Stanford Report, June 11, 2008
Twelve PhD students have been selected as the first cohort of the DARE (Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence) Doctoral Fellowship Program, a two-year award designed to help better prepare graduate students from diverse backgrounds for careers in academia.
The recipients are Deji Akinwande, electrical engineering; Jessica Allen, immunology; Matthew Anderson, genetics; Courtney Bonam, psychology; Nate Cardin, chemistry; Kenneth Gibbs Jr., immunology; Jennifer Harford Vargas, English; Laura Lopez-Sanders, sociology; Shantal Marshall, psychology; Marcela Muniz, education; Ronald Painter, chemistry; and Daniel Soto, applied physics.
"As a group, this inaugural cohort is diverse on a wide range of dimensions that we value in the university and in the academic profession," said Patricia J. Gumport, vice provost for graduate education. Stanford defines diversity broadly to include underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities; first-generation college students; women in natural science and engineering fields; gay, lesbian and transgender students; disabled students; and others whose backgrounds and experiences would diversify the professoriate in their academic fields.
The aim of the new $4.5 million program, which was announced last December, is to help advanced doctoral students in the last two years of their program, and whose presence will help diversify the professoriate, to investigate and prepare for and, ultimately, launch successful careers at colleges and universities.
Under the four-year program, Stanford will select 36 DARE fellows.
In addition to tuition and a stipend, the DARE Program provides an integrated set of activities designed to prepare students for the full range of faculty responsibilities and to enable them to take on academic leadership roles. Each fellow will receive up to $2,000 for a small project—such as mentoring an undergraduate or bringing speakers to Stanford—that is designed to enhance diversity on campus. Each fellow also will receive funding for a recruiting trip to a college or university to encourage promising undergraduates to attend graduate school.
Gumport said the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education received more than 100 "very impressive" applications from doctoral students in 37 departments, and the eight-member committee that reviewed the applications faced a "tremendously challenging task." Twelve alternates also were selected. http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/june11/dare-061108.html
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