Minority STEM Faculty Members’ Socialization Experiences From Mississippi and Beyond

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Issues in Postsecondary STEM Education

Abstract

Addressing the disproportion of underrepresented minorities in the STEM fields, the Alliance of Graduate Education in Mississippi (AGEM) works to increase the number of underrepresented minorities earning doctorates who become faculty members in STEM fields. This qualitative study specifically explored the faculty socialization of AGEM graduates who entered into the professoriate as proper socialization increases the likelihood of a successful career in academia. Additionally, it addressed the AGEM program’s role in the preparation of its graduates for the faculty role. The results will add to the literature on the faculty socialization of minority professors in STEM. It will also indicate how government-funded programs like AGEM can help with the socialization, and thus increase, of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields.

Authors

• Ayana Milele McCoy, University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Amy E. Wells Dolan, The University of Mississippi