundation will improve equity and community across the graduate student experience
The University of Colorado Boulder is one of ten recipients to receive a grant from the Sloan Centers for Systemic Change initiative, the foundation recently announced.
This award aims to transform doctoral programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields by removing entrenched barriers to student success, improving student outcomes and creating educational environments that are more effective and equitable for all.
The Graduate School was awarded $250,000 to further develop its mentoring program for both faculty and students with the aim of improving equity and community across the graduate student experience.
In addition to the grant award, Sloan is also supporting each institution’s participation in the Equity in Graduate Education Consortium, a networked improvement community that equips participants with research, tools and change management strategies to achieve systemic change.
“This grant from the Sloan Foundation fits nicely with one of the longstanding major priorities of the Graduate School: to greatly improve graduate mentoring on campus and to broaden the use of best practices in inclusive mentoring,” said Scott Adler, the dean of the Graduate School and the vice provost for graduate affairs.
Specifically, the Graduate School will use the grant to:
- Build a more vigorous community of faculty engaged in improving mentorship of graduate students and support those faculty in improving their mentoring.
- Provide support from the Equity in Graduate Education Consortium to multiple departments eager to make systemic changes to their mentoring structure.
- Expand the current inclusive mentoring micro-credential.
- Promote community building among graduate students.
I have no doubt that these ten institutions are well on their way to becoming national leaders in reshaping STEM doctoral programs in ways that allow every student not only to succeed but to thrive.
Lorelle Espinosa, program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
“This grant is part of a bigger effort to create synergies between our mentoring initiative, which included the hire of Natasha Shrikant from the College of Media, Communication and Information as its director, and our efforts to widen access to graduate programs and support a more diverse graduate student body,” Adler commented.
Applications for funding were assessed for the quality of planned activities, the breadth of participating departments on campus and the depth of institutional commitment to identifying and addressing systemic barriers to success in graduate education.
The Sloan Centers for Systemic Change initiative builds on Sloan’s University Centers for Exemplary Mentoring program, now concluding. That program found large, positive impacts on student outcomes, including much higher retention and graduation rates of participating Sloan Scholars than are observed nationally for underrepresented students.
At the end of a successful two-year seed grant period, institutions will be eligible to apply for four-year, $1.4 million implementation grants from Sloan, which include scholarship funds for students in participating departments.
“We know that we can make graduate education in STEM better for everyone,” said Adam Falk, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, in the press release. “But systemic change is hard. What stands out about these institutions is their level of commitment and readiness. These are campuses that have a vision for how to be better and are eager to take the next step.”
Lorelle Espinosa, program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, echoed that sentiment: “The next two years are about laying the foundations for success. … I have no doubt that these ten institutions are well on their way to becoming national leaders in reshaping STEM doctoral programs in ways that allow every student not only to succeed but to thrive.”
The CU Boulder Graduate School was also recently awarded a $45,000 grant by the National Science Foundation to participate in the Broadening Participation in STEM Graduate Degrees and the U.S. STEM Workforce. This award will be used to examine general trends in graduate student admission for both domestic and international applicants, with an eye toward creating a diverse scientific workforce.
“These awards showcase the innovation happening in the Graduate School right now,” Adler said. “We’re making the Graduate School a more equitable and inclusive place by creating a welcoming community for all, and we couldn’t be more excited.”
Parts of this announcement are adapted from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s press release.