Role Models, Pipelines, and "Secret Handshakes": The Influence of the Grad Prep Academy

• In Event: 69.031 - Diversifying the Pipeline to Professor: Insights From the Grad Prep Academy

Abstract

My name is Chauncey Smith and I am currently a doctoral candidate in Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan. As a member of the inaugural cohort of the Grad Prep Academy, I am excited to serve on this panel and share more of the following points regarding the influence of the Grad Prep Academy on my graduate school experience:

The Role Model Effect

Upon reflecting on the Grad Prep Academy, one of the most influential features for me has been the introduction to role models in academia. These role models, turned friends, are all Black men working at various stages within and toward the professoriate. Admittedly, as a student at Morehouse College (an all men’s historically Black college), I had the privilege of being taught and mentored by more Black professors than most of my peers at any other institution of higher education; however, the Grad Prep Academy presented me with the unique opportunity to be mentored by Black men who were currently navigating predominately White, research-intensive environments. Interacting with role models from these environments increased my awareness around the privileges, challenges, and everyday nuances of being a faculty member and graduate student at predominately White, research-intensive institutions.

A Pipeline-Community

The Grad Prep Academy initially reads as a pipeline for Black men to the professoriate–and thankfully, it is. My colleagues will concur that more Black men are needed in faculty roles at all forms of institutions of higher education. A critical feature of successful academic pipelines, especially among underrepresented and underappreciated groups, is the building of community. The communities that have nurtured, challenged, and affirmed me along the way influence my sense of efficacy around navigating graduate school and my upcoming faculty role (Curry School of Education, University of Virginia) heavily. The community built within the Grad Prep Academy provides resources for success, opportunities for research collaborations, and a space to check in around general wellness. Rather than being forced through a pipeline, I have felt like I was assisted and accompanied by peers and mentors.

Sharing “Secret Handshakes”

Much like progressing through industry and corporate environments, there are strategies involved in successfully navigating academia; from graduate school applications to faculty job offer negotiations and achieving tenure. These high stakes strategies, sometimes operating like “secret handshakes,” may have implications for academic and professional success. For me, the influence of role models and community are amplified when it comes to the sharing of such strategies. Discussions with role models in the Grad Prep Academy tend to yield awareness of concrete options that are not forthcoming in the face of problems and resources to prevent unnecessary challenges. The community of Black men peers in graduate school not only allows for the sharing of strategies, but also serves as a way to feel connected to other traveling the mysterious terrain of academia. Graduate study tends to be isolating generally; however, that isolation may be exacerbated in the case of Black men and those of other underrepresented identity intersections.

Author

• Chauncey Delorian Smith, John H. Hopps Defense Research Scholars - Morehouse College - SROP - University of Michigan