Access to Academe: The Importance of Mentoring to Black Students.

Abstract

Abstract An examination of the mentoring component of the Committee Summer Research Opportunity Program, designed to inspire racially diverse faculty to encourage Black students to enroll in graduate programs and to mentor them is described. The overall intent was to describe how mentoring affects the professional socialization and career paths of Black students as they prepare for a life in the professoriate. Interviews both former graduate and current undergraduate students in the Summer Research program revealed the influence of mentoring relationships during undergraduate and graduate years of study. Responses suggest the importance of mentorship in preparing Black American students for graduate education and expanding access to the professoriate by reducing social and occupational barriers and isolation within predominantly White academic institutions. Introduction Examining the experiences of underrepresented students is critical to understanding factors that influence the quality of socialization and mentorship of those individuals. Nettles' (1990) study of the differing experiences of non-White and White doctoral students revealed that Black and Hispanic students were more likely to view their institutions as racially discriminatory (with Black Americans holding the strongest views). Black students from low socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to receive fewer research and teaching assistantships. For example, Black students received 38% of assistantships compared to 62% of Hispanic students and 54% of White students. Further Nettles reported that White and Hispanic students were more likely to attend selective highly ranked undergraduate institutions than Black Students. Bowen and Bok ( 1998) recognized this credentialing effect on undergraduate education and suggested that earning a degree from a selective college or university often increased the likelihood of admittance to a highly ranked graduate and professional program. Lack of support and limited access to high quality undergraduate preparation may in turn influence the academic progress of some non-Wbite students aspire to join the professoriate. For instance, Zwick's (1991) study of graduate school admissions found that White and international students achieved the highest rates of doctoral candidacy, followed by Asian, Black, and Latino Americans. Similarly, graduation rates were higher for foreign students, were followed by their White, Asian, Black, and Latino peers. Graduation rates were also higher for men than for women. One assumption is that those students the highest rates of doctoral candidacy and graduation rates may have come from highly ranked undergraduate institutions. Also, they were more likely to have been warmly welcomed into doctoral study and mentored more so than others. Frank W. Hale (2004), vice provost and professor emeritus at Ohio State University, asserted that is one thing to admit students [and] faculty [members into programs of higher education]... it is quite another to accept them into a warming climate of inclusivity (p. 12) where they are supported through mentoring efforts. Boice (1992) indicated that rejection and isolation experienced by Blacks in academe often begins during graduate training as many may have access to social support systems through mentors. Strayhorn and Terrell (2007) implied that mentoring programs are needed to assist students with their adjustment to college, academic performance, and/or persistence decisions (p. 71). Furthermore, based on their review of literature, Holmes, Land, and Hinton-Hudson (2007) noted that faculty who participate in formal and/or informal mentoring relationships are more likely to persist and succeed in higher education than those do not (p. 105). Green and Bauer's (1995) two-year study of 233 incoming Ph.D. students examined factors needed for entrance and success in graduate school. Specifically, they noted how student potential is perceived, what forms of mentoring faculty advisors use, and how research productivity is advanced. …