Engineering the Thermostat: Examining Factors That Warm Up and Cool Out Doctoral Students' Faculty Aspirations

• In Event: Pathways Through Math Across Levels of Schooling

Abstract

Scholars have increasingly strengthened their gaze on the STEM pipeline, especially as it relates to the underrepresentation of women and students of color. The later sections of the pipeline have received the least attention. Questions remain about the sections that extend beyond post-secondary education. Answers to these questions are pertinent given the stagnation in the representation of African Americans in engineering faculty positions. The purpose of this study is to examine the latter end of the pipeline by uncovering the factors that contribute to changes in engineering doctoral students’ aspirations to pursue academia. To achieve this goal, we rely on theories of warming up and cooling out and data from an original survey of doctoral students in U.S. engineering institutions.

Authors

• Stacey Houston, Vanderbilt University

• Ebony Omotola McGee, Vanderbilt Peabody College

• William H. Robinson, Vanderbilt University

• Lydia Bentley, Vanderbilt University

• Portia Kwartema Botchway, Vanderbilt University - Peabody College