Disparities in Publishing Between Minority & Majority Graduate Students in STEM Fields at Berkeley

Tuesday, October 20, 2015
12:00pm-1:00pm
240 Bechtel Hall (map)
Mark Richards
Professor of Earth and Planetary Science,UC Berkeley

Survey data collected from graduate students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at Berkeley suggest that both underrepresented minority and women graduate students publish fewer papers as graduate students, on average, than majority male students. While not definitive, the survey data suggest reasons for this disparity.  This and other studies indicate that performance expectations and how they are communicated in different departments might explain observed patterns of disparities in publishing. Mitigating against the effects of unclear expectations may be crucial for ensuring that minority students are fully competitive when applying for academic positions, and hence crucial to diversifying the academy.Join us as we discuss disparities between minority and majority graduate students in STEM field with Mark Richards.

Biography

 Mark Richards is a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at UC Berkeley. His research is focused mainly on understanding the relationship between processes in the deep interior of the Earth and surface manifestations such as plate tectonics and large-scale volcanism. Richards received the Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence in 2014, which is given to faculty for outstanding contributions to diversity on campus. He served as Dean of Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) from 2002-2014, and also as Executive Dean of the College of Letters and Science (L&S) from 2006-2014. As dean, Richards oversaw major facilities improvements in MPS, a doubling of the number of women faculty in MPS, establishment of the CalTeach, SMASH, and Berkeley Science Network programs, comprehensive strategic planning for undergraduate education in L&S, and the development of the new Teaching Excellence Colloquia and the Big Ideas Courses. He earned his B.S. in engineering science from the University of Texas, Austin, in 1977, and his Ph.D. in geophysics from Caltech in 1986. Missed the event? Check out the recorded session on Youtube