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11/00 demeanor-Dumas

AFRICAN AMERICAN DOCTORAL STUDENT EXPERIENCES:
FACTORS THAT IMPACT PERSISTENCE AND GRADUATION
By

Lloyd Glen Bingman

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University .
In partial ﬁilﬁllment of the requirements
For the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Educational Administration

2003

ABSTRACT

AFRICAN AMERICAN DOCTORAL STUDENT EXPERIENCES:
FACTORS THAT IMPACT PERSISTENCE AND GRADUATION

By

Lloyd Glen Bingman

This study examines the experiences of Aﬁ'ican American doctoral students and
the factors that impact their graduate school successes. In so doing, it helps ﬁll the
current void in the graduate student literature. The data derive from one-on-one
interviews with ten Aﬁican American men and women who received their Ph.D. degrees
within the last four years. The interviews explored the factors that contributed to the
participants’ persistence in completing their degrees, the role race played in their student
experiences prior to and during their doctoral studies, and how their perceptions of their
race impacted their student successes.

The ﬁndings of this study, which counter the ﬁndings of some scholarly research,
demonstrate that race, rather than erecting potential barriers to success, can positively
impact the success of Aﬁ‘ican American graduate students. The participants received
profound emotional and academic support from ethnic minority college professors,
administrators, or student-peers who understood the potential racial barriers that Aﬁ'ican
American students can face on predominately White college campuses. Pride in being
Aﬁican American also contributed to the participants’ successes. Instilled early by their
families, this pride impelled the participants to perform well in their ﬁelds of study so
that they could serve as positive role models for African American students to follow

and, by disproving negative stereotypes of African Americans’ academic abilities, serve

as good representatives of their race. The study concludes with recommendations for

future research and actions derived ﬁ'om the ﬁndings.

«Wu-m ' --—

Copyright by
LLOYD GLEN BINGMAN
2003

 

To God, my comforter and counselor; to my wonderful and loving wife Teresa Bingman,
my biggest supporter; and to my mother Dorothy Bingman, who taught me the
importance of an education—thank you! This Ph.D. would not have been possible

without all of you.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank God for giving me the strength and motivation to complete
this Ph.D., particularly at those times when I felt so discouraged and alone. I would also
like to thank my wife, Teresa, and my children, Adam and Victoria, who showed me their
unconditional love throughout this entire doctoral process. Although I spent many nights
and weekends away in the library or on the computer at home, you were extremely
patient with me. I thank God for you. I am truly blessed to have such a loving and
supportive family. I also would like to thank so many of my ﬁiends, too many to list,
who provided encouragement by believing that I could, and would, succeed.

I offer many thanks to my advisor, Dr. Ann Austin, who spent countless hours
helping me to move forward with my research and produce quality work. I am extremely
grateful to have learned ﬁom her scholarship, wisdom, mentoring, and encouragement.
Thanks also to the other members of my dissertation committee—Doctors Steve Weiland,
Roger Baldwin, Karen Klomparens, and Lee June—for providing feedback during the
entire dissertation process. I also wish to thank Dr. Marylee Davis and the other
members of my guidance committee—Doctors John Dirkx, Anna Ortiz, and Gloria
Smith—for initially providing the guidance and advice I needed to move to the next level
of the doctoral process. Finally, I would like to thank the participants who graciously
accepted the invitation to become an intricate part of this study. This study would not

have been possible without their help.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of
Contents ................................................................................................................. .vii
Chapter 1
Introduction and Statement of the Problem ........................................... 1
Signiﬁcance of the Problem ............................................................. 3

. Purpose ofthe Study4

Chapter 2 Review of the Literature

Introduction ................................................................................... 6
The Role of Race in the Academy ...................................................... 7
Race and/or Ethnicity: Factors that impact African American
Persistence... l6
Racial and Ethnic Identity Theories .................................................. 20
Key Concerns and Findings of Graduate Education and Graduate
Education Research .............................................................. 27
Studies on Doctoral Student Attrition and Graduate Rates ........................ 29
Studies on Factors That Impact Doctoral Student Success ........................ 33
Comparisons between Ethnic Minority and Other Doctoral
Students' Experiences ......................................................... 38
Recommendations for Impacting Doctoral Student Persistence
and Graduation Rates” 44
Conceptual Framework of the Study . 5...1
Bingman' s Newly Constructed Model of Aﬁ'ican American Doctoral
Student Development .......................................................... 54
Chapter 3 Research Design and Sample and Methodology
Research Design and Sample ........................................................... 55
Research Methods ....................................................................... 57
Data Analysis ................................................................................ 58
Summary and Rationale for Study60
Exhibit 1: Participants' Biographical Sketches ........................................... 62
Table 1: Summary of the Participants' Biographical Sketches ........................ 71
Chapter 4 Prior Experiences That Influenced Success in Graduate School
Family Inﬂuence .......................................................................... 74
Parent's inﬂuence on choice of discipline & career ......................... 75
Parents and siblings: providing a sense of the importance of
Academics ................................................................ 76

Other Family Members: Motivating, Coaching or Encouragmg79
Spouses: providing guidance, advice, emotional support,
or taking on extra duties ................................................ 81

vii

Junior High and High School Experiences ............................................. 83
Junior high & high school experiences: participation in math &
science courses and activities/programs promote success"... . . . . ..84
Junior high & high school teachers: promoting success in math &

science ..................................................................... 86

Undergraduate College Experiences ...................................................... 88
Undergraduate college professors: providing research &

Job-Shadowing Program Opportunities, and Advice ................. 88

Spirituality: An Important Motivating Force to Pers1st92

Chapter 5 Aspects or Issues Connected with Race That Contributed to Success

Introduction... .. ...97
Participants' Perceptions of Race; .:100
Family Members' Inﬂuence on Participants' Perceptions of Their Race ......... 101
Role Modeling and Dispelling Stereotypes... . . . . ...105
Role modeling for the success of ﬁiture students ........................... 106
Dispelling stereotypes ........................................................... 109
College Professors and Administrators: Providing Support for Success ......... 110
Support from Aﬁican American professors inside the
department/program ................................................... 111
Support from other ethnic minority professors inside the
department/program ..................................................... 1 14
Support from Aﬁ'ican American professors outside the
department/program .................................................... 1 16
Support from African American college administrators outside
of the department/program ............................................. l 17
Support from Aﬁ'ican American professors at HBCUs .................... 119
Aﬁ'ican American Student-Peer Support ..................................... 122
Minority-Based Financial Aid: A Resource for Student Success .................... 127
Turning Potential Barriers into Motivators for Succesle9
"Just Dealing” with Racial Barriers ................................................... 136
When Race Was Not A Salient Issue ................................................... 142
Chapter 6 How Participants' Experiences in Their Department/Disciplines
Impacted Success
Introduction ................................................................................ 149
Feelings of Acceptance Lead to Success ............................................. 150
Using Strategies to Succeed ............................................................ 154
White Student-Peer Support ............................................................ 155
Support from White Advisers ......................................................... 156
Negative Experiences Encountered ................................................... 164

viii

Chapter 7 Discussion and Recommendations
Introduction .............................................................................. 171
Summary of Key Findings ................................................................ 173
Impact ofexperiences prior to graduate school... 173
Impact of discipline/department and the institution
on doctoral students ................................................... 173
Impact of students' awareness of racial and/or ethnic identity... ... .. ....174
Impact of race on experiences prior to and during graduate

school ................................................................... 174
Factors that motivated the participants' persistence in
completing the doctoral degrees ..................................... 175
Key Themes and Implications ................................................ 175
Effects of being positive role models and good representatives
of their race ............................................................. 176
Overcoming racism ..................................................... 178
Did racism exist? comparisons between math and
science and education students .............................. 180
Financial aid availability: math and science students
versus education students .................................... 181
The need for ethnic minority professors and mentors ............. 182
The need for Aﬁican American student-peer support ............. 184
Unexpected Findings ............................................................ 186
Recommendations for Future Research. ...................................... 187
Recommendations for Action .................................................. 190
Appendices
Appendix A Interview Protocol ............................................................... 196
Appendix B Invitation to Participate/Cover Letter ...................................... 201
Appendix C Consent Form ...................................................................... 202
References ........................................................................................... 203

Chapter 1
Introduction and Statement of the Problem

African Americans make up a small number and percentage of the doctorates
earned in the United States (Isaac, 1998; National Opinion Research Center, 1999;
Willie et al., 1991). One would expect, however, that the percentage of Aﬁican
Americans who earned doctorates should parallel the percentage of the Aﬁican
American United States population. According to a 1999 national study conducted
by the National Opinion Research Center (1999), African Americans earned 1596 or
approximately 3.8% of the 41,140 doctoral degrees received in 1999. Given tint the
proportion of the Aﬁican American population was approximately 12% in 1999
(US. Census Bureau, 2000), the percentage of the Aﬁican American doctoral
degrees earned was between three to four times less than the proportion of the
Aﬁican American US population.

Whites, however, earned 26,450 or approximately 64% of the doctoral
degrees received in 1999 (National Opinion Research Center, 1999). As a result, the
proportion of White doctoral degrees earned in 1999 was closer to their actual
percentage in the us. population—approximately 70% (US Census Bureau, 2000).
Hence, there is an imbalance in the percentage of Aﬁican American doctoral degrees
received compared to that of Whites.

There is another point that involves completion or graduation rates. The
point is that approximately 50% of all doctoral students who begin their doctoral
studies at colleges and universities obtain their degrees within ten years (Bair &

Haworth, 1999; Bowen & Rudenstine, 1992; Nerad & Cerny, 1991; Tinto, I993).

Based on the data at Michigan State University (MSU), there is not much difference
between the completion or graduation rate of Aﬁican Americans and other doctoral
students. At MSU, the 1999 graduation rate for Aﬁ'ican American doctoral students
was approximately 47% over 'a nine-year period (Michigan State University, 2002).
This completion rate of Aﬁican American doctoral students closely parallels that of
the national doctoral student completion rate (approximately 50% over a ten-year
period). Therefore, based on the information obtained ﬁ'om MSU, it appears that
persistence is not any more of a problem for Aﬁ'ican American doctoral students, at
least at MSU, than for any other doctoral students.

It is of great concern, however, that only about 3.8 % of the degrees offered
in 1999 were earned by Aﬁican American students. Since a relatively few number
of Aﬁican Americans enter graduate school, colleges and universities should be
especially concerned with helping these individuals persist or encourage their
graduation efforts. In addition to reporting completion rate data of African American
doctoral students, it has also been stated in the literature that “race” plays a
signiﬁcant role in the experiences of Aﬁican American graduate students, which can
also affect their graduation eﬁ‘orts (Banks, 1996; Steele, 1990; Themstrom &
Themstrom, 199D. Therefore, in this study, I examine what role “race” plays in
Aﬁ'ican American graduate student experiences and how Aﬁican Americans
perceive their racial identity as part of those student experiences.

Information that is lacking ﬁ'om the literature is the voice of Aﬁican
American doctoral students explaining their experiences in graduate school.

Therefore, in this study, I conducted personal interviews of Aﬁ'ican Americans who

 

succeeded in completing Ph.D.s to gain an understanding of their perceptions of their

graduate student experiences.

Significance of the Problem

The recent percentage of Aﬁ'ican American doctoral degrees offered in the
U.S. (about 3.8%) is signiﬁcant because if this percentage does not increase and
become more in line with the Aﬁ'ican American U.S. p0pulation, there will not be
enough African American scholars to meet the workforce demands of our country.
Based on the projected Aﬁican American and the Hispanic American U.S.
populations by 2010 (approximately 50% of the entire U.S. population), more
African American scientist and technological scholars will be needed to ﬁll positions
in the scientiﬁc community (Green, 1989). Willie et a1. (1991, p. 19) maintained,
“minorities will be needed increasingly to occupy positions in the scientiﬁc
comm1mity that were ﬁlled by white males.” The authors stated that the ‘production
of doctoral degrees among blacks is an indicator of the potential strength of the
United States as a world power in science and technology (1991, p. 19).” Therefore,
a major increase in the percentage of Aﬁican American doctoral degree recipients
will be needed, especially in the biological sciences.

To further explain this point, in 1999, Aﬁican Americans earned 116 or about
2% of the 5600 biological science doctorates received in this country, compared to
Whites who earned 3,139 or approximately 56% of the biological science degrees

(National Opinion Research Center, 1999). Therefore, as the U.S. Aﬁican American

population increases and Aﬁ'ican American scientists are needed to meet the

projected workforce demands, the number and percentage of Aﬁican American
doctoral degrees received must also increase.

In addition to increasing the percentage of Aﬁican American scientists to
meet expected workforce dermnds, more Aﬁ'ican Americans will also be needed to
meet the academic and workforce needs in other areas. For example, Isaac (1998)
maintained that there is a need for more African Americans to earn doctoral degrees
because they must serve as role models and contribute to the knowledge base of
industry, business, science, human services, the arts, and other ﬁelds. Therefore, '
based on the expected diverse needs of the U.S. workforce, efforts should be made to
increase the percentage of African American doctoral degrees earned so that a larger
proportion of Aﬁican Americans will be available to meet diverse workforce

demands.

Purpose of the Study

The purposes of this study are to examine the nature of graduate experiences
of some Aﬁican American doctoral students, the factors that contributed to their
decision to pursue a doctoral degree, what role race has played in their student
experiences prior to and during their graduate study, and their awareness or
perception of being Aﬁ'ican American as it relates to their graduate experience.
Given the problem presented in this study, I have focused on one major research
question: What are the experiences of some Aﬁican American doctoral students in

graduate school? Sub-questions include:

 

What prior experiences before graduate school may have affected their graduate
experience?

What experiences in the discipline/department or more broadly in the institution
were critical in framing their graduate experience?

0 What is their understanding or awareness of their racial and ethnic identity?
How does race impact or play a role in their experiences prior to graduate school

and as doctoral students?

What kept them motivated to persist in completing their doctoral degrees?
To answer these questions, I have interviewed ten Aﬁ'ican American doctoral
Students who have succeeded in completing their doctorates within the last three
Years. For the purpose of this study, success is deﬁned as “degree completion.”
Also, the terms Aﬁ'ican Americans and Blacks will be used interchangeably.

Chapter 2
Review of the Literature
Introduction

This section discusses the role “race” plays in the experiences of Aﬁ-ican
American students, as well as studies and factors pertaining to graduate education
regardless of race or ethnicity. Some of these studies and factors focus on graduate
student experiences in general, while others focus on graduate student experiences of
ethnic minority groups, particularly Aﬁican Americans. This review of the literature
is organized in several subsections: 1) The role of race in the academy, 2) Race
and/or ethnicity: tactors that impact Aﬁican American persistence, 3) Racial and
ethnic identity theories, 4) Key concerns and ﬁndings of graduate education and
graduate education research, 5) Studies on doctoral student attrition, 6) Studies of
factors that impact doctoral student success, 7) Comparisons between African
American and other doctoral students’ experiences, and 8) Recommendations for
impming doctoral student persistence and graduation rates. The section will
conclude with a summary of the literature review.

According to the literature, one concern of graduate education researchers is
the increase in student attrition among doctoral students for the past three decades
(Michigan State University, 1973; Tinto, 1991, 1993; Tucker et. al., 1964). As a
result of this concern, studies on doctoral student attrition and graduation rates are
examined to identify some of the causes of high attrition rates among doctoral
students (i.e., type of academic discipline and lack of academic and social integration

of the students within their departments or institutions).

After a discussion of the causes of attrition, studies on factors that impact
doctoral student success are examined. Some of these factors include maintaining
quality faculty-student and student-peer relatiomhips, maintaining enthusiasm for
work, working independently, obtaining ﬁnancial support, and planning ahead and
keeping records of data collection and other pertinent information. These factors
often impact doctoral students regardless of race or ethnicity. Other factors,
however, impact ethnic minority doctoral students as a result of their race or
ethnicity. To address these factors, comparisons between ethnic minority and other
doctoral students’ experiences are made. After making comparisons between ethnic
minority and other doctoral students’ experiences, a discussion pertaining to
recommendations for impacting doctoral student persistence and graduation rates is
presented. This discussion provides some recommendations found in the literature
for institutional leaders to follow tint could positively impact the persistence and
graduation rates of all doctoral students, particularly Aﬁ'ican American doctoral

students.

The Role of Race in the Academy

It has been argued in the literature that race plays a signiﬁcant role in the
experiences of Aﬁ'ican American graduate students (Turner & Myers, 2000; White,
1984; Willie et al., 1991). Some graduate experiences have adversely affected these
students’ learning outcomes, and as a result, have led many African American
students throughout the cormtry to seek ways to experience a more pleasant and

supportive learning experience and environment. Aﬁican American students have

sought to obtain such pleasant and supportive learning experiences and environments
by trying to sort out the meaning of their presence on campus (to themselves, to
Whites, and to their family and communities), and to ﬁght against racial
discrimination within their college campuses (Banks, 1996; Themstrom &
Themstrom, 1997; Turner & Myers, 2000; White, 1984; Willie et al., 1991).

Banks (1996, p. 173) maintained that at many colleges and 1miversities today,
Aﬁican American students “contend with academic challenges while sorting out the
meaning of their presence on campus—to themselves and to whites.” He reported
that often Aﬁ'ican Americans want to prove to themselves and to others on campus
that they can succeed academically and at the same time, make their campuses more
desirable places for their racial group to attend.

Prior to leaving for college, Aﬁican American students often are reminded by
their families that in order to become successful in college, they lmve to perform two
times better, academically, than their White ectmterparts (Banks, 1996). Not only do
Aﬁ'ican Americans feel compelled to work harder than other students; their families
ﬁ'equently maintain that because there are few Blacks attending predominately White
institutions, they are “representing the Black race” so they have to be careful about
how they present themselves (Banks, 1996). This sentiment of high achievement
and positive representation for the Black race has existed for decades.

Banks (1996, p. 182) reported that since the desegregation of schools, Blacks
are often told by their families, friends, and community leaders that they have “to be
brilliant,” while Whites can “afford to be simply satisfactory scholars.”

Consequently, many Aﬁ'ican American students attend college with the burden of

being paragons of their race because of the expectations that are placed on them by
their ﬁmilies and some community leaders (Banks, 1996). Not only do Aﬁ'ican
Americans feel the added pressure of performing well academically; they also
believe that they have to maintain an image that would positively represent their
families—many of whom have not attended college. In addition, they have to
maintain a positive image as a representative of “the entire Black race.”

For many years in society and particularly at college campuses, Aﬁican
Americans are stereotyped or characterized as being lazy, non-productive, stupid,
inferior, or often complaining about their circumstances more than any other ethnic
group (Steele, 1990). Although Aﬁ‘ican American parents instill in their children
that they are not inferior to any person or ethnic group, there still remains an
important question for African Americans: “If I am not inferior, why the need to say
so (Steele, 1990, p. 134)?” Mixed messages are conveyed to these individuals, and
because of the added pressure to prove these myths and stereotyping invalid, Aﬁican
Americans often take the initiative to nuke their learning environments and
experiences more positive for themselves and for their particular ethnic group.

Thus, Steele (1990, p. 138) explained that to disprove certain myths and
stereotyping of African Americans, African Americans often have to suppress their
feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, and inability to perform well in college and “bin-n
the midnight oil” studying (Steele, 1990, p. 138). Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated:
“Whenyouarebehind inafootrace,theon1y wayto getahead istonmfasterthan
the man in ﬁont of you” (Steele, p. 138). Dr. King’s comment suggested that if

Blacks expect to be able to compete with other ethnic groups in any task, particularly

with Whites, they must try much harder than Whites to become successful in their
endeavors.

Even though African Americans have tried harder academically to prove to
others that they are deserving of being acknowledged and respected as scholars and
intellectuals, often times, they are not recognized as such (West, 1991). Some White
scholars do not consider African American graduate students as scholars and
intellectuals because of perceptions of affirmative action programs and past student
activism (West, 1991). West (1991) maintained that some White individuals believe
that affirmative action programs assist minorities in gaining employment and
educational opportunities without having the appropriate credentials to obtain such
opportunities. West (1991, p. 133) argued, “perceptions ﬁreled by afﬁrmative action
programs” impact many Black student-White professor relations. He maintained that
the academy has been less receptive to embracing African Americans into its culture
because of “heated political and cultural issues such as the legacy of the Black Power
movement” and the “invisibility of Africa in American political discourse (p. 133).”
As a result of these events, relations between Black and White intellectuals have
suffered (West, p. 133). West further maintained that because of these events, White
scholars often view Aﬁican American students and Black intellectuals as “trouble
makers” and distance themselves ﬁom these individuals.

As a result of not being welcome in the academy, Aﬁican American scholars
often ﬁnd that opportunities for publishing in major journals are unavailable. West
(1991, p. 133) suggested that “this hostile climate” required African American

graduate students and African American professors to “fall back upon their own

10

resources—institutions, journals, and periodicals—which, in turn, reinforces the de
facto racially separatist practices of American intellectual life.” Furthermore,
maintaining high academic achievement and being unwelcome in the academy are
not the only challenges African American students and Aﬁican American professors
face at predominately White colleges and universities. Many of the African
American communities also shun these individuals (Black intellectuals) because they
perceive them as “uppity” or opportunists who cannot be trusted (West, 1991).

Because of some perceptions formed by Aﬁican American communities that
Black intellectuals think more highly of themselves and sometimes belittle people in
their communities for not taking the same educational opportunities that are provided
to them, Black intellectuals as a whole often lack the respect and support of their
communities (West, 1991). West (1991, p. 135) maintained that some individuals in
the Black community refuse to support Black intellectuals because they feel that
Black intellectuals’ efforts to become integrated into the academy are politically self-
serving and not in line with the “Afro-American cultural life.” Additionally, West
(1991, p. 135) posited that “the relatively high rates of exogamous rmrriage, the
abandonment of Black institutions, and the preoccupations with Euro-American
intellectual products are often perceived by the Black community as intentional
eﬂ‘orts to escape the negative stigma of Blackness or viewed as symptoms of self-
hatred.”

Though some Black intellectuals seek to provide a better way of life for
thenrselves and their families, and to become positive role models and

representatives for their communities, they are often viewed unfavorably. Many

ll

individuals of the Black community view these Black intellectuals as power, status,
and wealth driven—useless to their communities (West, 1991). West (1991, p. 136)
maintained that Black intellectuals’ “inability to transmit and sustain the requisite
institutional mechanisms for the persistence of a discernible intellectual tradition,
bouts with racism of American society, lack of Black community support, and hence
the dangling status of Black intellectuals, have prevented the creation of a rich
heritage‘of intellectual exchange, intercourse, and dialogue.” In other words, some
Black intellectuals lmve experienced difﬁculty when trying to engage in intellectual
dialogue because of negative perceptions of them ﬁom some Whites in the academy
and some members in the Aﬁican American community. As a result of these
circumstances, many Black intellectuals are ﬁnding it difﬁcult to gain respect as
scholars ﬁ'om academic institutions and their communities.

Another way in which African American students seek to obtain supportive
learning experiences and environments is to become political and social activists, to
break down racial injustices in order to ensure better learning and social experiences
for themselves and other African Americans students in the ﬁrture (Steele, 1991). In
the early 19003, Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-educated historian, maintained in his
book entitled: The Miseducation of the Negro (1933) that Blacks can only succeed at
predominately White institutions if they release their sense of self and cultural
integrity and embrace the integrity of mainstream culture. Aﬁ'ican American student
activists today, however, often do not follow this stance, and consequently, ﬁght for

parity within all facets of academic life.

12

From the time Black college students protested at White restaurant “sit-ins”
timing the Civil Rights Era, to current protests of Aﬁ'ican American college students
ﬁghting for respect as intellectuals and scholars, Aﬁ'ican American students have
become instrumental in instigating changes for better academic and social conditions
at predominately White colleges and universities throughout the country. Aﬁican
American student activists have been left with the clmllenge of protesting against
racial injustices and acts of discrimination. Although many African American
student activists have rmde great efforts throughout the years to ensure positive
learning outcomes for themselves and other Aﬁican American students in the future,
racial tensions and injustices still exist today on college campuses throughout the
country.

Steele (1990) reported that in 1986, Whites beat an Aﬁ'ican American student
at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst because of an argument related to the
World Series. He stated that the argument appareme turned into a “racial bashing,
with a crowd of up to three thousand whites chasing twenty blacks—to the
harassment of minority students and acts of racial or ethnic insensitivity (p. 127).”
Other racially motivated incidents have occurred at Yale University, the University
of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Auburn University, and
Stanford University.

At Yale University in 1989, the words “white power” were painted on the
university’s Afro-American cultural center. Steele (1990, p. 128) also reported that
not long after the Yale University incident, “racist jokes” were aired on a campus

radio station at the University of Michigan. Furthermore, Steele (1990, p. 128)

13

stated tint at “the University of Wisconsin at Madison (year not reported), members
of the Zeta Beta Tau ﬁ'aternity held a mock slave auction in which pledges painted
their ﬁrces black and wore Afro wigs.”

Similar incidents occurred on October 25 and 27, 2001, at Halloween parties
on Auburn University’s campus where members of two White ﬁaternities, Delta
Sigma Phi (“the nation’s ﬁrst fraternity,” whose membership consisted of several
“Christians” and “Jewish” persons), and Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, were suspended
from the university campuses for racially insulting African Americans. An internet
website article dated November 5, 2001 and entitled: “Fight Hate and Promote
Tolerance,” posted pictures of both fratemity’s Halloween parties where members of
these fratemities (Delta Sigma Phi and Beta Theta Pi) dressed in Ku Klux Klan attire
and “black face” and slave attire. Additionally, these fraternity members depicted a
lynching of a slave, where they posed near confederate ﬂags. Furthermore, some
members of these White fraternities were dressed to mock an all Black ﬁaternity—
wearing large Aﬁ'o-wigs, gold chains around their necks, and the Black fraternity’s
Greek letters “Omega Psi Phi” on purple t-shirts (BAI: 101, 2002). Both fraternities
and members of the ﬁ'aternities were suspended ﬁom the campus—pending a full
investigation of apparent violations of the university’s harassment and discrimination
policies (BAI: 101, 2002).

Themstrom & Themstrom (1997, p. 386) reported that in 1988 on Stanford
University’s campus, “two intoxicated white students defaced a Beethoven poster in
such a way as to make the composer look black.” This incidence took place in an

Aﬁican American residential house on the campus, which escalated to the point of

14

ﬂiers being posted throughout the campus with the word “nigger” printed on them
(Themstrom & Themstrom, 1997). Although one would like to believe that racially
motivated occurrences such as these are isolated, we must realize that incidences like
these can and do occur.

As a result of the many racially motivated occurrences throughout college
and university campuses in this country, it is clear that race does play a major role in
the experiences of African American students at all levels of higher education.

While Aﬁican Americans students come to college with the intent to perform well,
they also bring with them perceptions of how their actions and discussions will be
judged by their professors and classmates, how their actions and behaviors may
represent their racial group or communities in the eyes of others, and what their roles
are and how they “ﬁt in” the institution (Banks, 1996; hooks, 1994, West, 1991).

Some Aﬁican American students also feel compelled to promote social and
political equality for themselves and for Aﬁican Americans who attend these
institutiom in the future (Banks, 1996). Therefore, because of family expectations,
the Black community, and how Aﬁican Americans are treated by others on some
college campuses, African American students at all levels of education attend college
facing a host of circumstances and potential occurrences that White doctoral students
may never have to encounter (Banks, 1996). Therefore, “race” plays a signiﬁcant
role in Aﬁ'ican American students’ lives, which often begins long before they enter
college (White, 1984). The following section will address how race and ethnicity

have impacted the lives of rrrany Aﬁican Americans, which could also affect how

15

these individuals View themselves and their roles in society prior to attending

doctoral programs.

Race and/or Ethnicity: Factors That Impact African American Persistence

The race and/or ethnicity of Aﬁican Americans can impact their persistence
and achievement in various venues. One way in which race and/or ethnicity can
impact Aﬁ'ican Americans’ persistence and achievement is through discussions about
race issues between Blacks and Whites. Some Blacks and Whites choose not to
discuss race or ethnicity when conversing with others, particularly in classroom
settings where discussion participants include individuals of both races (Anderson,
1994; hooks, 1994). When race is brought up in discussions, some ethnic minorities
may ﬁnd it difﬁcult to participate in such discussions because of how they may be
perceived as spokespersons or experts concerning issues related to their race or
culture (hooks, 1994). These nrisperceptions sometimes make these individuals feel
uncomfortable, and consequently, cause them to not participate in such group
discussions (books, 1994).

Also, White group members often ﬁnd it difﬁcult or uncomfortable to
participate in discussions of race because of their lack of knowledge concerning this
topic (hooks, 1994). Unfortunately, this lack of discussion on race may also be one
reason why little information is presented in the literature from Aﬁ'ican American
doctoral students’ viewpoint concerning the role that race plays in their experiences
as they persist toward graduation. To shed light on how the role of race impacts

African American doctoral student experiences prior to graduate study, this section

16

 

will include information about how the nature of race and the lack of self-
empowerment and motivation lmve adversely impacted the persistence and
opportunities for Aﬁican Americans to collectively obtain quality living conditions
in general.

To illustrate how issues of race have impacted Aﬁican Americans’ quality of
life, Herbert (1989, p. 64) maintained that the “Black experience in the United States
has been and continues to be consistently and signiﬁcantly diﬁerent ﬁom the White
erqrerience.” He posited that these experiences are different because of how the
nature of race has evolved over the past 300 years.

For example, past acts of racial discrimination against Blacks during the
slavery era and civil rights movement (Anderson, 1994) to present day occurrences
of racism demonstrate that there still are racial problems and tensions throughout
American society. For example, in June 1998, a Black Texas man, James Byrd, Jr.
was killed after being chained to a pick-up truck and dragged for two miles on a rural
East Texas road by three White men. Members ofthe Ku Klux Klan rallied in
support of the murder suspects in front of the county courthouse in Jasper, Texas
soon after the murder of Mr. Byrd (CNN. Com, 1998). These acts continue to occur
in America, which according to the United States Constitution prides itself in
fostering equal treatment and opportunity for all Americans, regardless of race, color
or mtional origin. Fortunately, not all Americans treat others diﬂ‘erently or prejudge
them based solely on their race or ethnicity.

According to Herbert (1989), “racism can broadly be deﬁned as the

transformation of race prejudice and/or ethnocentrism through the exercise of power

17

against a racial group deﬁned as inferior by individuals and institutions with the
intentional or unintentional support of the entire culture (p. 67).” He further asserted
that racism could be characterized as individual, institutional, or cultural. Individual
racism involves the belief of an individual that his/her race is superior over another
person’s race, and as a result, the discriminating individual treats that person or
ethnic group as inferior or unequal (Herbert, 1989). Herbert (1989) further
maintained that this type of racism is not inherited. He contended that it is
“transmitted and nurtured by the socializing inﬂuences of institutions (1989, p. 68).”
Institutional racism, however, involves individuals who affiliate with particular
institutions to use or manipulate constitutions or rules to maintain an advantage over
others whose race or ethnicity is different from the majority of the institution’s group
members (Herbert, 1989). Cultural racism, however, is somewhat different from
individual and institutional racism.

Herbert (1989) suggested that cultural racism “is the individual and
institutional expression of superiority of one race’s cultural heritage over that of
another race (p. 68).” Therefore, Herbert suggested that individuals or a group of
individuals who dislike or treat others diﬂeremly or unfairly because their culture is
different ﬁ‘om theirs might be considered to be practicing cultural racism. These
types of racist behaviors or acts can adversely impact the persistence of Aﬁican
Americans to have a better quality of life for themselves and for their ethnic or
cultural groups. Furthermore, African American students might internalize such
behaviors—resulting in lack of self-empowerment or motivation (Anderson, 1994;

Haymes, 1995; Lusane, 1997; West, 1994).

18

 

According to Anderson (1994), lack of self-empowerment or lack of
motivation ofAﬁican Americans can hinder African American students in obtaining
better living conditions. For example, since the Civil Rights Era, Aﬁican Americans
have collectively made great strides in obtaining opportunities for a higher
education, employment, better housing, and positions in the political arena
(Anderson, 1994). Furthermore, income levels and opportunities for Aﬁican
Americans to own businesses have increased over the past few decades (Anderson,
1994). Many of these individuals have obtained these advances because they were
either encouraged intrinsically or by others to obtain a better quality of life. This
type of encouragement has prompted African Americans to become self-empowered
to do better for themselves and their communities (Lusane, 1997; West, 1994).

West (1994, p. 11) stated that African Americans “must admit that the most
valuable sources for help, hope and power” consist of themselves and their
“common” history. In other words, if Aﬁican Americans are to prosper, they should
look within themselves or look into the lives and contributions of famous Black
leaders who inspired them such as: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Civil Rights leader)
(West, 1994) and Thurgood Marshall (ﬁrst Aﬁ-ican American Supreme Comt
Justice). '

Although some circumstances related to Aﬁican Americans’ race or ethnicity
and lack of self-empowerment and motivation adversely impacts their persistence
and opportunities to collectively obtain quality living conditions, looking within
themselves or into the lives and contributions made by Black leaders can positively

impact how they perceive their racial and ethnic identity. Many Aﬁ'ican Americans

19

who come to grips with their racial and ethnic identity or who are aware of their
racial and ethnic identity often are able to face many racial challenges in American
society, a society which has traditionally discriminated against Aﬁican Americans
and other minorities. Thus, how some Aﬁ'ican Americans perceive their race and
ethnic identity can also impact how they are able to face various racial challenges on
college campuses. These racial challenges could strongly impact their student
experiences if they are unaware of or unfamiliar with their racial and ethnic identity
(White, 1984). Therefore, in the next section, three theories of racial and ethnic

identity are examined.

Racial and Ethnic Identity Theories

Given that this study examines the role race plays in the graduate school
experiences of African American doctoral recipients and their perception of being
Aﬁ'ican American, it is important to consider the concept of race and ethnic identity.
Although there are several racial and ethnic identity theories presented in the
literature, below I discuss three of the more salient ones—provided by White (1984),
Cross (1991), and Helms (1995).

According to several writers, Aﬁican Americans must come to grips lwith
their racial/ethnic identity in order to overcome or suppress feelings of oppression
and personal worthlessness perpetrated by occurrences in mainstream society (Cross,
1991; Helms, 1995; Ivey, 1995; White, 1984). White (1984) contended that Black
youth could establish their sense of worth through the network of family and peers in

the immediate Black community. These types of nurttuing and support systems are a

20

few strategies that often assist Aﬁican American adolescents in ﬁghting against or
resisting the economic, psychological, and social effects of oppression (White,
1984).

White (1984) further maintained that African American youth and
adolescent’s problem-solving skills, self-conﬁdence, and resilient attitudes that
develop during their pre-adolescence years will assist them in persevering although
their range of opportunities in society may be limited. However, if African
American adolescents and young adults have not sufﬁciently internalized the African
American culture and the philosophies provided by members of that culture, they
may have a more difﬁcult time in overcoming feelings of oppression and self-
worthlessness (White, 1984). White (1984, p. 95) argued that African Americans
can become “vulnerable to feelings of ﬁrtility, despair, and doubt about their own
worth as human beings, feelings that can prevent the healthy resolution of issues
associated with establishing a solid identity.”

African Americans can establish or become aware of their identity through
knowledge of certain racial identity theories (Hehns, 1995; Ivey, 1995; Leong et. a1,
1995). These racial identity theories can help Aﬁican Americans in the
identiﬁcation and acceptance of their race and ethnicity by explaining certain levels
of developmental stages that people of color often transition through in order to gain
an awareness of their racial identity (Dolby, 2000; Helms, 1995; Ivey, 1995).
Therefore, one can speculate that the more advanced these individuals are in
transitioning through these developmental stages, the more advanced they will

become in identifying with their racial identity. Once people of color identify with

21

their racial identity, they will most likely be prepared to overcome societal barriers
that can adversely impact their graduate student experiences (White, 1984).

One racial identity theory tlmt is primarily used to explain certain identity
developmental stages Aﬁican Americans encounter is Cross’ (1971, 1991) “Negro-to
Black Conversion Model,” also known as “Nigrescence Racial Identity Model.” In
his Model, Cross (1971, 1991) maintained that there are ﬁve different stages of racial
identity development that Aﬁ'ican Americans can move through as they interact with
individuals ﬁom other racial groups. These stages are the pre-encounter stage, the
encounter stage, the immersion-emersion stage, the internalization stage, and the
internalization commitment stage (Cross, 1971, 1991; Marks, 2000). These stages
are described as follows:

0 The pre-encounter stage exists when Aﬁican Americans do not
acknowledge the importance of race in their lives and concentrate on
another group afﬁliation such as religion (i.e., Baptist, Catholic,
Jewish), socio-economic status (i.e., working class), or gender
aﬁiliation (i.e., woman or man).

0 The encounter stage is Blacks’ ﬁrst encounter with identity that often
shapes their early development with immediate family, extended
family, neighborhood and community, and schools. This stage covers
persons’ years of childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Also,
in this stage, Blacks often experience an incident or event that may
cause them to move from the pre-encounter stage to the encounter

stage. For example, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was

22

assassinated, many Blacks felt a need to explore or gain a deeper
rmderstanding of the Black Power Movement. F ruthermore, in this
stage, college students often become student activists—trying to
foster better student experiences and outcomes for themselves and
other African American students who will attend their institutions in
the future.

The immersion-emersion stage is a two-part phase. In the immersion
phase of this stage, Aﬁican Americans immerse themselves in the
Black or Aﬁ'ican culture. These persons often attend political or
cultural meetings that focus on Black issues, drop memberships from
groups attended while in the pre-encounter stage, or attend Black
“rap” sessions, seminars, and art shows that focus on “Blackness” or
Afro-centricity. The second phase of this stage is when Aﬁican
Americans think about liberating themselves of the “old-self” or the
immersion phase. Although they have yet changed, they have made a
decision to commit themselves to change—viewing their Blackness
less emotionally than in the immersion phase. The emersion phase
allows individuals to gain a better sense of their Blackness through
certain encounters or experiences that are signiﬁcant. For example,
African Americans who meet a well-known Black role-model who
brings a sense of quality to their Blackness, or read about the life of
one, may rid themselves of the immersion phase that caused them to

become totally immersed in the Black culture. Blacks in the

23

‘ immersion-emersion stage have not made a change because they are

I unfamiliar with the “new-self” and are awaiting clear-cut indicators
that conﬁrm that they are moving in the right direction.

The internalization stage exists when Aﬁican Americans have
identiﬁed themselves as Black or Aﬁican American and have
psychologically agreed to balance their cultural needs with the
cultural demands of mainstream society in order to adapt.

The internalization-commitment stage exists when Blacks have made
a commitment to develop a plan of action and begin living their lives
according to their phrns. These plans may include obtaining higher
educational opportunities, economic gains, or positions within the
political arena. Furthermore, these individuals have determined that
they will let nothing or no one interfere with these plans. Blacks in
this stage also have come to the realization that in order to prosper,

they must integrate into the majority culture.

Although Cross’ racial identity model was a traditional model that only considered

African Americans, it provided information concerning how Aﬁican Americans

established their racial identity.

Helms’ (1995) Racial Identity Model, which was drawn ﬁom Cross’ (1971,

1991) “Nigrescence Racial Identity Model,” maintained that historically, racial

identity theory focused on racial contexts as opposed to cultural contexts. First

authors of racial identity theory only considered race when assisting Aﬁican

Americans in the identiﬁcation and acceptance of their race or ethnicity and did not

24

take into consideration their cultural environments (Helms, 1995). Also, early racial
identity theorists referred to race in terms of the skin color of Aﬁican Americans or
Whites (i.e., “Black” or “White”) and did not take into consideration other persons of
color (Peller, 1995; Thernstrom & Themstrom, 1997). In other words, racial identity
theory evolved ﬁ'om a historical conclusive view, particularly during the Civil Rights
Era, that “race” would be used solely to describe the physical feature of individuals
(the color of their skin) (Pellet, 1995).

As a result of traditional racial identity theory not considering all persons of
color (i.e., bi-racial, Latino/Latina) and societal racial stereotypes associated with
oppression, non-traditional racial identity theorists have developed theories to
accommodate all people of color (Helms, 1995). Helms (1995, p. 189) reported that
the new way of viewing racial identity theory is for “all people of color to recognize
and overcome the psychological manifestations of internalized racism”—“societal
racial stereotypes and negative self-and own-group conceptions.”

Helm’s (1995) racial identity model points to ﬁve pluses that people of color
often go through to achieve racial identity:

0 The conformity status pre-encounter phase deﬁnes selfvia external
inﬂuences that devalue individuals’ own group and up-hold White
standards of merit.

a The dissonance status encounter phase suggests that individuals are
unsure or confused about their own socio-racial group commitment

and mm or confused about how to deﬁne “self.”

25

o The immersion/emersion status phase suggests that individuals’ have
recognized their own socio-racial group and have an understanding of
the belittlement expression: “acting White.”

0 The internalization status phase maintains that individuals have a
positive commitment to their own socio-racial group, internal
deﬁnition of own racial attributes, and respond objectively to the
dominate group.

0 The integrative awareness status phase maintains that individuals are
able or capable of valuing their own collective identities and able or
capable of empathizing or collaborating with members of other
oppressed groups.

As can be seen from the discussion of racial identity theory, it is highly likely that
how one sees himself or herself racially will inﬂuence how one views life
experiences and is able to deal with those experiences accordingly. In this section, I
leave discussed how some racial identity theorists have provided theories about how
race and identity awareness can be used by Aﬁican Americans to assist them in their
racial and ethnic identity development.

Although the graduate education literature has provided information ‘
concerning how race plays a signiﬁcant role in the graduate school experiences of
African Americans, it has also provided much information about other factors that
could play a signiﬁcant role in the experiences of graduate students regardless of

their race or ethnicity. In the next section, I closely examine these factors.

26

Key Concerns and Findings of Graduate Education and Graduate Education
Research

Recently, there has been signiﬁcant dialogue and debate calling for reform
and improvement of graduate education. Some graduate education researchers have
expressed concern that there are few studies and institutional research concerning
best practices for ensuring graduate student success. As a result, more research on
graduate education is requested (LaPidus, 1998; Nyquist, 2001). Studying issues
associated with graduate education and graduate education research is important
because these data may enable leaders of graduate programs to gain a better
understanding of whether they are meeting students’ academic needs and providing
them with the necessary skills to become gainfully employed after they have
completed their programs of study (LaPidus, 1998; Nyquist, 2001).

Recent studies show that some graduate programs are not providing doctoral
students with a sufﬁcient variety of skills to meet their academic training needs to
address expectations they will face in faculty positions. Chris Golde and Timothy
Dore (2001) studied over 4000 doctoral students (via national survey) in eleven arts
and sciences disciplines at twenty-seven selected universities. They concluded: “In
today’s doctoral programs, there is a three-way mismatch between student goals,
training and actual careers (p. 5).” The authors maintain that “doctoral students
persist in pursuing careers as faculty members, and graduate programs persist in
preparing them for careers at research universities” (p. 5) despite other career options
(i.e., non-academic settings) that are available for doctoral recipients. Therefore,

according to some education researchers and graduate students, the preparation that

27

some graduate programs provide to students does not adequately train graduate
students for available faculty positions at non-research—based universities, nor do
some of the graduate programs effectively train students to perform work outside of
research settings (Nyquist, 2001).

Another concern ﬁom both researchers and students is that many graduate
programs are not effectively communicating to students the amount of work and the
level of persistence that are required to successfully complete the programs. For
example, according to Golde and Dore (2001, p. 29), many doctoral students
maintain tint their graduate programs did not provide them with sufficient
information pertaining to “time, money, clarity of purpose, and perseverance that
doctoral education entails.” Jerry G. Gaﬂ‘, Vice President of the Association of
American Colleges and Universities, urged, in his speech at the 1 1'11 Annual
Teaching Renewal Conference held at the University of Missouri in February 2001,
that the above-mentioned concerns of graduate students can be resolved, and many
doctoral programs are working to resolve these concerns (Nyquist, 2001).

Austin (2002) cited four concerns that have emerged ﬁ'om a longitudinal
qualitative study of doctoral students’ experiences. These concerns include: 1) lack
of systerrratic training and professional development for future careers in non-
academic institutions, 2) lack of mentoring and advising from faculty, 3) lack of
career exploration and knowledge about the realities of faculty work, and, 4) lack of
opportunities for guided reﬂection (assisting students through various stages of
doctoral study). These concerns are important to the study of graduate education and

education research among doctoral students, regardless of race and ethnicity. Most

28

of the studies conducted, however, did not speciﬁcally address the concerns of

ethnically diverse doctoral students.

Studies on Doctoral Student Attrition and Graduation Rates

Since improving graduate education and graduate research has been a
concern of some doctoral student educators for several years now (N yquist, 2001),
educational researchers have conducted studies on doctoral student attrition to
identify the causes of high attrition rates among doctoral students. Some of these
causes are directly related to the type of academic discipline (ﬁeld of study) in which
students are enrolled, and the lack of academic and/or social integration of the
students within their departments or institutions (Bair & Haworth, 1999; Lovitt’s,
2001; Tinto, 1991).

According to some researchers, doctoral student attrition rates vary by
students’ ﬁeld of study (Bair & Haworth, 1999). For example, the lowest attrition
rates (approximately 38%) were found in the laboratory sciences, whereas the
highest attrition rates (approximately 54%) occurred in the social sciences and
humanities’ ﬁelds between 1970 and 1998 (Bair & Haworth, 1999; Bowen &
Rudenstine, 1992; Nerad & Cerny, 1991). i

The low attrition rates found in the laboratory sciences are attributed to
students being active participants with faculty and peers on research projects where
students work in a closely monitored environment with continuous advisement (Bair
& Haworth, 1999; Bowen & Rudenstine, 1992; Nerad & Cerny, 1991). Also,

doctoral students who are in laboratory science ﬁelds generally receive funding

29

through faculty members’ research grants to further their studies. On the other hand,
doctoral students in the social science and humanities ﬁelds most often do not
receive such funding opportunities (Bair & Haworth, 1999; Bowen & Rudenstine,
1992; Nerad & Cerny, 1991). As a result ofthese study ﬁndings, students enrolled
in the sciences comprise more than ﬁfty percent of the degree completers (Bair &
Haworth, 1999; Bowen & Rudenstine, 1992; Nerad & Cerny, 1991). These types of
close working relationships allow doctoral students to become academically and
socially integrated into the departmental culture (T into, 1993). Therefore, without
effectively maneuvering through these systems of integration into the academy,
students may tend to “fall through the cracks,” and, consequently, leave their
programs without providing reasons for their departure.

To successfully maneuver through academic and social integration systems,
students must understand the dynamics of both systems. Academic integration, for
example, is positional—in that there is a clear division of labor within the
department or research group (Golde, 2000). This type of integration system
suggests that those who hold authoritative positions within the academic
environment (i.e., faculty) generally supervise students’ work and determine whether
students are effectively progressing in their programs of study. If the work is not
meeting the expectations of the faculty member supervising the students’ work,
requests to make changes to the work may be required (Delamont et.al, 1997;
O’Banion, 1997). This type of supervision most often allows students to become
academically integrated into the academic community within the department
(Delamont et.al, 1997).

30

Other ways in which students can become academically integrated into the
academic community are to develop knowledge concerning fundamental theory in
their disciplines, to participate in colloquia, and to write papers for presentation and
publication (Anderson & Swazey, 1998; Golde, 2000). Faculty members can help
guide students through these activities (Delamont et.al, 1997; Lovitts, 2001), which
can assist them in gaining experiences that develop skills useful for future faculty
positions within and outside of the academy.

Social integration, on the other hand, refers to the process of students making
ﬁ-iends and being disciplined enough to becoming part of the department and the
university community through activities such as attending social events, “hanging
out” in the student or faculty lounge, or meeting socially or informally with faculty
or peers (Golde, 2000; Lovitts, 2001). Social integation with peers and ﬁculty
enhances students’ intellectual development and also the development of important
skills required for program completion because students are able to learn ﬁom others
who have completed different stages of the doctoral process that they may now be
experiencing (Tinto, 1993). For example, students who hold research or teaching
assistantships in their departments ﬁequently have access to faculty and other
graduate students with whom they work because of close proximity (i.e., shared
oﬁce space) to these individuals. Working with and near faculty and other doctoral
students provides opportunities to network and learn the culture of their departments
‘ and the demands associated with it. However, students who do not have access to

such system may ﬁnd it difficult to become integrated into the departmental culture.

31

Although these studies provided useful information about some of the causes
of doctoral student attrition and persistence, the studies did not report on subgroup
analyses such as the racial or ethnic makeup of the study participants. Some factors
may impact doctoral student persistence and attrition regardless of race, while other
factors may impact the persistence and attrition of ethnic minority doctoral students
differently because of their race or ethnicity (i.e., lack of ethnic diversity among
faculty to serve as role models or racism) (Faison, 1996; Hamilton, 1998; Willie et
a1, 1991). As a result of these possible differences, it is important to identify and
“give voice” to Aﬁican American students’ experiences. These studies did not
enable Aﬁ’ican American doctoral students or recipients to tell of their graduate
student experiences. This study will contribute to this area of research because it
addresses the experiences of African American doctoral students who graduated
ﬁ'om predominately White institutions by allowing the study participants to report
their experiences.

Tinto’s (1991) theory of doctoral persistence and attrition provided
' information about how the lack of academic and social integration within doctoral
students’ departments or institutions strongly impacts the persistence, attrition, and
graduation rates among doctoral students. His theory, however, did not speciﬁcally
report on what role race may play in the academic and social integration of African
American doctoral students (Tierney, 1999). By asking speciﬁc questions related to
students’ awareness of their race and ethnic identity through one-on-one interviews, I
was able to obtain the perspectives or the voices of some African Americans on

whether race or ethnicity affected their levels of integration in their doctoral student

32

experiences. Thus, given my research questions, I was able to obtain information
about factors that speciﬁcally impact the persistence and graduation of Aﬁican

American doctoral students.

Studies on Factors That Impact Doctoral Student Success

Educational researchers have conducted studies that show that the type of
relationship tint students have with faculty members, particularly with their advisors
and/or dissertation supervisors or chairs, strongly impacts students’ persistence in
completing their degrees (Tinto, 1991; Willie et al., 1991). Therefore, it is important
that students maintain quality faculty-student relationships so that they will have the
necessary support and assistance tint allow them to successfully maneuver through
the doctoral process.

Quality faculty-student relationships strongly impact doctoral student success
because these kinds of relationships allow students to meet formally or informally
with faculty to talk about problems or concerns they may have during various stages
in their program. Moreover, meeting with faculty can also provide students with
necessary information and lmowledge concerning the expectations or demands of
doctoral education and information about time management skills to meet
assignments and deadlines effectively (Natioml Academy of Sciences, National
Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, 1997; National Research Council,
1996; Willie et al., 1991).

Faculty members, particularly faculty advisors/mentors, play a critical role in

students’ doctoral education and professional careers (Golde & Dore, 2001;

33

Hamilton, 1998; National Academy of Sciences National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine, 1997). For example, faculty advisors can advise students
about experiences to engage in during their graduate study to gain valuable
experiences prior to graduation. Some of these experiences would be to join
professional organizations that allow them to present their research at professional
conferences, to attend workshops related to their research interests, to publish
articles, and to become teaching and research assistants (Willie et al., 1991). All of
these experiences are crucial for the development of scholars as they become
teachers and researchers in various careers in higher education or in business and
industry (Bair & Haworth, 1999; Berg & Ferber, 1983; Bowen & Rudenstine, 1992;
Conan-Hillix et al., 1986; Smith & Davidson, 1992). If students, however, do not
have quality relationships with caring and supportive faculty advisors, they will often
become discouraged and, as a result, leave their programs (Golde, 2000; Tinto,
1993).

A good advisor is one who is easy to approach, accessible, personally
supportive of students, encouraging of students, concerned about teaching, and able
to provide academic coaching (Bair & Haworth, 1999; Bowen & Rudenstine, 1992;
Willie et a1, 1991). These characteristics exempliﬁed in faculty advisors facilitate
the integration of student participation in the culture of their departments. Students,
however, also lave a responsibility in the development of good advisor-student
relationships by requesting visits pertaining to their work or research. When students
feel comfortable meeting with their faculty advisors, they will often interact with or

engage in conversations with other faculty members and graduate students, which

34

allow them to become socially integrated into the culture of the departments (Astin,
1984, 1985; Blackwell, 1991, Hall & Allen, 1983; Willie etal., 1991). These
interactions can also lead to greater chances of networking and forming other
student-faculty (mentor) relationships that will often enhance doctoral students’
experiences (National Academy of Sciences National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine, 1997; Willie et al., 1991).

Another factor that often impacts doctoral student success is quality student-
peer relationships. Quality student-peer relationships allow doctoral students to
interact with other students who may enable them to gain different perspectives on
suitable and supportive faculty as their primary and/or dissertation advisors. For

example, by making friends with other students through activities such as attending
soc'nl events, visiting with peers, collaborating with peers on research and class
projects, and sharing oﬂice space, students can have opportunities to talk with one
another about their problems or concerns as they relate to doctoral study. Many
experienced students may advise new students to select an advisor who shares an
academic specialization and has a compatible working style with theirs (Golde &
Dom, 2001). Moreover, student-peer interaction can enable students who come from
various ethnic groups to learn ﬁ'om each other about the diﬂemnt race or ethnicity
problems or concerns they face while in graduate school.

Another factor that can strongly impact doctoral student success is students’
enthusiasm for their work or research. If students are enthusiastic about their work
or research, they will most likely become motivated to persist in completing required

tasks that lead to their degree completion (Cryer, 1996; Phillips & Pugh, 2000).

35

 

Phillips & Pugh (2000) reported in their study that those doctoral students who
remained enthusiastic about their work (course-work and research) often met
deadlines faster and were able to focus on their work for longer periods of time.
Meeting deadlines and focusing on their work enable students to feel less stress and
help them to develop self-conﬁdence in the quality of work they perform.
Furthermore, students who are enthusiastic about their work and research generally
look for ways to enhance their time management skills, which produces better
research and progression toward the doctoral degree (Cryer, 1996; Phillips & Pugh,
2000).

Students who are able to enhance their time management skills generally
have been able to do so by planning ahead and keeping records of their work
progress (Cryer, 1996). Students can revisit their records or notes to determine if
they have spent too much time on certain activities they enjoy best or on activities
they enjoy least. This type of monitoring can assist students in managing their time
more effectively. Furthermore, keeping records on data that may be relevant to their
research allows students to preserve the infornmtion for Later processing (Cryer,
1996).

Last, keeping sufﬁcient records or notes can provide information for setting
targets, setting provisional dates, and planning schedules more effectively. This type
of record keeping can provide students with the proper documentation that they need
to keep their supervisors or advisors informed of their work progress. As a result,

. the advisors will be able to better advise them on their work efforts. This activity

can also communicate to supervisors or advisors that students are capable of working

36

 

 

 

responsibly and independently. Also, students are often encouraged to work
independemly or to be self-directed in completing tasks. LaPidus (1998) and Phillips
& Pugh (2000) suggest that students who are able to work independently or who do
not require much assistance from their supervisors often become motivated or
persistent in moving forward with their work. Phillips & Pugh (2000) further
maintained tint this type of motivation and persistence enables students to acquire
“the ability to evaluate and re-evaluate their own work and that of others in the light
of current development" (p. 22). The authors contended that this sense of
independence allows students to rely on their own judgment of the quality of work
they perform, while at the same time, gain the needed respect and support ﬁ‘om their
supervisors or dissertation chairs. As a result of the respect and support provided by
their supervisors or dissertation chairs, quality relationships between both faculty and
students can be maintained (McFarland & Caplow, 1995; Phillips & Pugh, 2000).
According to the above-mentioned research, doctoral students who have the
experiences discussed will lave better chances of completing degree requirements
(McFarland & Caplow, 1995; Tinto, 1993). In summary, key variables or factors
related to student persistence and success include: 1) forming quality student-faculty
relationships, 2) forming quality student-peer relationships, 3) maintaining
enthusiasm for work or research, 4) planning ahead, 5) keeping sufﬁcient records for
time management and data collection purposes, and, 6) maintaining a sense of
independence and ability to rely on one’s own judgment of the quath of work
performed. Attention to these variables or factors enables students to maneuver

through the doctoral process.

37

 

The information in this subsection discusses how doctoral students who
experience some key variables or factors related to student motivation and
persistence will have better chances of completing degree requirements, regardless of
their race or ethnicity. The information does not, however, speciﬁcally address how
race and ethnicity can impact students’ experiences as they encounter these variables
or factors. Following are studies that address some particular factors that ethnic

minority students face when persisting to complete their degrees.

Comparisons Between Ethnic Minority and Other Doctoral Students’ Experiences
Although some factors impact doctoral students similarly, there are other
factors tint impact ethnic minority doctoral students diﬁ‘erently. To identify these
factors, comparisons between ethnic minority and White doctoral student
experiences have been made. Some of the factors or variables that impact ethnic
minority doctoral students differently than White doctoral students are the location
(region) of the institution, type of institution, mentoring opportunities, teaching and
research assistantship opportunities, and student-peer relationships (Blackwell, 1981,
1983; Hamilton, 1998; Hood & Freeman, 1995, Neilson, 1997; Willie et al, 1991).
According to Hood and Freeman’s (1995) study, which investigated the
number of doctorates awarded to minorities by schools of Education at 185 U.S.
institutions of higher education during years 1984 through 1992, the graduation rates
for minorities were signiﬁcantly higher within institutions located in the Eastern and
Midwestern regions compared to those institutions in the Western region. The

authors concluded that the geographical locations of Western region institutions

38

might have been undesirable to some minority students—resulting in lower
persistence and lower graduation rates in the west. Unfortunately, the literature does
not indicate why Western region institutions might be undesirable to some minority
students. The authors, however, concluded that the type of institution the students
attended impacted minority doctoral student persistence and graduation rates.

Hood and Freeman (1995) also found that the graduation rate of minority
doctoral students at major research institutions was lower than the graduation rate of
non—minority students at these same types of institutions. One reason why the
graduation rate for minority doctoral students was lower than the graduation rate for
non-minority students at research universities was because of the lack of mentoring
relationships provided to minority students. Hood and Freeman argued that because
many research institutions are not proactive in their retention eﬂ‘orts of minority
faculty, and because of a lack of faculty of color available to offer mentoring at these
institutions, a relatively small number of ethnic minorities attend these institutions.
To support Hood and Freeman’s assertion, I noted that the literature often revealed a
relationship between African American doctoral student attrition ﬁ'om graduate
programs in higher education and the lack of Aﬁican American faculty in positions
of mentors and role models (Blackwell, 1983; Clewell, 1987; Sloan, 1994; Willie et
al, 1991).

The literature reported that when there is placement of faculty of color at
colleges and universities, particularly research universities, these faculty members
can promote student persistence because faculty of color frequently serve as mentors

and role models for minority students in research universities, more often than do

39

White faculty at these institutions (Harvey, 1994; Nicholas & Oliver, 1994; Sloan,
1994; Turner & Myers, 2000). In Sloan’s (1994) study, which consisted of
interviews with six mentored Aﬁ'ican American doctoral students (3 male and 3
female), and six mentored White doctoral students (3 men and 3 female) at a mid-
westem public research university, mostly enrolled in the Education ﬁeld, Aﬁican
American doctoral students showed a stronger desire to be mentored by Aﬁican
American faculty than White doctoral students. Sloan reported that Aﬁican
American doctoral students were more responsive to Aﬁican American faculty as
mentors than White faculty as mentors because of the tendency of African American
faculty members to have more sensitivity to racial issues. On the other hand, White
doctoral students in Sloan’s study were not as concerned about racial issues
determining their selection of mentors. Further, Sloan (1994) and Turner & Myers
(2000) maintained that Aﬁ’ican American doctoral students and Aﬁ'ican American
faculty often had similar research interests and cultural experiences.

Turner & Myers (2000) reported that because of the difﬁculty that Aﬁican
American doctoral students have ﬁnding faculty mentors with similar research and
cultural interests, Aﬁican American doctoral students often lack faculty mentors to
assist them in maneuvering through the doctoral process. Promoting faculty of color
at academic institutions, however, can yield positive mentoring outcomes for
colleges and universities and the diverse student populations they serve (Council of
Graduate Schools, 1992; Zamboanga & Bingman, 2001).

Other studies also have shown that doctoral students with different ethnic

backgrounds often have different experiences with mentoring opportunities and

40

forming student-peer relationships. For example, Hamilton (1998) explored factors
that inﬂuenced the persistence of minority doctoral students at a public research
institution located in the Northwest. In her analysis, when comparing faculty
mentoring and faculty and peer relationships of African American and White
doctoral students, Aﬁ'ican American students generally reported “experiences of
isolation, deﬁcient faculty mentoring and lack of peer camaraderie” (peer
relationships) (p. 37). However, a larger number of White doctoral students
experienced positive faculty mentoring and positive peer relationships. Because of
the lack of mentoring within their departments, many Aﬁican American doctoral
students seek mentors and other role models outside of their departments (Gold &
Dore, 2001; Neilson, 1997; Phillips & Pugh, 2000). Aﬁican Americans were more
likely to gain advice from minority faculty who may have experienced some of the
same types of concerns or experiences as they have encountered while in graduate
school (Turner & Myers, 2000).

Neilson’s (1997) study, which surveyed 78 Aﬁ'ican American doctoral
students and 90 White doctoral students, reported that one in seven or 13.6% African
American doctoral students named a second mentor who was a professor in another
department; an equal number (13.6%) named someone outside the university; over
eleven percent (11.4%) identiﬁed an administrator at the university; and 6.8% said
their mentor was a professional in the ﬁeld. Therefore, African American doctoral
students who sought mentors outside of their departments totaled 45.4%. Fifty-four
and one-half percent (54.5%), however, of Aﬁ'ican American doctoral students

reported that their primary mentors were professors in their major departments. In

41

contrast, lower proportions of White doctoral students named a second mentor
outside of their departments. For example, few White students, 3.3%, had mentors
in another department, 3.3% of them had mentors who were at another university,
6.7% had mentors who were university administrators, and 13.3% had mentors who
were professionals in the ﬁeld. The total number of White doctoral students who had
mentors outside of their departments totaled 26.6%. The remaining 73% of White
doctoral students reported that their primary mentors were professors in their major
departments.

Neilson (1997) reported that students who had faculty mentors in their
departments showed higher rates of productivity in their research and publication
because they were more likely to have been involved in research projects than
students who had mentors outside of their departments. Further, Neilson maintained
that graduate students who had faculty mentors in their departments had greater
access to teaching and research assistantship opportunities.

Teaching and research opportunities are provided by faculty members (Willie
et.al, 1991), and in many cases, the absence of teaching and research opportunities
and other types of funding may relate to many Aﬁican American students’ decisions
to either decline to enroll in graduate programs or to leave their programs prior to
completing their degrees because of the inability to meet ﬁnancial demands
associated with doctoral study (Cheatham & Phelps, 1995; Nerad & Miller, 1996;
Smith, 1990). Lovitts (2001) concluded in her study that students who completed
their degrees were three times as likely to have held research assistantships and two

times as likely to have held teaching assistantships compared to those who did not

42

have such funding available to them. This problem of obtaining research and
teaching assistantships occurred more often among Aﬁican American doctoral
students than White doctoral students (Willie et al., 1991). For example, Neilson’s
(1997) study revealed that White students were more likely to hold teaching or
research assistantships than Aﬁ'ican Americans (60.3% vs. 48.7%, respectively).

Neilson’s (1997) study also indicated that Aﬁican American students were
more likely to report using student loans than White students (25.0% and 10.3%,
respectively), while White students used their personal savings when teaching and
research ﬁrnding and other ﬁnancial support were unavailable. Neilson suggested
that students who used their personal savings were able to persist in pursuing their
degrees more often than those who had to rely on school loans. Students who

depend on school loans to attend graduate school are not as encouraged to pursue
graduate studies compared with students who use personal savings or obtain
assistantships. By using personal savings, students do not incur long-term debt
associated with school loans (i.e., ﬁnance charges assessed by lending institution).
This loan dependence concern was more apparent among Aﬁ'ican American doctoral
students than among White doctoral students.

Syverson (1995) found that Aﬁican American doctoral students incur
indebtedness three times as much as their White counterparts when pursuing doctoral
degrees. He also suggested that this level of indebtedness would most likely
contribute to lower persistence levels of Aﬁ'ican American students completing their
degrees because many of these students become discouraged about accumulating

such debt. As a result of this excessive debt obligation, African American students’

43

attendance and graduation rates can be adversely impacted. Consequently, the
absence of teaching and research assistantships or other ﬁmding that is unrelated to
school loans, coupled with increasing tuition costs, fees, and housing associated with
graduate school, may make it difﬁcult for many doctoral students to complete their
degrees at institutions of higher learning.

Comparison of the experiences of ethnic minority doctoral students with
other doctoral students indicated some variables or factors that impact ethnic
minority students differently than White doctoral students. These factors included:
1) location (region) of the institution, 2) type of institution, 3) mentoring
opportunities, and 4) teaching and research assistantship opportunities. Based on
studies found in the literature, these critical factors or variables often aﬂect Aﬁican

American doctoral students more adversely than White doctoral students.

Recommendations for Impacting Doctoral Student Persistence and Graduation
Rates

The literature provided some recommendations for institutional leaders to
follow that can positively impact the persistence and graduation rates of all doctoral
students, speciﬁcally, Aﬁican American doctoral students. The literature suggested
that faculty and/or administrative personnel should make great efforts to conduct exit
interviews as soon as there are indications that the students are leaving their program
studies. However, students must feel safe about divulging this information. Girves
& Wemmerus (1988), Smith & Davidson (1992), and Tinto (1993) identiﬁed some

early signs of exit:

0 Lack of academic and social integration into the departmental culture

0 Loss of motivation or persistence in completing their degrees

0 Lack of academic and emotional support or interaction among
departmental faculty/advisors and peers

Exit interviews revealed the range of reasons that motivate attrition. As a
result of the interviews, the department is able to determine whether students are
leaving because of lack of institutional support or whether the departure was beyond
the department’s control (Golde, 2000). Once information hour the exit interviews
has been obtained, faculty advisors of colleges and universities can assist in lowering
attrition rates by implementing practices that may help students to become
academically or socially integrated into the departmental culture. These practices
may include facilitating opportunities for students to participate in group research
projects and meeting regularly with students collectively and individually to monitor
students’ work, and advising them accordingly (Golde, 2000). For example, Willie
et a1. (1999) provided some ways in which to assist students in building “student-
faculty” and “student-peer relationships.”

Willie et al. (1991 , p. 79) contended that the university could promote student
relationships by “providing funds for small-scale research projects that students may
undertake with the supervision of faculty members.” These authors suggested that
groups of students “matched with a professor with similar research interests could
work to develop additional research projects, and identify potential funding sources,
while concurrently providing each other with intellectual and interpersonal support

during the pressure points of the graduate school experience (p. 79).” In addition to

45

facilitating the group research and faculty advising, institutions can also improve the
doctoral persistence and graduation rates of students by promoting faculty and
student mentoring and doctoral student cohorts (Dorn & Papalewis, 1997).

According to Dorn & Papalewis’ (1997) case study, eight universities across
the country utilized faculty and peer mentoring and doctoral student cohorts to
improve doctoral student persistence and graduation rates. This study indicated that
organizing students around cohorts improves their study and their task completion.
Furthermore, the study maintained that encouraging faculty to be mentors to doctoral
students enhances student learning and provides full-time working students with
needed support while they earn their doctorates.

Dorn & Papalewis (1997) also suggested that encouraging the interaction
between students and their cohort mentors improves the students’ work productivity
and the university’s attention to facilitating the students’ needs. Therefore, these
types of student-faculty mentoring and student-peer relationships may enable
doctoral students to meet their mentoring and relationship needs. Moreover, these
mentoring relationships enable university faculty members to handle time constraints
and to attend to other work-related activities (Dom & Papalewis, 1997).

Other recommendations presented in the literature concerning the
improvement of doctoral persistence consisted of faculty positively responding to
recommendations presented by policymakers. Two of the recommendations
included faculty taking the initiative in scheduling regular and periodic meetings
with students to improve faculty-student communication, and faculty clearly stating

their expectations of students during doctoral study (McFarland & Caplow, 1995).

46

Isaac (1986) suggested other effective activities to support ethnically diverse
students such as hosting receptions or meetings at the residences of faculty,
providing guest lecturers who visit campus for a couple of days to present their
research and visit with students, and providing other social and academic activities
that are appropriate and relevant to students’ doctoral study. Recommendations for
improving African American doctoral student persistence included university
programs that attempt to make African American students feel welcome and
important. For example, there are several programs and resources at Michigan State
University that are provided to students that assist in recruiting and retaining them
until graduation.

One pmicular resource that is provided to students of color and sponsored by
MSU’s Graduate School is the ALANA (African-American, Latino(a)/Chicano(a),
Asian/Paciﬁc American, and Native American) student organization. ALAN A
students have access to such resources as Project 1000 (a national program
developed to assist underrepresented students in making application to graduate
school) and the Multicultural Women’s Association (designed to promote
opportunities for professional growth and development, to recognize outstanding
achievements, to provide academic and professional mentoring, and to create a
network for women ﬁ'om diverse backgrounds) (Michigan State University, 2002).
These kinds of activities and recommendations previously mentioned will most

likely enable institutions to have more success in retaining students to the point of

degree completion.

47

To ﬁrrther encourage student persistence and retention, Isaac (1998, p. 9)

suggested that displaying program sensitivity to “minority issues should be part of

the curriculum and training of all students” and departments should also welcome

research topics on such issues. Willie et a1. (1991) made several recommendations

for institutions that can positively impact Aﬁican American doctoral student

persistence and graduation rates. Some of these recommendations include:

Providing full ﬁnancial assistance through the ﬁrst four or ﬁve years
of graduate study might decrease the period of study and increase the
degree-completion rate of Aﬁican American doctoral students.
Providing Aﬁ‘ican American doctoral students with foundation
sponsorship is crucial since Aﬁican-American doctoral students, as a
group, often do not receive campus-based sources of funding such as
research and teaching assistantships compared to White doctoral
students.

Providing faculty with development and training programs to assist
White faculty members in mentoring ethnic minority students will
most likely increase the number of mentors for Aﬁican American
students.

Providing Aﬁican American and other ethnic minority students with
faculty of color will most likely increase their opportunities to serve
as research and teaching assistants with faculty.

Promoting student-faculty relationships will most likely strengthen

research collaboration and network Opportunities for students.

48

These recommendations provided useful information concerning how to
increase the persistence and graduation rates of doctoral students. Although the
literature has included some educators’ thoughts and experiences on the role that
race plays in the academy, there is still a lack of studies performed addressing the
role that race plays in Aﬁican American doctoral student experiences. As a result,
there is a void in the literature concerning the voices of Aﬁican Americans
expressing the role tlnt race plays in their doctoral student experiences. West (1991,
p. 137) recommended that “only with the publication of the intimate memoirs of
these Black intellectuals and their students will we have the gripping stories of how
this defensiveness cut at much of the heart of their intellectual activity and creativity
with White academic contexts.” This study will contribute to graduate education
research because it will ﬁll a void in the literature by providing personal stories of
Aﬁican American doctoral students concerning the role that race plays in their

student experiences.

Summary

This section discussed the role race played in the experiences of Aﬁican
Americans, as well as studies and factors that pertained to graduate education
regardless of race or ethnicity. Some of these studies and factors focused on
graduate student experiences in general, while others focused on graduate student
experiences of ethnic minority groups, particularly Aﬁican Americans. In addition
to learning about studies and factors that affected Aﬁ'ican American student

experiences and other student experiences, recommendations were made by various

49

researchers that could assist institutions of higher learning in implementing practices
that would positively impact Aﬁican American doctoral student experiences.
Furthermore, the identiﬁcation of institutional factors that impact doctoral
persistence, attrition, and graduation rates can help colleges and universities to assist
doctoral students in developing positive student-faculty and student-peer
rehtionships.

The prior research conducted on ethnic minorities informed my study in
several ways. First, it provided reasons why there is a small number and percentage
of Aﬁican American doctorates in the U.S. Second, it provided information ﬁ'om
various researchers who have studied race issues and who have pointed out that race
does play a signiﬁcant role in the experiences of Aﬁican Americans, which may also
impact doctoral students’ experiences. Third, it provided information about how
some mentoring experiences may impact the graduation or completion rates of
Aﬁ'ican American doctoral students. Fourth, since there is such a small number and
percentage of doctoral degrees earned by African Americans, the prior research ﬁom
the literature provided recommendations for academic institutions to follow
concerning how these institutions can assist ethnic minority doctoral students to
persist in completing their degrees.

The information that is missing ﬁ'om prior research, however, includes
studies tlmt provide more descriptive and detailed reporting on the experiences of
African American doctoral students who lmve graduated from major research
universities. As a result, Aﬁican American students’ voices are missing from these

studies. The research also has not explored differences in Aﬁican American doctoral

50

student experiences based on discipline, or addressed how the role of race impacted
their student experiences. This study would contribute to the prior research by
including the voices of Aﬁican American doctoral students (personal stories) and by
explaining how race impacts their doctoral student experiences prior to attending a
predominantly White major research university (i. e., Michigan State University)
and/or while attending such institution. The study participants have provided this
information through one-on-one interviews.

After conducting the interviews and analyzing the data, I reported whether
the participants were affected by race and if so, whether the factors rose herein or
other factors were relevant to the experiences of Aﬁican American doctoral students.
Thus, this research study will contribute a more descriptive analysis of the nature of
the experiences of Aﬁican American doctoral students.

Finally, the literature on racial and ethnic identity theories informs my study
by providing theories that point to particular stages of racial identity awareness that
may assist Aﬁican Americans in their identity development. This information
enabled me to pose questions to the study participants concerning their awareness of
their racial and ethnic identity, and whether family, peers, and/or members from their
communities impacted their student experiences before and during their graduate

student years.

Conceptual Framework of the Study

Given that this study has focused primarily on the role race played in the

graduate school experiences of African American doctoral recipients and their

51

perception of being African American, I have been informed conceptually by three
salient theories of racial identity—provided by White (1984), Cross (1991), and
Helms (1995). White suggested that Aﬁican Americans must come to grips with
their racial and ethnic identity in order to overcome or suppress feelings of
oppression and personal worthlessness perpetrated by occurrences in mainstream
society. These individuals can come to grips with their racial and ethnic identity
through support systems such as family, peers, community members, and knowledge
about racial/ethnic identity theory.

Cross (1991) maintained that there are ﬁve different stages of racial identity
development that Aﬁican Americans can move through as they interact with
individuals from the dominant racial group. These stages are the pre-encounter
stage, the encounter stage, the immersion-emersion stage, the internalization stage,
and the internalization commitment stage. Also, Cross’ concept of race is viewed
strictly in terms of “Black and White” and does not take into consideration the
ethnicity of other people of color or their cultures. Helms’ racial identity theory,
however, does take into consideration all people of color.

Helms’ (1995) racial identity theory takes a postmodern approach to assisting
Aﬁican Americans in the identiﬁcation of their race and ethnicity. Helms’ theory of
racial identity maintains that the new way of viewing racial identity theory is for “all
people of color to identify and accept their racial identity and overcome the
psychological manifestations of internalized racism”—“societal racial stereotypes
and negative self-and own-group conceptions (p. 189).” Therefore, based on the role

race plays in the experiences of Aﬁ'ican Americans, and the previously-mentioned

52

theories of racial and ethnic identity, I have constructed a model that I believe

appropriately addresses the development of Aﬁican American doctoral students in

relation to their experiences.

A diagram of this interactive model can be found on page 54. The elements

of this theory follow:

1.

Aﬁican Americans’ personal life experiences (including, for example,
experiences of family, peers, and community members) may impact their
understanding, or awareness of their racial and ethnic identity.

Aﬁ'ican Americans’ sense and level of racial and ethnic identity will relate to their
experiences and perceptions of graduate education. For example, if students have
been accustomed to address their undergraduate professors as “professor (last
name),” and when they arrive at graduate school, the graduate school professors
encourage them to address them by their ﬁrst name to establish a collegial
relationship, students might ﬁrst feel intimidated or insecure about addressing
such professors in this manner. As a result, students may not develop a close
relationship with their professors, which could also impact their doctoral work.
Aﬁican Americans’ understanding or awareness of their racial and ethnic identity
may impact how they view the context of a certain academic discipline. For
example, students may perceive a particular academic discipline as exciting or
their institution’s role as student-centered if family members, peers, or community
leaders lmve expressed their positive experiences in this discipline to those

students. This type of input can positively impact students’ experiences.

53

Bingman’s Newly Constructed Model of African American

Doctoral Student Development

 

Carney.

0 Overall institution

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0 Speciﬁc
discipline/department
41
Experiences
in Graduate
, School
Aﬁican, (Related
American 5 . u and/or not
personal life related to
experiences prior race)
to graduate school
l Persistence
Understanding or awareness of
racial/ethnic identity
ll
Graduation

 

 

 

This model leads me to questions (located in Appendix A on pages 196-
200) pertaining to each of these areas and their relation to each other, and

speciﬁcally, how they relate to the graduate school experience.

54

Research Design and Sample and Methodology
Research Design and Sample

The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of graduate experiences of
Aﬁican American doctoral students, factors that contribute to their persistence in
completing their degrees, what role race plays in their experiences during their
doctoral programs of study, and the level of awareness or understanding of their race
and ethnic identity and culture. By examining these doctoral student experiences,
the role that race plays, and the level of awareness or understanding of their race and
ethnic identity or culture, I am able to shed light on what factors contribute to their
successes in completing their degrees. Narrative interviews were conducted as a
means of data collection and analysis for this study.

Anderson & Swazey (1998, p. 3) maintained, when “studying the doctoral
experience, there is no substitute for on-site, interview, or observation-based
collection.” However, Dunbar et al. (2000, p. 280) argued that interviewers should
become procedurally conscious “with regard to race.” The authors stated, “the
interview process and the interpretation of interview material must take into account
how social and historical factors—especially those associated with race—mediate
both the meanings of questions that are asked and how those questions are answered
(2000, p. 280).” Furthermore, interviewers should not rely on using standardized
interview procedures and methods because, according to Dunbar et a1. (2000, p.
281), this process “has always been problematic with respect to nonmainstream
subjects, especially in the area of race.” Hence, the authors provided

recommendations that should assist interviewers in obtaining needed data. First,

55

interviewers should treat their participants with the human dignity they deserve, and
not take these individuals for granted. Secondly, interviewers should control any
biases they may have about the participants and/or their personal or historical
backgrounds. They should learn or have knowledge about their ethnicity and/or
cultural backgrounds. Also, interviewers should obtain prior knowledge about
race—as a subject, particularly, if they do not have any, and learn how race could
potentially impact the lives of these participants.

Since I have knowledge about race, both through the literature and through
lived experiences, when I conducted interviews with the participants, I think they
were comfortable telling about their experiences—pre-doctoral study and during
their doctoral study. Furthermore, to maintain objectivity before, during, and after
the interviewing process, I took into consideration one recommendation that was
provided by Dunbar et al. (2000). This recommendation was to control potential
biases about the participants or their personal or historical backgrounds. I did not
make assumptions tlmt their graduate student experiences may be similar to mine and
received as much information as possible without directing the conversation as it
relates to their doctoral student experiences.

I interviewed ten African American 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 doctoral
graduates who were enrolled in math and science and in the ﬁeld of education at
Michigan State University (MSU). I interviewed three men in the math and science
disciplines, one man in education, and six women in education. The reason for the
disparity of men and women in the listed disciplines was due to the responsiveness

of the study’s sample. Further, I chose these ﬁelds of study or disciplines of study

56

because according to the Natiorml Research Council (1998, 1999), Aﬁican
Americans represent smaller numbers of biological science graduates than most
other ﬁelds of study, and, these individuals also represent larger numbers of
education graduates than other ﬁelds of study. Therefore, interviewing participants
who graduated in these academic disciplines is important because according to the
literature, larger numbers of African American scientists will be needed to meet the
expected academic and non-academic community by 2010 (Green, 1989). Thus,
larger numbers of African Americans pursuing biological science degrees is
necessary to meet future workplace demands. It is also important to interview
Aﬁican Americans who graduated with their doctoral degrees in education because
in 1999, approximately 50% of these group members earned terminal degrees in the
ﬁeld of education (National Research Council, 1999). I randomly selected the
sample participants from a list of names provided by the Graduate School of MSU,

following UCRIHS approval to study human subjects.

Research Methods

This study is a qualitative research study. Although there are limitations to
this method of research such as potential biases toward the data by the researcher, I
believe that a qualitative research'method, such as interviewing, was the most
appropriate approach for this study. Qualitative research is an appropriate approach
because it provides the participants opportunities to tell their story (“give voice”) as
they describe their experiences verbally (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998). On the other

hand, quantitative research methods, such as surveys, do not allow participants to

57

elaborate or provide detailed information about their experiences (Bogdan & Biklen,
1998). One limitation of a survey is that it does not allow participants opportunities
to provide information beyond what the questions ask.

I conducted one-on-one interview sessions with each participant—
approximately one and one-half to two and one-half hours in length, taking speciﬁc
notes, audio taping the participants’ responses, and transcribing the interviews for
data amlysis purposes. An additional ten minute telephone interview with one of the
participants was necessary to obtain information that was not previously received
from the ﬁrst interview. After the interview sessions, I kept a journal to reﬂect on
my observations, impressions, feelings, and reactions throughout the research
process. Many experienced researchers have found that writing thoughts in a journal
is a valuable way to record insights, ideas, questions, and concerns about the
interviews or the interview process (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). To ensure
conﬁdentiality, I nraintained a list of each participant’s name and pseudonym only
for my own records. The interview protocol of this study is located in Appendix A

of this document.

Data Analysis

To analyze data obtained from the interviews on the experiences of African
American doctoral students in graduate school, I asked the participants to respond to
the following broad questions and followed up with probing questions located in
Appendix A (Interview Protocol):

0 Tell me about your graduate student experiences.

58

o What prior experiences before graduate school may have affected your

graduate experience?

0 What experiences in the discipline/department or more broadly in the

institution Were critical in ﬂaming your graduate experience?

0 Explain your understanding or awareness of your racial and ethnic identity.

0 How does race and/or awareness of racial/ethnic identity impact or play a

role in your experiences prior to graduate school and as doctoral students?

0 What kept you motivated to persist in completing your doctoral degree?
After each interview session, I reviewed my ﬁeld notes and wrote a one or two page
summary of what I think I learned ﬁ'om the session and identiﬁed key themes that I
believe emerged.

I analyzed my data by reviewing my typed ﬁeld notes, interview transcripts,
and journal notes to identify patterns and possible topics for thematic coding
categories. I then listed possible coding categories to be used to code the units of
data (sentences or paragraphs of the ﬁeld notes or interview transcripts), and
modiﬁed the codes as needed. These coding categories became my major coding
categories—broad range of activities, behaviors, etc. I coded the data into broad
categories, and then, coded the data into sub-codes. According to Bogdan & Biklen
(1998), sub-codes break down major codes into smaller categories (Bogdan &
Biklen, 1998).

The entire coding process included going through the data frequently. Once I
coded the data, I combined information on certain themes, patterns, or issues with

regard to the participants’ prior and graduate experiences, academic discipline, and

59

experiences connected with race. This process enabled me to organize and manage

my data for analysis purposes, and to report my ﬁndings.

Summary and Rationale for Study

For the past three decades, Aﬁican Americans have made up only a small
number and percentage of the doctorates earned in this country. For example, of
the 31,239 and 41,140 doctorates earned in 1979 and 1999, respectively, U.S.
universities conferred 1058 (3.3%) and 1596 (3.8%) Aﬁican Americans for the
respective years (National Opinion Research Center, 1999). Thus, the number of
Aﬁican American doctorates conferred in the U.S. has increased only by 538
within the past 20 years (National Opinion Research Center, 1999). This small
number and percentage of Aﬁican American doctoral graduates has caused some
researchers to study factors that may impact the experiences of doctoral students
(White, 1984; Helms, 1995). I have developed an Aﬁ'ican American doctoral
student development model as a ﬁamework for my study. To assist in developing
my model, I have used information taken ﬁ'om the literature concerning the role
race plays in Aﬁican Americans’ experiences, as well as three theories of racial
and ethnic identity.

Based on the ﬁndings obtained ﬁ'om this study, Aﬁican American
perspectives about their student experience—pre-doctoral study and during doctoral
study—will inform the graduate education literature about some factors that can
impact the experiences of Aﬁican American doctoral student experiences while

completing their degrees. Through narrative inquiry (interviews), I obtained

60

information about how African American doctoral recipients perceive their graduate
experiences, the role that race played in their experiences, their understanding about

their racial and ethnic identity, and factors that contributed to their motivation to

persist.

61

Exhibit 1
Participants’ Biographical Sketches
This section introduces the participants of the study by presenting brief
biographical narratives. The biographical sketches focus on the background and
experiential factors that inﬂuenced the participants’ successes in graduate school.

Table 1 summarizes the biographical information.

Wilma

Wilma received her doctorate in the ﬁeld of education and is currently a
college administrator. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in history from a
Historically Black College or University (HBCU), in the 19708, she attended a
predominately White university where she obtained her master’s degree in
counseling psychology.

Wilma described growing up in a strong family environment where she was
taught high morals and standards. Her parents were high school graduates, but they
did not attend college. She was raised in the South and attended primary and
secondary schools there. Later, she attended an out-of-state college. She was the
ﬁrst in her family to attend college, and she attributed her persistence in
accomplishing her goals and her higher education pursuits to her nurturing mother
and supportive husband.

Wilma had several role models and mentors, Aﬁican Americans and Whites,
throughout her childhood and college years. She got along well with many people
from diverse backgrounds, which made it easy for her to establish mentor

relationships. She often asked people, even at an early age, how they had reached

62

the current point in their careers. Through her willingness to receive advice and
guidance from diverse people who possessed an array of knowledge and experience,
she gained an understanding of school politics. This knowledge enhanced her
academic achievements. The relationships built on Wilma’s desire to obtain
knowledge from these persons have connected her to many networks that have been

helpful in her career pursuits. Wilma is married and has a child.

Lucy

Lucy received her doctorate in the ﬁeld of education and is currently a
college administrator. During the late 19703 and early 19803, she received her
bachelor’s and master’s degrees ﬁ'om a predominantly White university located in
the southern state where she grew up and attended elementary and high schools. Her
master’s degree is in education. Her family members were civil rights advocates,
and they participated in several marches and sit-ins. During her elementary school
years, she helped integrate the school she attended. When she reached her late
elementary and junior high school years, she encountered her ﬁrst real experiences
with blatant acts of racism. During her doctoral years, however, racism played little
or no part in her experiences.

Lucy was often the ﬁrst Aﬁican American in her school to participate and
become a leader in school activities. For example, she was the ﬁrst Aﬁ'ican
American cheerleader and the ﬁrst African American head cheerleader. Lucy is
married and has a child. Her immediate and extended family members are very

proud of her accomplishments and have supported all of her educational endeavors.

63

She describes herself as a “strong Black women” who takes on challenges in order to

meet her needs and goals.

Odessa

Odessa received her doctorate in the ﬁeld of education and is currently employed
in a professional position at a university. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in
Social Work from a university in Michigan, she worked in the criminal justice
system. She decided, however, that the bachelor’s degree would not qualify her for a
higher-level position within that system. As a result, she pursued a master’s degree
in counseling ﬁ'om another university in Michigan. While working toward her
master’s degree, she developed a passion for counseling. Upon receiving her degree,
Odessa performed one-bn-one counseling with students and their family members
for several years.

Despite having counseled people of all ages and ethnic and cultural
backgrounds, Odessa thought that she would gain more respect ﬁ'om her colleagues
and clients if she had a doctorate in her ﬁeld. Therefore, her work experience was
instrumental in her decision to pursue a doctoral degree in counseling. She chose to
attend MSU because it was highly ranked and recognized for training professionals
who are well known worldwide in their respective ﬁelds.

Two of Odessa’s min role models were her mother and her aunt. Her
mother always stressed to her the importance of a higher education. Her aunt, who
teaches at a southern university, served as a professional role model and mentor

because of her 20—plus years of experience as a college professor in the ﬁeld of

education Her aunt often discussed with Odessa the beneﬁts and challenges of
Pursuing a Ph.D. She also recommended taking particular classes that she believed
would best prepare Odessa for her chosen career. Her aunt, however, neglected to
mentally prepare Odessa for the politics that are often involved in pursuing a PhD.

Odessa is single and does not have children.

Sally

Sally received her doctorate in education and is currently a ﬁculty member
of a major university in Michigan. As a non-traditional PhD. student, Sally
attended MSU several years after receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in
education. Since she had been employed in the education ﬁeld full-time for the ten
years prior to entering her doctoral program, she was able to focus on her studies
and knew the type of education she needed to meet her career goal. She pursued
her doctorate in order to meet her faculty responsibility of securing tenure.

Sally’s family was very supportive of her educational pursuits. For
example, when she was a high school student, her older sister invited Sally to her
college campus on weekends so Sally could get a “feel” for college life and
academic responsibilities. She also attributed her success in doctoral study to the

support she received ﬁom her husband. Sally is married and has one child.

Delores
Delores received her doctorate in education and is currently a faculty member
of a major research university located in the South. She received both her bachelor’s

degree in psychology and master’s degree in education ﬁ'om an Illinois university.

65

Delores always knew she wanted to work in a profession that directly helped people.
Initially, she considered becoming a medical doctor; however, after her third
undergraduate biology course, and on the advice of her undergraduate advisor, she
decided to pursue a doctorate in rehabilitative counseling.

Prior to her graduate studies, Delores counseled persons with disabilities.
Although she really enjoyed this work, she decided to pursue a master’s degree
because the profession did not pay much. Her master’s degree enabled her to meet
herﬁnancialneeds,butitdidnotallowhertoberecognizedasascholaranda
researcher. She attended MSU’s doctoral program to meet these scholarship needs.
Delores attributed her success in doctoral study to the support provided by her
undergraduate advisor and her family members. She is not married and does not

have children.

Kimberly

Kimberly received her doctorate in the ﬁeld of education and is currently an
administrator at a predominately White university in the Midwest. She received both
her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in health sciences ﬁ'om a predominately White
university in the Midwest. Kimberly decided to pmsue a career in the health
sciences because of the increasing problems of obesity, unhealthy eating habits, and
lack of exercise in the U.S. population. Thus, she wanted to learn how she could
help people get and stay healthy by assisting them with their diets and exercise
programs. Kimberly’s higher educational experiences were a bit different than most
of the other participants in that she enrolled in her master’s degree program straight

out of undergraduate college, completed her master’s degree, and immediately

66

enrolled in her doctoral program. Moreover, while pursuing her master’s and
doctoral degrees, she held a full-time job.

Kimberly’s determination to obtain her PhD. without interruption was
thwarted, however, when she became pregnant and ill from the pregnancy. She and
her husband decided that she needed to prolong her doctoral pursuits. Kimberly was
at the dissertation stage. She had collected her data and only the ﬁnal write-up
remained unﬁnished. Although completing her degree as soon as possible was
important, she decided to put off writing the dissertation and spend more time with
her children, who were far more important to her. Kimberly stated that she was
unwilling to take on the additional stress that would have resulted ﬁ'om
simultaneously working on her degree and attending to her newborn child. Kimberly

is married and has children.

David

David received his doctorate in education and is currently working at a major
university in Michigan (position title omitted for conﬁdentiality purposes). He
received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, in psychology and clinical
psychology respectively, from another major university in Michigan. David
described himself as a person who really tries to help others. His choice of
psychology derived from his desire to help others attend to their mental and
emotional needs.

David conres ﬁom a large, close-knit family. Although he is the middle
child, he was the primary caregiver for his family, not only emotionally, but also

physically because he performed many household tasks. He stated that his doctoral

67

studies could have been interrupted by illnesses and family deaths, but, because of
his strong faith in God and unconditional love for his family, he was determined to

complete his degree. David is single and does not have any children.

James

James received his doctorate in education and is currently a faculty member
and the chairperson of his department at a Historically Black College or University
(HBCU). Prior to attending MSU for his doctorate, he attended HBCUs for his
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. He pursued the PhD. in order to
become a teamed faculty member and administrator of a college or university.

James suggested that all of his educational experiences had been positive,
in part, because he had inﬂuential family members who were educators. James’
father, who also had majored in chemistry, was his high school chemistry teacher.
James had several other relatives (mother, aunts, and uncles) who were college
educated. He maintained that attending college was not just a dream, it was also a
family expectation. He attributed his success to having a strong relationship with
God. He said that without the help of the Lord, it would not have been possible for
him to have such consistently positive educational experiences. James is married

and does not have children.

Patrick
Patrick received his doctorate in computer science and is currently a faculty
member of a major, predominately White research university located in the South.

He received his bachelor’s degree from a HBCU, also located in the South, and his

68

master’s degree ﬁ'om a major research university in the Midwest. Patrick went
directly into graduate studies ﬁom his undergraduate college and received his
postsecondary degrees without interruption. He believes that the level of funding
provided to him by his department enabled him to continue his educational pmsuits
without having to work a full-time job. He said that, while many other college
students have had to discontinue their educational pursuits in order get a job, he did
not lmve to worry about having to do so.

Patrick attributed his educational success, in part, to attending a l-IBCU
dining his undergraduate years. His professors there, all Aﬁican American, provided
him with advice, guidance, and research opportunities that positioned him for
graduate study. His parents stressed the importance of a higher education during his
childhood years. Moreover, his father’s career as an engineer motivated him to
pursue math and science disciplines. Furthermore, his father provided the resources
needed to learn about careers in math and science and challenged him to take more
difﬁcult math courses than his schools required. Patrick is married and has one

child.

Brandon

Brandon received his doctorate in the biological sciences and is currently a
postdoctoral student at a major research university located in the Midwest. He
received his bachelor’s degree in biology from a HBCU. Since his undergraduate
college grades were good, he was not required to have a master’s degree to be
admitted to MSU’s Department of Microbiology. He was able to “go straight

through” and work on his doctorate. His desire to achieve academically derived

69

from his parents and grandparents, all of whom were college educated. He attributed
his choice of discipline, however, to exposure to and encouragement from his junior
high and high school math and science teachers Brandon stated that his love for
math and science did not come from his family members, who, though they were
educators, taught in other areas or disciplines. Brandon’s involvement in Black
organizations on the MSU campus beneﬁted him socially and academically. He
stated that the interactions within these organizations provided the means to
’ communicate his ﬁ'ustrations and other experiences to other African Americans who
might have confronted similar challenges. He asserted that this type of
communication eased the demanding schedule and research involved with his
discipline. He further asserted tint his close relationships were solely with Aﬁican
Americans because he felt more comfortable with others from similar backgrounds

and with similar experiences. Brandon is married and does not have any children.

70

Table 1

Summary of Participants’ Biographical Sketches

 

 

 

 

Names of Family Academic Experiences
Participants Inﬂuence Eyeriences Connected with Race
Wilma *Father’s lack *Positive experiences *First Black to
of support for at all educational receive H.S.
graduate levels Honors award
studies *Mentor support— *White community
*Mother & helped plan graduate located near
husband were studies & career H.S. protested her
supportive of *Decided undergrad. becoming a drum
education and master’s major
*Parents not degrees not suﬂicient *Attended HBCU
college to meet career goals
educated-only
husband
Delores *Mother and *Decided that *Experienced
uncle undergrad. & master’s negative comments
supported degrees alone were from White high
educational not sufﬁcient to meet school teacher—
goals career goals stating that she
*Uncle was would not be
college successﬁrl in
educated college
*Positive experience
with Italian
undergraduate
& Black master’s
advisors
*Aﬁican American
student-peers
provided social and
academic support

 

 

 

 

7l

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kimberly *Family *Did not report *K-12 experiences as
members were any academic only Black
not reported as experiences that swimmer competitor
being impacted doctoral Spectators and other
inﬂuential in study or success Swimmers not
doctoral *Decided that accustomed to
pursuit—only undergrad. & nester’s seeing a Black
coworkers & degrees alone were female competitor in
ﬁiends were not sufﬁcient to meet the sport
inﬂuential in career goals *Often was not
doctoral invited to receptions
pursuit or victory parties
*Husband was after team won
college because of her race
educated
David *Father’s death *Decided that *Reported that
motivated undergrad. & master’s many Blacks &
degree degrees alone were other ethnic
completion not sufﬁcient to wet minorities tend
*Brother’s career goals—helping to polarize race
illness people resolve *Believes that race is
motivated emotional not as important as
degree problems social class status
completion
*Family
members
depended
on him as
Primary
caregiver
*Brothers went
to college
James *Family *Overall positive *Reported one
supportive of experiences in negative
success K-12 grade and in experience with
*Father was undergraduate and race—Black
high school master’s degree years master’s degree
chemistry at HBCUs advisor treated
teacher *Decided that White students
*Father’s ﬁeld undergrad. & master’s better than Black
of study degrees alone were students
(chemistry) not sufﬁcient to meet
impacted his career goals
choice of

 

 

 

 

72

 

 

discipline

 

 

*Mother and
father were
college
educated
Patrick *Family *Positive experiences *Did not allow race
supportive of at all educational concerns or issues to
educational levels hinder his
goals *Junior high & high educational goals or
*Father’s ﬁeld school math teachers worldview
of study impacted interest in *Maintained that he
(engineering) math has never
impacted *Non-stop experienced racism
choice of education ﬁom or unequal treatment
discipline kindergarten to in his schooling
*Parents & wife Ph.D.
were college *College math &
educated science summer
programs prepared
him for college-level
coursework
*Practiced taking
standardized tests in
high school to prepare
for testing
requirement for
college admission

 

 

 

 

73

 

Chapter 4
Prior Experiences That Inﬂuenced Success in Graduate School
Introduction
Based on the data taken from the interviews, prior experiences of the
participants had an inﬂuence on their success in graduate school. Some of these
experiences involved family members, junior high and high school, undergraduate
college, co-workers, and spirituality. In this chapter, I discuss how the prior

experiences of the participants had an inﬂuence on their success in graduate school.

Family Inﬂuence

Family members such as parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins,
grandparents, and spouses strongly inﬂuenced the participants’ success in graduate
school. For example, James and Patrick’s fathers inﬂuenced their choice of
academic discipline and careers by being role models and through their teaching
experiences. Seven (7) of the participants, Wilma, Sally, Odessa, Delores, David,
Lucy, and Brandon’s parents and/or siblings inﬂuenced their sense of the importance
of academics by attending college themselves, discussing with them their own
beliefs in the importance of an education, or providing them with support and
motivation Four (4) of the participants, Odessa, Delores, James, and Lucy, had
aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents who motivated or encouraged them to persist
in completing their graduate degrees; and three (3) of the participants, Lucy, Sally,
and Wilma, had husbands who provided them with guidance, advice, emotional

support, or took on extra household responsibilities that assisted them in completing

74

their degrees. In this chapter, I discuss how parents, siblings, other Emily members,

and spouses had an inﬂuence on some of the participants’ success in graduate school

Parent’s inﬂuence on choice of discipline and career.

Educational researchers maintain that family is the “major educational
inﬂuence in the life of the child (Levine & Havighurst, 1992, p. 89).” This theory
supports how James and Patrick’s Emily members, particularly their parents, had an
inﬂuence on their choice of discipline and careers. For example, James’ Ether
strongly inﬂuenced his choice of discipline and career by being his primary role
model and high school chemistry teacher, which impacted his success in math and
science. James said that his Ether has been the “strongest inﬂuence” in his life as far
as education was concerned because he enjoyed how his Ether taught chemistry
while he was a student in his father’s chemistry class. He maintained that his Ether
taught chemistry in an interesting way that kept his interest and enabled him to see
how the discipline could be applied in real-life situations. He suggested that this
kind of teaching and real-life math applications motivated him to choose chemistry
as his discipline and career. James is currently the chair of the Department of
Chemistry and a professor of chemistry at a HBCU.

Patrick’s Ether also had an inﬂuence on his choice of discipline and career
because of his previous occupation as an engineer and secondary math teacher.
Patrick reported that his Ether often shared with him h0w “math problems [were]
connected to the physical worl ” and challenged him to solve difﬁcult math

problems in junior high and high school, which prepared him to solve difﬁcult math

75

 

proble
engine
he dec

engine

impon
events
acader
the 1m]
Accon
Lucy, 1
non

111671110

problems in college. Patrick had great respect for his father and his occupation as an
engineer. He said that since his father was an engineer, educator, and his role model,
he decided to also become an engineer and educator. Patrick is now a computer-

engineering professor at a major research university in the south.

Parents and siblings: providing a sense of the importance of academics.

Parents and siblings have provided the participants with a sense of the
importance of academics by encouraging them to participate in school activities and
events, urging them to attend college, modeling their own sense of the importance of
academics by attending college themselves, discussing with them their own beliefs in
the importance of an education, or providing them with support and motivation
According to the interviews of Wilma, Sally, Delores, Odessa, David, Brandon, and
Lucy, their parents and/or siblings inﬂuenced their success in graduate school by
providing them with a sense of the importance of academics through the above-
mentioned efforts.

For example, Wilma suggested that her parents provided her with a sense of
the importance of academics by stressing the importance of attending college and
participating in activities and events that were related to academics. She said tlnt
attending college was particularly important to her father because he wanted Wilma
to reach her career goal as an administrator of a college. She also reported that her
Ether wanted her to attend college, mostly because he was forced to forfeit his

dream of attending college when he was called to perform military duty in World

76

War II. Wilma said that her father’s strong urging that she attend college inﬂuenced
her success in graduate school.

Wilma’s mother, on the other hand, inﬂuenced her success in graduate school
in a different way. She ensured that Wilma was involved in activities and events that
were related to academics during her pre-college years and often insisted on doing
Wilma’s chores in order to ensure that nothing came between her academic and her
educational experiences. She said that her mother “spoiled” her. While Wilma’s
mother inﬂuenced her success in graduate sChool by doing Wilma’s chores to enable
her to ﬁeely participate in academic-related activities and events, Wilma’s Ether
inﬂuenced her success in graduate school by stressing the importance of attending
college so that she could accomplish her goals as a college administrator.

On the other hand, Sally’s sister inﬂuenced her sense of the importance of
academics by allowing her to visit the college she attended. Sally stated that when
she visited the college that her sister attended, she often spoke with her about how to
succeed in college, and her sister was able to “provide. . .some understanding of what
college was abou .” She said that being able to visit her sister on campus also
enabled her to visualize herself as a college student as her sister discussed some of
the opportrmities and challenges associated with being a college student. Sally also
stated that although her mother, sister, and Ether were extremely supportive of
whatever she wanted to do, whether it was pursuing her master’s degree or focusing
on her career goals, it was her sister who educated her about the responsibility of
being a college student, which helped her prepare for college life. Furthermore,

through the experiences of visiting her sister at the college she attended, Sally was

77

able to gain a sense of the importance of academics, which led to her success in
graduate school.

Odessa stated that her mother inﬂuenced her college experience by
conveying to her that a college education would enable her to become “self-
suﬂicient.” She said that “she [mother] was really instrumental in pushing me to go
on to further my education.” Therefore, because of her mother’s strong commitment
to instilling in Odessa the importance of being college educated, she was motivated
to pursue and become successful in graduate school.

Delores, on the other hand, gained a sense of the importance of academics not
only from her mother, but also from her father and sister. Delores’ parents and sister
inﬂuenced her sense of the importance of academics through their support and
motivational efforts. She said, “My immediate family was always there and
supportive. . .my mom, sister, and a little by my dad, were just always there
throughout.. . so they were very integral. . . and motivated me to do well in school.”
She further stated that because of their support and inspiration in obtaining a college
education, she was motivated to pursue graduate studies. She said that she
performed well in school not only because it was required of her, but also because
she ‘Vvanted to make them [parents and sister] feel good that they played a large
role” in her completing her degrees. This effort to please her parents and sister also
inﬂuenced her success in graduate school.

Brandon’s parents inﬂuenced his sense of the importance of academics by
being good role models for him. He stated that since both of his parents held

bachelor’s and graduate degrees, graduating with a bachelor’s degree was important

78

and expected. Brandon stated, “There was not a question of whether I would

attend. . .being a college graduate was an expectation.” In other words, Brandon
suggested that while some parents try to encourage their children to attend college,
attending college was an expectation, not an option for him. Therefore, the legacy of
Brandon’s college-educated parents heavily inﬂuenced his sense of the importance
of academics, which led to his success in graduate school.

Unlike the other participants’ parents and/or siblings’ role in inﬂuencing their
sense of the importance of academics, Lucy’s mother inﬂuenced her sense of the
importance of academics not only through her own belief in the importance of an
education, but also by requesting, during her illness, that Lucy complete her doctoral
degree. Lucy’s mother, who died approximately 2 years ago, stressed the importance
of an education throughout Lucy’s life. Lucy said that because of her mother’s wish
for her to achieve graduate school success, she was determined to complete her
doctorate degree. Lucy said, “It [the completion of her doctorate degree] was for her
[mother].” According to Lucy, therefore, her mother’s efforts to instill a sense of the

importance of academics in her strongly inﬂuenced her success in graduate school.

Other Family Members: Motivating, Coaching, or Encouraging

Similar to parents and/or siblings having an inﬂuence on the participants’
success in graduate school, other family members such as aunts, uncles, cousins, and
grandparents have also had an inﬂuence on Odessa, Delores, James, Brandon, and
Lucy’s success in graduate school by motivating, coaching, or encouraging them to

persist academically. For instance, Odessa’s aunt, who is a college professor and

79

Odessa’s primary mentor and role model, was inﬂuential in her decision to pursue
her doctorate degree. She was Odessa’s primary motivator and coach who provided
her with information about the doctoral experience.

Delores’ uncle, who is a medical doctor and served as her primary mentor
and role model had an inﬂuence on her graduate school success. Her uncle
encouraged her to go straight through school and complete her mster’s and doctoral
degrees. He stated that she would risk not completing her doctorate degree if she
started a ﬁrll-time job or got married before completing her degree. She said that he
was the one person who truly understood why she wanted to pursue her graduate
degrees and encouraged her until she received both master’s and doctorate degrees.

Delores also implied that completing her undergraduate degree was a
monumental event. She said that since “nobody in my immediate Emily had gone
through school that far [receiving a bachelor’s degree]...it was a big deal, I guess, in
the Emily—that I had gone for my undergraduate degree and that I was ﬁnishing
school.” Delores reported that “ﬁve out of her six aunts, three uncles, and six or
seven cousins” came to her undergraduate graduation. She was extremely pleased by
their support. Delores stated that her family members were “integral” in
“motivating” her to complete her degree because she also “wanted to make them feel
good” when she completed the degree.

James also reported that family members other than his parents also had an
inﬂuence on his graduate school success by encouraging him to become a college
graduate like themselves. According to James, some of his aunts and uncles who

were college graduates and educators (i.e., elementary and secondary teachers) often

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encouraged him through their motivational talks and words of encouragement.
These acts inﬂuenced James’ academic success in graduate school.

Brandon, on the other hand, was the only participant who reported that his
grandparents were also college educated. He said that his grandparents passed along
their strong belief in family members receiving a college education, which in turn,
inﬂuenced his commitment and success in undergraduate and graduate school.
Brandon stated that he is proud to be a part of his family’s legacy of achieving a
higher education.

Lucy reported that since she grew up in a close-knit Emily that has held
family reunions three times a year for the past 30 years, she was often exposed to
aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who had an inﬂuence on her success in
graduate school. Lucy said that because of these Emily gatherings, she was
encouraged, academically, by her Emily, which shaped her into who she is as a
person, academically. She stated that she was often reminded of her Emily history
and the Emily’s strong belief in education during the family reunions. As a result,
Lucy embraced a sense of the importance of academics and success that her family

values.

Spouses: providing guidance, advice, emotional support,

or taking on extra duties.

While other Emily members played a part in the participants’ graduate
school success, Lucy, Sally, and Wilma’s husbands played a signiﬁcant part in

inﬂuencing their academic success by providing them with guidance, advice,

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emotional support, or taking on extra household responsibilities/duties. For example,
Lucy’s husband assisted her academically to achieve graduate school success by
providing her with guidance and advice. She suggested that her husband often
advised and guided her academically by sharing with her certain strategies that
would enable her to complete her coursework easily. For example, since he was a
doctoral graduate, through his experiences in graduate school he was able to advise
her to take most of her required statistics courses during her ﬁrst two semesters. He
told her that by taking these statistics courses during her ﬁrst year she would become
more Emiliar with researching early in her program. He also stated that once she
completed the statistics courses, she would then be able to focus on other courses
that were directly related to her program focus and research interests. Focusing on
her program and research interests would also enable her to start research and writing
on topics related to her dissertation early in the program.

Sally maintained that without the emotional support of her husband during
her graduate experience, it would have been extremely difﬁcult for her to succeed in
graduate school. She referred to his support as being “overwhelmingly supportive.”
She also stated that although there were days when she felt “low” or lacked self-
esteem, her husband was there to support her emotionally by cheering her on and
encouraging her to persist.

Wilma’s husband also lard an inﬂuence on her graduate school success by
taking on extra household responsibilities/duties. She said that not only did her
husband provide her with emotional support to succeed in her graduate school, he

also showed his support by playing the role of both dad and mom during times when

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she needed to study. She said that her husband was often available to assist their son
with his homework and attend to other household responsibilities/duties while she
studied at the library.

In summary, Emily has strongly inﬂuenced several of the participants’
success in graduate school by inﬂuencing their choice of academic discipline and
careers, motivating or encouraging them to persist in completing their graduate
degrees, providing them with guidance, advice, emotional support, or taking on extra
household responsibilities, which assisted them in completing their degrees. Thus,
without the Emily’s role in inﬂuencing various aspects of their academic success,

the participants might not have been successful in graduate school.

Junior High and High School Experiences

Based on the data taken from Patrick and Brandon’s interviews, some of their
experiences in junior high and high school, and some of their junior high and high
school math and science teachers strongly inﬂuenced their participation in math and
science, which ultimately inﬂuenced their success in graduate school. In this section,
I discuss how Patrick and Brandon’s participation in junior high and high school
math and science courses, activities, or programs inﬂuenced their success in graduate
school. Also, I discuss how Patrick’s and Brandon’s junior high and high school
teachers inﬂuenced their participation in math and science courses and programs
through their teaching style or encouragement, which ultimately inﬂuenced their

graduate school success.

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Junior high & high school experiences: participation in math & science

courses and activities/programs promote success.

Experiences during junior high and high school impacted Patrick and
Brandon’s success in graduate school by enabling them to participate in various math
and science courses, activities, or programs. Also, opportunities to practice taking
standardized tests during high school enabled Patrick to perform better on
standardized tests, which also contributed to his success in graduate school. Patrick
said that much of his success in math and science derived ﬁom taking math and
science courses in junior high and high school. He enjoyed algebra, geometry, and
English—although English was not a required course for the sciences. Patrick stated
that his English course provided him skills that helped him prepare to write in a
scholarly manner. Furthermore, the experiences Patrick gained through
memberships in math and science organizations and by attending math and science
fairs during his junior high and high school years helped him become knowledgeable
about various math and science opportunities.

If for example, Patrick said that joining math and science organizations is
essential to becoming successful in the ﬁeld of math and science. “There was an
organization called Technology Student Association, which is an organization that I
joined in junior high, and continued through high school,” he maintained. According
to Patrick, this organization allows students to go to state events to speak and to
design and build bridges (architecturally). Through this organization, Patrick also

designed and built race-cars (architecturally and through models). All of these

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activities involved mathematics and Patrick was able to apply knowledge gained by
taking the English courses to enhance his speaking and writing abilities.

He further stated that if a student won the state level competition, the student
could move on to the national competition. “The idea is for you to go in a room and
someone will give you several topics and you have to write an essay on the topic and
then speak about the topic on the spur of the moment,” he reported. He further
maintained that “you could be given an opportunity to write some notes or an essay
about the topic and then give a speech related to the topic; or, you could simply be
asked to present information about a topic they choose; you’re given a few minutes
to get your thoughts together and then give a speech on the topic.”

Patrick also attributed his success in graduate school to practicing taking
standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT, which is a required test that many
colleges and universities use as a tool to determine whether students were accepted
for admission. During his junior year in high school, Patrick stated that he found out
from students in another school district that they were taking practice standardized
tests to get them familiar with the types of questions that would be on the tests.

' These practice test materials not only included the practice tests; they also included
instructions and strategies that enabled test-takers to increase their test scores.

Once Patrick found out about the practice tests, be believed that he and other
students in his school district also could perform well on the tests if they had access
to these test materials and strategies. Therefore, he reported this information to other
students in his school district and followed through by obtaining practice tests and

practicing. By taking the practice tests during his junior and senior years in high

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school, Patrick was able to perform well on the tests and make a score that was
acceptable for college admission.

Brandon maintained that participating in math and science courses, activities
and programs enabled him to achieve success in these subjects. He recalled that his
interest in math and science developed, primarily, from taking math and science
courses in junior high school and high school. He stated that he “always liked asking
questions” in class about math and science-related problems, and as a result,
“gravitated towards these classes more so than any other classes.” He further
suggested that because of his interest and knowledge of the sciences, he participated
in accelerated science programs and enjoyed what these programs had to oﬁ"er. He
said that through the science programs, he learned about this ﬁeld of study, and how
science could be applied to real-life situations. He further stated that “by eighth and
ninth grade, I was into science courses. . .and apparently it was a natural transition”
[from junior high to high school, and then to college]. Therefore, according to
Brandon, experiences related to math and science contributed to his success in

graduate school.

Junior high & high school teachers: promoting success in math & science.
Secondary math and science teachers have promoted the participants’ success
in math and science by keeping them interested in the subjects through their teaching
styles, or by encouraging them to pursue careers in math or science. For example,
Patrick attributed much of his math success to his junior high school algebra teacher

and her teaching style. He said that because he enjoyed his algebra teacher, who

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gave him interesting problems as opposed to just tedious ones, he was able to
understand how math connected to the physical world, hence, inﬂuencing his success
in graduate school.

Brandon’s high school science teacher also had an inﬂuence on his success in
graduate school by inﬂuencing his decision to pursue a career in science. He said
that because one of his high school science teachers encouraged him to pursue
science by telling him that he was “going to graduate school to become a scientist,”
he was encouraged to become a scientist. Brandon is now a scientist at a major
research university in the Midwest.

In summary, experiences during junior high and high school impacted
Brandon and Patrick’s success in graduate school by enabling them to participate in
various math and science courses, activities, or programs. Also, opportunities to
practice taking standardized tests during high school have enabled Patrick to perform
better on standardized tests, which also contributed to his success in graduate school.
In addition to Brandon and Patrick’s math and science-related experiences
encountered during their junior high and high school years impacting their success in
graduate school, their secondary math and science teachers also promoted their
success in math and science by keeping them interested in the subject matter through
their teaching styles, or by encouraging them to pursue careers in math or science,

which also contributed to their success in graduate school.

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Undergraduate College Experiences

Based on the data taken from Brandon and Patrick’s interviews,
undergraduate college experiences with professors had an inﬂuence on their success
in graduate school. In Brandon’s interview, he reported that some of his
undergraduate college professors provided him with opportunities to participate in
summer research and job-shadowing programs, and by giving advice on which
college to attend graduate school. Patrick also reported in his interview that his
rmdergraduate professors made it possible for him to participate in various science
and research programs, which gave him exposure to math and science on a scholarly
level. In this section, I discuss how Brandon and Patrick’s undergraduate college
professors provided them with opportunities to participate in summer research, job-
shadowing, or science and research programs, and advice on which college to attend

graduate school, which directly aﬁ‘ected their success in graduate school.

Undergraduate college professors: providing research & job-shadowing program
opportunities, and advice.

Undergraduate college professors have impacted the participants’ success in
graduate school by providing them with research and job-shadowing opportunities,
and advice on where to attend graduate school. For example, one of Brandon’s
professors encouraged him to participate in summer research programs away ﬁom
campus. Hesaidthattheseprogramshelped himto become Emiliarwithknown
researchers who provided valuable information about the diﬁ'erent kinds of research

that he would conduct in graduate school. He stated, “I took advantage of those

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[summer research programs]. . .I’ve been placed in different research programs for
three years before I came to Michigan State. . .and these programs are helpful.”

Brandon was extremely pleased to have gained research experience during
his undergraduate years in college. He asserted that at his undergraduate university,
“there’s more of an emphasis on how you relate to students, because you’re going to
be in the classroom, you’re going to be teaching, and because we’re a small
lmiversity and pride ourselves on turning out students who are capable and ready to
perform at the next level, be that graduate school or going out into the workforce, or
professional healthcare.”

Brandon said that he was a pre-med major (in the professional healthcare
ﬁeld) at his undergraduate college. He said that his undergraduate college prides
itself on having one of the largest disciplines (healthcare) at the university and it was
not unusual for the population at the university to have a great number of pre-health
professional biology students because of its reputation in the health areas.

Brandon’s professor also encouraged him to participate in a job-shadowing
program that was designed to help students become familiar with jobs in certain
career ﬁelds. By participating in the job-shadowing program, Brandon was allowed
to observe individuals on their jobs in order to gain knowledge about the types of
work activities and responsibilities associated with jobs that may be of interest to
them.

Brandon stated that one of the things that impressed him about the shadowing
program was that students could gain academic experience in the ﬁeld (biological

sciences). Brandon reported that at these program settings, “they place you in the

89

summers in different positions where you go around and do hospital rounds with
them.” “So that experience taught me that I wasn’t cut out to be a healthcare
provider; but by that time, I had taken quite a few science courses,” Brandon said.
He also said that since he had taken many science courses, two of his undergraduate
professors/advisors brainstormed ways with him about how he could apply these
courses to another science discipline. As a result of the brainstorming, it was
suggested that Brandon attend graduate school so that he would not lose his
accumulated science credits.

Brandon argued that this undergraduate experience with his advisors strongly
inﬂuenced his graduate student success and career because “it was just a process of
exposing me to research, essentially, and helping me understand what type of careers
would be possible with a graduate degree and staying in scientiﬁc research.” He
further commented, “Those two experiences—deciding on whether to go into the
health profession, and receiving good advice from faculty advisors about what
graduate education would mean in terms of a research career, led to my decision to
pursue a scientiﬁc research career.”

After his decision to go to graduate school, Brandon’s advisors assisted him
in obtaining exposure to the ﬁeld of science. “That’s where the summer program
started—going to different labs and just getting your hands wet doing the researc ”
he ﬁrrther stated. Furthermore, Brandon stated that he chose MSU to attend graduate
school because his advisor, who was also an MSU graduate, motivated him to attend
MSU. Another reason why Brandon chose MSU was because MSU did not require

their science students to have a master’s degree prior to attending doctoral study. As

90

a result, Brandon made application to attend MSU’s doctoral program in
microbiology prior to attending graduate school. He is now a scientist at a major
research university.

Patrick said that because his undergraduate professor provided him with
many opportrmities to attend various science programs during his tenure at
Commerce University [ﬁctitious undergraduate college name], he was exposed to
math and science on a scholarly level. “While I was an undergraduate student, I
attended research programs at the University of Canton (ﬁctitious name), and a
technical research program at Strong University (ﬁctitious name),” he said.

According to Patrick, these types of exposures captured his interest in
pursuing a graduate degree in math and science. He said, “One of the things that
motivated me to pursue a PhD. was actively doing research and teaching.” Patrick
maintained that prior to graduate school, he had an opportunity to teach an
undergraduate cause as an undergraduate student, further motivating his interest to
pursue the PhD. Hence, Patrick attributed his discipline choice and career decision
to his interest in research and teaching, and in math and science.

In summary, undergraduate college ermeriences with professors had an
inﬂuence on Brandon and Patrick’s success in graduate school. For example,
Brandon’s undergraduate college professors provided him with opportunities to
participate in summer research and job-shadowing programs. Also, Patrick’s
rmdergraduate professors made it possible for him to participate in various science
and research programs, which provided him with exposure to math and science on a

scholarly leveL This exposure to math and science on a scholarly level prepared

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Patrick to write scholarly papers and publications while in graduate school, which

affected his success in graduate study.

Spirituality: An Important Motivating Force to Persist

Spirituality has been instrumental in motivating at least eight of the
participants (David, Delores, Wilma, James, Patrick, Odessa, Kimberly, and Sally) to
persist in completing their graduate degrees through having a relationship with God,
attending Sunday morning church services, reading the Bible, gaining faith through
spirituality, praying, and obtaining divine intervention ﬁom God. For example,
David emphasized the importance of prioritizing the important things in life. He
stated, “The important things in life are relationships with God, Emily, and ﬁ'iends;
those are the most important things to me.” David believed that God motivated him
to persist in his educational attainments through prayer and reading the Bible, which
had an inﬂuence on his success in graduate school.

Delores stated that because of her “spirituality, and knowing God and having
a relationship with Him,” she succeeded in completing her degrees. She said, “I felt
I had a strong connection with God and I intentionally made sure that that
[relationship with God] was in place. . .not just for a graduate student, but for my own
life experience.” Another reason why Delores believed that God was a motivating
force in her graduate school success was because she stated that she “was exactly
where God wanted me to be [in graduate school].” She ﬁn'ther commented,

“oftentimes, He [God] was all I had to lean on...and that was very important...ifl

92

had not have had Him in my life, I know I would not have been able to do it [become
a success in graduate school].”

Wilma suggested that because of her spirituality, which motivated her to
become successﬁll in graduate school, she often arrived to church on Sunday
mornings at 7:30 am. to make sure that she started her week early “thanking God for
all of His blessings.” James reported that without his spirituality and his relationship
with God, he would not have been successﬁrl in completing his doctorate degree. He
said, “I don’t think I could have survived that experience [graduate experience]
without God and my church.”

Patrick also reported that his spirituality motivated him to become successful
in graduate school because of his relationship with God, and by reading the Bible.
He said: i

There were times when I took an exam, and did not do well....it was important for
meto understand the scripture [inthe Bible] and knowthatall ofthese things
[hardships] would end. . .that was what was important for me.. .and how I enjoyed
being able to have that peace and then have people ask me about it...so then I can
tell them why I have this peace and that is important to me....There are some
people who are intelligent academically, but they have no perspective on anything
else or don’t realize what’s really important....so being able to be a part of the
chmch and have plans where we did other things, helps maintain a sense of
what’s really important. . .it helps maintain yorn' perspective.

Odessa also maintained that her spirituality motivated her to gain faith in

completing her educational goals. For example, she stated, “I think my spirituality

93

and my faith.. .pulled me through [graduate school success]. . .because I’m a strong
believer in God, and I think that God is not going to bring you to any experience
without bringing you through it....so that helped me to kind ofpersist and keep
going in spite of all the obstacles.”

Sally reported that because of her spirituality and relationship with God, she
was able to gain “divine intervention” through prayer to write well on papers. She
said:

I’ve had experiences where I’m writing a paper, and writing is hard for me,

very hard for me . . .I’d rather give a presentation to a million people than

write for a journal. . .anyway, I might be sitting at my computer with a blank
screen and I’d say, ‘Okay Lord, I need to compile these citations’. ..I’ve got
all these articles and papers and stuﬁ‘near me...I’ve spent the last halfan
hour trying to ﬁnd it [citations and relevant-articles]. . .and again, I’d say,

‘Okay Lord, where is it?’...and literally, I’d reach over, pick something up,

and there it was...I mean literally.

Sally also stated, “I have written papers in the shower...divine
intervention. . .I mean, literally, the entire paper would come to me in the
shower. . .I’ve gotten out of the shower and rewritten a ten page paper.” Therefore,
Sally suggested that her spirituality and divine intervention ﬁ'om God motivated her
to persist in writing better papers throughout her college studies, which ultimately
led to her success in graduate school. Kimberly did not provide speciﬁc examples of
how her spirituality motivated her success in graduate school, but she did state that

by attending church, she was motivated to succeed in graduate school.

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In summary, spirituality has been instrumental in motivating David, Delores,
Wilma, James, Patrick, Odessa, Kimberly, and Sally to persist in completing their
graduate degrees through having a relationship with God, attending Slmday morning
chmch services, reading the Bible, gaining Eith through spirituality, praying, or
obtaining divine intervention from God. According to the participants, without their
spirituality, it would have been extremely difﬁcult, or even impossible, if their

spirituality had not motivated them to persist in performing well academically.

Summary

According to the participants, various experiences prior to graduate study had
an inﬂuence on their success in graduate school Some of these experiences
involved Emily members who had an inﬂuence on their choice of academic
discipline and careers, and their sense of the importance of academics. Also, some
of the spouses of the participants provided guidance, advice, emotional support, or
took on extra household responsibilities that assisted them in completing their
degrees.

In addition to Emily members having an inﬂuence on the participants’
success in graduate school, experiences encountered through participation in junior
high and high school corn'ses, activities, programs, and relationships with junior high
and high school math and science teachers have promoted the participants’ success
in graduate school. Furthermore, experiences during undergraduate college study

with professors enabled participants to perform well in their math and science

95

disciplines, which ultimately impacted their success in graduate school and career

decisions.

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Chapter 5
Aspects or Issues Connected with Race That Contributed to Success
Introduction

The term “race” has been deﬁned and used in a variety of ways; however, for
the purposes of this study, “race” was deﬁned as “an arbitrary classiﬁcation of
populations conceived in Europe, using actual or assumed genetic traits to classify
populations of the world into a hierarchical order, with Europeans superior to all
others” (Carter & Qureshi, 1995, p. 250). This deﬁnition identiﬁes individuals by
virtue of their racial or ethnic background—mean American or Black in the
present study. Aﬁican Americans often have encountered similar experiences,
arguably because of their race, in which others treat them differently than they would
Whites.

Several scholars have argued that race plays a signiﬁcant role in the
experiences of African American graduate students because any attendant moist
behaviors and prejudices create many barriers to success (Anderson, 1994; Haymes,
1995; Lusane, 1997; Turner & Myers, 2000; West, 1994; White, 1984; Willie et al.,
1991). Is this statement true? What does it mean? Is it an indication that colleges
and universities sometimes deliberately construct racial barriers to hinder the success
of Aﬁ'ican American graduate students? Alternatively, does it mean that academic
deﬁciencies caused by societal racial discrimination diminish Aﬁ'ican American
graduate students’ chances of succeeding in the academy? These are important
questions because many persons in and out of the academy view “race” as negatively

impacting the academic experiences of Aﬁican Americans.

97

The results of this study, however, run contrary to that opinion. They
demonstrate, in fact, that race can be a positive Ector in the lives and experiences of
Aﬁ'ican American graduate students. According to nine of the ten study participants,
race pEyed a positive role in their doctoral student successes. This assertion does
not suggest that racial barriers were not present, nor does it imply that participants
were unaware of possible racial barriers. Instead, the ﬁndings suggest that, if racial
barriers were present for the study participants, they were able to overcome those
barriers by turning them into motivators for academic success. To gain a clear
understanding of this process, I discuss six key ways in which race played a positive
role in the participants’ graduate experiences.

Several scholars have contended that the development of a positive
perception of their race better positions African Americans to overcome racial
barriers such as racism or discrimination in order to achieve academically (Cross,
1991; Helms, 1995; Ivey, 1995; White, 1994). Since the participants in this study
overcame racial barriers and achieved academic success, I ﬁrst examine the
participants’ perceptions of their race and the importance of their race to them.
Second, I discuss if, and how, Emily members shaped the participants’ views of
theirraceduring their youth Third, I discuss howasenseofpride intheirrace
motivated some of the participants to perform well in their ﬁelds of study (math and
science or athletic training), so that they could effectively serve as positive role
models for African American students to follow. Also in this section, I examine how
a sense of pride in being Aﬁican American inspired some of the participants to

perform well speciﬁcally in math and science, allowing them to serve as good

98

representatives for their race by disproving stereotypes suggesting that Aﬁ-ican
Americans may have difﬁculty in succeeding in these disciplines.

Fourth, I discuss how ethnic minority college professors, administrators, or
student-peers provided support (i.e., guidance, advice, or knowledge/wisdom) to the
participants. As ethnic minority persons themselves, they understood and could
relate to some of the potential racial barriers that African American students
sometimes Ece on predominately White college campuses. Fifth, I discuss how the
participants’ minority status as African Americans made them eligible to receive
minority-based fellowships, which lessened ﬁnancial barriers to success by paying
their tuition and other college-related fees. Sixth, I discuss how the participants’
confrontations with racial barriers actually contributed to their successes as they
transformed the barriers into motivators for academic achievement.

Following the discussion of the key ways in which race played a positive role
in the participants’ graduate experiences, I discuss three instances in which race did
not contribute to success. Three of the study participants claimed that they
conﬁonted racial barriers about which they could do nothing. They just had to deal
with or succumb to racism, discrimination, and stereotyping. Before concluding, I
discuss some experiences in which the participants did not perceive race as a salient
issue at all. These individuals asserted that other issues, such as socio-economic
status, the nature of a particular discipline (math or science), or self-determination

and hard work, played larger roles in their experiences.

99

Participants’ Perceptions of Race

As previously stated, African Americans are better positioned to overcome
racial barriers such as racism or discrimination and to achieve academically when
they hold positive views of their race. Without exception, the study participants had
positive views of their race. All ten were very proud to be Aﬁ'ican American. For
example, one participant stated, “Some pe0ple have said. . . that they don’t see color.
. .I want them to see color, because a Black woman is what I am. . .and it’s very,
very, very important.”

Cross (1991) has described the process of developing positive race
perceptions from a reference group orientation. This development is a ﬁve-stage
maturation process in which external negative images of one’s race are replaced with
positive internal images. At each stage, the growing positive perceptions of race link
to an increasing importance of race to the individual. Movement through the stages
is sequential and dependent upon personal experiences encountered in the larger
social world and the internalization of those experiences. In the ﬁrst stage, the
importance of race to the individual is low, and there is little awareness of mcial
discrimination. By the fourth stage, however, Blacks attach great importance to
being Aﬁ'ican American. They perceive their race as a positive attribute, rmderstand
discrimination, and devise strategies to resist it.

The link between positive perceptions of race and importance of race
suggested by Cross (1991) applied for the participants. During the interviews, I
asked them to rank the importance their race held for them in relation to their life and

academic experiences. On a scale from 1 to 4, (#l—very important, #2—somewhat

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important, #3—not important, #4—not sure), eight of the participants reported that
their race was “very important;” while two reported that it was “somewhat
importan.” Because all of the participants had positive perceptions of their race and
most of them viewed their race as being “very important,” they were able to
overcome potential racial barriers and, as a result, successfully met their academic
goals. The participants who ranked their race as being “very important” suggested
that their Emily members were instrumental in the development of their views of

their race.

Family Members' Inﬂuence on Participants’ Perceptions of Their Race

Given the overall inﬂuence of Emily members in shaping the views and
values of children generally (Elkin & Handel, 1984), it is reasonable to argue that
Emily members have the greatest inﬂuence on their children’s views of their race.
In the Aﬁ'ican American community, for example, family members play a key role in
shaping the views of Aﬁican American youth and adolescents toward their race.
Encouraging their children to view their race positively ultimately helps children
cope with certain racial problems or barriers that could stand in the way of their
success (Cross, 1991; Helms, 1995;1vey, 1995; White, 1984). This argument
seemed to be reﬂected in the experiences of most of the participants in this study.
They believed that Emily members strongly impacted their positive views of their
race.

Participants mentioned three of the ways in which Emily members shaped

their views of their race. Family members attended Historically Black Colleges and

101

Universities (HBCUs) for their formal education, participated in civil rights marches
and sit-ins, and fought racial injustices in the workplace within their communities.
Following are stories from two of the participants that illustrate how Emily members
shaped their views of their race.

Family members who attended HBCUs, for example, helped shape the
participants’ views of their race because attending HBCUs promoted the Emily
members’ own pride in their race through their support of colleges tint primarily
consisted of Aﬁican American students, Eculty, and staff. One study participant,
Brandon, encouraged by Emily members’ efforts to promote their race by attending
a HBCU, went to a HBCU for his own undergraduate studies. His student
experiences there were positive, and he consequently decided to pmsue a career at a
HBCU: “I started off my academic career at an HBCU, so that tells you something
there. . . it’s [race] important to me. . . .Race Ectors in because, for instance, I want
to start my career at an HBCU. . .I feel like I’m going to be a part of a HBCU,”
Brandon asserted.

The strong inﬂuence that Brandon’s Emily members ind on shaping his
positive view of his race supported his goal of academic achievement. He happily
reported that he graduated ﬁom a HBCU with a BS. in microbiology. Later,
Brandon graduated ﬁom MSU with a Ph.D. in the biological sciences and is now a
post-doctorate student and researcher at a major research university located in the
Midwest. Brandon reported that he still plans on having a career at a HBCU.

Family members’ participation in civil rights marches and sit-ins within

their communities shaped another participant’s view of her race. By observing her

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family members’ participation in the ﬁght against racial injustices, Lucy (who is in
her early 403) received the clear and profound message that having pride in one’s
race meant participating in civil rights marches and other similar peaceﬁrl
demonstrations as a means to overcome racial barriers and demonstrating to others
a lack of tolerance for racial injustices. Lucy stated, “I come ﬁom a Emily of
persons who were willing to step out and take a risk. . .it was experiences like these
[civil rights activism] that shaped me into the Black woman that I am now.” She
further said:
One of my earliest memories involved a community march for civil rights of
Native Americans. . . .There was this state-wide campaign and they [Emily
members] marched throughout diﬂ‘erent towns in the state. . . .WhenI was a
small child, my aunts, uncles, cousins, my mom and dad, and my brother
marched for freedom. . . .As I think back, I didn’t even know what a Native
American was.
Lucy stated that Emily members also took part in other civil rights activities such as
restaurant sit-ins to show their pride in their race and to achieve racial equality:
I also have a brother who is eight years older than I am; he integrated a
restaurant when I was very young, but I remembered my mom pacing on the
day that it was happening—pacing back and forth because my brother and a
ﬁrst cousin entered a restaurant where BEcks were not allowed to enter the

White side.

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Lucy’s pride was evident when she reported that, because her brother and cousin sat
down at the restaurant counter and refused to move, “the restaurant subsequently was
integrated.”

On another occasion, Lucy’s Emily members demonstrated their pride in
their race and their desire to ﬁght against racial injustices by participating in a sit-in
at a public library in their community. “I have another ﬁrst cousin who, along with
two other relatives, all cousins, integrated the public library.” According to Lucy,
prior to the integration of the town’s public library, Blacks had to arrive at the
library’s back door, give a list of books they wanted to the clerk, receive the books,
and then vacate the premises. She said that Blacks were neither allowed to enter nor
browse in the library. “And what do you do in a library but browse?” asked Lucy.

Another of Lucy’s family members, her mother, demonstrated her pride in
being an Aﬁ'ican American by ﬁghting racial injustices in the workplace. When she
was a child, Lucy witnessed her mother being discriminated against because of her
race. Until the time of her death in 2000, Lucy’s mother “was the ﬁrst and still only
Black head nurse the local hospital ever had.” Her mother was overlooked for
promotions and was paid less than her White counterparts. “That was a way of life
in our hometown,” Lucy asserted. Lucy remembered her mother speaking out
against unEir practices. “She was a ﬁghter. She would go in and say, ‘Look, I know
so-and-so has the same qualiﬁcations 1 have and she’s getting paid this amount’—
there are no other characteristics that differ other than race,” Lucy argued.

Lucy also remembered Emily conversations about the injustices her mother

faced and the concern that nothing was being done to correct them. For instance,

104

Lucy stated that the hosle administration “would bring nurses in—she [mother]
would train them because she was a sharp nurse, very professional.” According to
Lucy, everyone thought that her mother did an excellent job. Lucy’s mother trained
the new nurses, but it was the new nurses who were promoted to supervisory
positions by the hospital administrators. Lucy’s mother, in Ect, consistently found
herself in a position of being supervised by the very nurses she Md trained. Lucy
suggested that her mother’s efforts to end the unEir treatment she confronted were
an inspiration to Lucy and instilled in her an even greater appreciation for her race.
In summary, Emily members helped shape participants’ views of their race
by example. As shown in Brandon and Lucy’s stories, many of the participants’
early family experiences promoted and supported pride in their race. This sense of
pride provided most participants with a source of inspiration and a motivation to
overcome racial barriers and achieve academically as they encountered the

challenges of graduate school.

Role Modeling and Dispelling Stereotypes

While pride in being an African American motivated the participants to
overcome racial barriers and succeed academically, it had eﬁ‘ects beyond individual
achievements. Some of the study participants were motivated by their strong sense of
pride in their race to perform well in their ﬁelds of study and be effective role
models for other Aﬁican American students to follow. Pride in their race also
motivated them to be good representatives of African Americans generally. In this

section, I present stories of three of the participants tMt illustrate how they came to

105

the realization that they should be good role models for other Aﬁican American
students. I also oﬁ’er stories from two of the participants that illustrate how pride in
being Aﬁican American and the desire to be good representatives of their race
motivated them to do well in math and science so that they could disprove

stereotypes sometimes held by the general public.

Role modeling for the success of future students.

Brandon, Patrick, and Sally all wanted to be good role models for other
Aﬁican American students. To do so, they knew that they had to perform well in
their chosen ﬁelds of study. Brandon was in a great position to interact with Aﬁican
American math and science graduate students because he was on a committee to help
his department recruit and retain Aﬁican American students. He explained:

I think it [being a role model for other Aﬁican American students] reminded me in a
way of another reason why I was here in graduate school——not just to get this degree,
but that other students [African American graduate students] would beneﬁt from
people like myself ﬁnishing the [math and science] program and establishing
themselves in a research institution. . .and then to help other [Aﬁ'ican American]
students to achieve if they decided they wanted to do graduate school.

Brandon’s desire to achieve and serve as a self-appointed role model for future
Aﬁican American graduate students to emulate motivated him to succeed in his
doctoral program

Patrick also wanted to be a good role model. He felt that gaining the respect

106

necessary to encourage other Aﬁ'ican American math and science students to
perform well required that he excel in math and science. Fmtherrnore, he felt
tremendous pressure to succeed because he was the only African American Ph.D.
student in his ﬁeld of study on campus. Patrick maintained:
As an Aﬁ'ican American, you feel you’re not just working [performing
academically] for yourself. . . .You feel like what you do is going to reﬂect
on people [other Aﬁ'ican American math and science students] that come
behind you. . . .Being a Ph.D. [student], you realize that you have some
inﬂuence over younger people [Aﬁ'ican American students] who come to the
university, Aﬁ'ican American students who visit the university, and they need
somebody to talk to. . .you’re that person, that only person. . . .And so you
realize that you Mve some inﬂuence over them; and so to me, it [race] has to
play a role, because of those facts alone.
Patrick admitted that, although being a positive role model for other Aﬁ'ican
Americans math and science students was somewMt stressﬁll, he felt privileged to
be a successful graduate student whom other Aﬁ'ican Americans could emulate.
Sally also was motivated to perform well in her chosen ﬁeld of athletic
training because she worked directly with Aﬁican American student athletes. Sally
liked the Ect that she was in the perfect position to serve as a role model for these
students. Not only were she able to relate to the Aﬁ'ican American student athletes
because she was an Aﬁican American and a former athlete, she also was their
professor. Sally made herself accessible to listen to their concerns and to meet their

emotional needs. She could give advice and guidance to help them overcome

107

adversities that were connected with either racism or the stereotyping of Aﬁ'ican

American athletes. She said:
There are often privileges there [working at her college]. . . .I Md an
opportunity to work with Aﬁican American athletes, particularly, on
predominately White campuses. . . .They [Aﬁican American athletes] don’t
see very many folks that look like us [Aﬁ'ican Americans] in the discipline. .
.they go to practice, they Mve White coaches or there might be one Black
coach. . .but it’s sometimes diﬂicult to go talk to the coach about issues
they’re Ecing with the team [issues related to race]. . .so as a Black woman
member of the athletic staff, they can come and talk to me about issues of
racism or feeling isolated or being the only one [Aﬁican American] in their
class. . . .Also, if they’re a football or basketball player, then they Mve those
other types of stereotypes that come along with being the ‘dumb jock’ type. .
. .So my race and my gender privileged are [provided certain opportunities]
and allowed me access in a different kind of way to those athletes, where they
might not Mve had that [opportunity to conﬁde in an African American
professor who was also an athletic trainer].

As a proud “Black woman” member of the athletic staﬁ at her college, Sally was in a

much better position to serve as a role model for Aﬁ'ican American student athletes

because they would be able to relate to her and respect her as a successful Aﬁican

American athletic trainer.
Pride in their race and the opportunity to serve as positive role models for

other African American students to emulate especially motivated these participants

108

to perform well in their graduate school ﬁelds of study. They felt that their own

successes would encourage other Aﬁican Americans to succeed.

Dispelling stereotypes.

Two of the participants wanted to disprove stereotypes attached to Aﬁ'ican
American abilities in math and science. These participants felt that, if they “raised
the bar” and excelled in math and science, they would demonstrate the talents of
Aﬁican Americans to people inside and outside of the academy. Brandon, however,
found that his sense of responsibility to dispel stereotypes could be a burden. He
said:

I certainly felt an obligation at this point [in graduate school] to do well in

science. . . .I’ve always actually felt tMt. . . .Sometimes it’s more of a burden

than a positive feeling. . .although, I certainly feel proud of where I am now

[a doctoral graduate], my potential to give back to the African American

community [be a resource for members of his community—Aﬁican

Americans—to achieve], and by doing so is an intrinsic pride. . .that’s wMt I

intend to do. . . .That’s wMt I would like to do. . . .And so, race is important .

. . I don’t ignOre it.

Patrick also felt, at times, that his efforts to represent his race positively became a
burden. He asserted:

As an African American, you feel like you’re not just working for yourself

[in representing other Aﬁican Americans academically]. You feel like wMt

you do is going to reﬂect on people [Aﬁ'ican Americans] that come behind

109

you. You feel like you’re carrying the load alone because I was the ﬁrst

Black to graduate with a Ph.D. in [his ﬁeld] from Michigan State .

. . and so you feel that you Mve to carry yourself professionally . . . because

obviously these people [Eculty and staff within his department] Mve not

dealt with African Americans before [on the doctoral level] . . . since I was
the ﬁrst one to go through at the Ph.D. level. . . .And so they don’t really
know wMt to think, how to act, whether to just treat me like just another guy,
and so you feel like you’re representing not only yourself, but people that
come behind you [other African Americans].

Of the ten participants, only Brandon, Sally, and Patrick reported feeling a
self-imposed responsibility for helping to ensure that other Aﬁican American
students achieve and disproving stereotypes. They also reported that their sense of
responsibility was sometimes burdensome. My analysis caused me to wonder
whether being one of a very small minority of Aﬁican American math and science
students creates a particular kind of chlenge for Aﬁ'ican Americans who strive to

set examples of excellence.

College Professors and Administrators: Providing Support for Success

It is no secret that college professors or administrators, regardless of their
race or ethnicity, play key roles in the academic success of Aﬁ'ican American
students. College professors or administrators often help students by providing them
with academic and/or emotional support. According to most of the participants in

this study, however, ethnic minority college professors or administrators were

110

especially helpful in providing them with guidance, advice, or knowledge that helped
them meet their academic and career goals.

Several participants reported that ethnic minority college professors or
administrators made extra efforts to ensure their successes, particularly if they
attended predominately White colleges and universities. I present stories ﬁom
several of the participants that illustrate how ethnic minority professors within the
participants’ departments or study programs provided the participants with support to
achieve academic success. Then, I provide stories ﬁ'om participants tMt illustrate
how ethnic minority college professors or administrators who held positions outside
the participants’ departments or programs provided the participants with support.
Finally, I offer stories ﬁ'om participants that illustrate the supportive role played by

Aﬁ'ican American faculty members at HBCUs.

Support from African American professors inside the

department/program.

Delores asserted that an Aﬁican American female professor within her
department, who was also close to Delores in age, provided guidance, advice, and
knowledge about how to complete her doctoral prograrm

She really helped me by telling me what to do [when preparing for graduate

success], wMt type of job I should look for, wMt type of salaries I should

look for—things my advisor [White female professor] told me about;

however, toward the end [of the doctoral process]. . . .She gave me the kind

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of down and dirty [information] that I needed to get through [graduate

school].

According to Delores, the information ﬁ'om this particular professor enabled
her to complete the doctoral degree within four years. She also maintained that,
although her White advisor did not thoroughly explain the doctoral process in the
beginning stages of her program, she still considered her a good advisor.

Another Aﬁican American professor, who also was close in age to Delores,
helped her to plan her career as a college professor. Originally her master’s study
professor was a good role model for her because he exempliﬁed success as the
program coordinator. “Seeing him in that role [young Aﬁican American Eculty
member] and his role as the coordinator of the program [master’s degree program]
inspired me to become a Eculty member and coordinator of my program,” Delores
maintained. As a result of the impact of this professor, Delores is now a Eculty
member and program coordinator at a major research university located in the South.

This professor further supported Delores’s success by informing her of some
of the obstacles Aﬁican Americans face on predominately White college campuses
and providing knowledge about surviving in graduate school. “He was very realistic
to me about the graduate school experience and some of the obstacles that Blacks
face,” she asserted. Moreover, he enabled her to gain research experience by
including her in two research projects similar to the types of doctoral research she
would conduct. She said tMt involvement in these projects gave her experience with
and knowledge of the research process, and, consequently, she “came to like

performing research.”

112

Students sometimes call upon professors with whom they deve10ped positive
relationships during their undergraduate years for help during their graduate studies.
By obtaining help ﬁ-om professors whom they already know and with whom they
Mve worked, students can spend less time building student-professor relationships
and more time attending to their academic work. Maintaining relationships with past
professors Ms been particularly important for Aﬁican American students, as
illustrated in Sally’s experiences.

Sally was excited when she discovered that her undergraduate mentor Md
accepted a Eculty position at MSU because she knew tMt, if she was admitted into
MSU for doctoral study, she would likely Mve her mentor’s support during her
doctoral work. Sally felt a connection to this professor because she was an
intelligent Aﬁ'ican American woman who was extremely knowledgeable in her ﬁeld
of study and research area—athletic training. According to Sally, her advisor was
the “main reason for my wanting to attend MSU.” Furthermore, Sally and her
mentor were both members of a primarily African American sorority, so they were
connected as sorority sisters.

Prior to Sally’s applying to MSU, she contacted her advisor for help in
planning her doctoral studies. “She was extremely helpful from the onset in terms of
my [doctoral] application . . . things I needed to include in my application. . . .She
gave me guidance ﬁ'om before day one, and it really set the tone for me [completing
the degree].” Sally sought out her mentor because of their previously developed

mentor-student relationship and because she also knew that her mentor would be

113

helpful in providing her with the knowledge and support she needed to succeed in

athletic training.

Support ﬁom other ethnic minority professors inside the

department/program.

Aﬁ'ican American professors were not the only source of support for the
participants. Other ethnic minority professors (non-Aﬁican American minority
faculty) also contributed to the participants’ academic successes. Although not
African American, other ethnic minority Eculty members knew some of the
potential pitfalls that ethnic minorities may face on predominately White college
campuses.

Delores received support from an Italian professor during her undergraduate
years. This professor was accessible and provided Delores with advice during
evening hours. This particular professor was known for being sensitive to ethnic
minorities who aspired to achieve. Delores said she was “one of those self-
proclaimed liberals. . . whoenjoyedeingaBlackstudentto advise . . . so shewas
always an advocate for me.”

Lucy’s professor and advisor, an ethnic minority female, supported Lucy
with invitations to her home and assistance on certain projects. She also took Lucy
with her to present at conferences and provided Lucy with opportunities to work on
special projects. Lucy’s advisor, however, showed her support of ethnic minority
students quite differently than most advisors demonstrate their support. She was

more demanding of them than of her other students. Lucy was not able to

114

understand the professor’s rationale for being tougher on her ethnic minority students
until her advisor revealed her intentions during an interview with a prospective
faculty member.

Lucy’s advisor asked the applicant what she would do to strengthen her
abilities as an effective teacher. Not ﬁrlly understanding the question, the applicant
asked Lucy’s advisor for clariﬁcation. In response, Lucy’s advisor provided the
following example: “If I were to say wMt issues I needed to work on, it would be
that I’m harder on my ethnic minority students than I am on my other students.”

Lucy believed her advisor’s response could Mve meant several things. She
could Mve meant that she was harder on ethnic minority students because she
wanted them to know that they would not Mve it easy just because they were ethnic
minorities. Alternatively, she could Mve meant that she was harder on minority
students because she wanted to ensure tMt they succeeded. Lucy settled on the
perception that the demands her advisor uncle of minority students were her way of
challenging them to be better graduate students. Whatever the meaning behind her
advisor’s demands, Lucy knew that, as a minority student, she would Mve to
produce quality work.

Lucy did not question her advisor’s comment or intent because this advisor
obviously supported her graduate success and the success of other ethnic minority
students. Lucy truly believed that her advisor wanted her to succeed and went “well
beyond the call of duty as an advisor” to accommodate minority students’ needs.
Since they Md similar research interests, her advisor spent quality time guiding

Lucy’s research. She also formed a support group for students who sMred research

115

interests relevant to ethnic minority issues, which allowed the students to receive
feedback from each other. Lucy believed that the support from her advisor and
student peers strongly impacted her success in graduate school.

The support provided by ethnic minority professors who were not Aﬁ'ican
' American often was instrumental in the academic success ofthe participants. These
professors, because of their knowledge of or experience with potential barriers that
ethnic minorities may conﬁont on predominately White campuses, were able and
willing to provide participants with guidance and knowledge that contributed to the

participants’ successes in graduate school.

Support from African American professors outside the

department/program.

Aﬁ'ican American professors and other ethnic minority professors who are in
the same departments or programs as Aﬁican American students certainly play a key
role in providing students with support to ensure success, but they are not the sole
source of such support. African American professors outside of the students’
departments or programs also Mve been known to help students by providing
research opportunities or guidance to ensure their success.

For example, Delores said that she gained valuable research experience when
invited by an Aﬁ'ican American female faculty member to participate on a research
team with other African American students, even though the professor was in a
different program and Md a different research area than Delores’ s. The Eculty

member provided Delores with this opportunity because she wanted to make sure

116

that Delores Md the experience of being part of a graduate research community.
According to Delores, the professor’s extra effort to include her on this research
team made her feel a part of the academic community.

David also maintained that an African American Eculty member outside his
department provided him with support by spending many hours helping him to sort
out his ideas for his dissertation research:

I was struggling with this idea of the dissertation thing. Dr. Cannon

[ﬁctitiousname] isascholarinhisownrightandlmethimataparty. . . .SoI

met him, and he immediately said tMt, ﬁ'om that moment on, he took an

interest in my work, and an interest in me personally, in my development as a

scholar and he would sit down with me and spend a lot of personal time

[during the evenings]. . . .It was a good thing. He became a very good ﬁiend

and mentor.

According to David, this Aﬁican American professor took him “under his
wing” after a party, provided him with the support he needed to sort out his ideas and
possible approaches to maneuver through parts of his dissertation, and became his
friend and mentor. This relationship contributed signiﬁcantly to David’s doctoral

SUCCESS.

Support from African American college administrators outside the
department/program.
The support provided to the participants by Aﬁ'ican American Eculty

members was enhanced by the supportive efforts of Aﬁican American college

117

administrators. Aﬁ'ican American administrators often approached the participants
to ask whether they would allow the administrators to be their mentors or helped
them to develop plans to meet their career goals. For example, David asserted that
one of his primary mentors, an African American male, actually sought him out for
mentoring purposes. “Dr. Retherford [ﬁctitious name] selected me as his student . . .
mel. . . .I met him before I came here [to MSU]. I was at the University ofKane
[ﬁctitious name] in one of the programs down there as a [workshop participant—
ﬁctitious name of title].” This administrator also was instrumental in David’s
decision to attend MSU.

Other participants beneﬁted ﬁ'om Aﬁ'ican American college administrators
who met with them on a regular basis to help them plan their career goals. While
few students Mve opportunities to meet with high-ranking college administrators,
even fewer Mve opportunities to meet with the president of the college or university
-they attend. However, Wilma was able to gain additional support by forming a
student-mentor relationship with the Aﬁican American male president of the college
she attended for her master’s degree studies.

Wilma said that she initially met and formed the relationship with the
president in order to develop a mentor relationship with him. When that relationship
developed, Wilma asked her mentor to “help lay out a plan” for her to become the
president of a college. Thinking that she could bypass certain important steps and
take an easier route to achieve her goal of a college presidency, Wilma asked the
president whether she could become a college president without a Ph.D. His simple

response to her inquiry indicated that he would not support this idea: “I will not be a

118

reference.” She then asked if she could attend NOVA (a program in which a Ph.D.
can be obtained relatively quickly through on-line computer courses). He again
simply responded, “I will not be a reference.”

The president indicated that, in order to receive a recommendation fiom him
and gain respect from scholars, Wilma needed to obtain a Ph.D. from a creditable
university with a quality Ph.D. program. Once Wilma agreed to attend an institution
with a quality program (MSU), he agreed to help her plan her chosen career. Wilma
stated that her president/mentor spent many horns helping her decide which program
and courses would best prepare her for a college presidency.

Wilma liked her mentor’s honesty regarding her weaknesses and strengths.
Sometimes he would make comments such as “Wilma, you messed up on this
[particular piece of work she submitted to him].” By forming a close relationship
with her college president and mentor, she was able to gain valuable and honest
input, information, knowledge, and support about how to become a college president,
which motivated her to succeed in graduate school. According to Wilma, the
supportive relationship with her mentor enabled her to become president of a college

located in the South.

Support from African American professors at HBCUs.

Students who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
tend to Mve positive educational experiences because these institutions generally
Mve a greater number of Aﬁ'ican American college professors, administrators, staff,

and students with whom they can relate. HBCUs provide Aﬁ'ican American students

119

 

an environment in which they feel engaged, connected, accepted, encouraged, and
supported (F 1eming, 1991; Green, 2000). The participants who attended HBCUS for
their undergraduate study concurred with this assertion. They maintained that
college professors at the HBCUs they attended provided them with social skills,
helped them plan their academic and career goals, and served as positive role models
who encouraged them to Mve a sense ofpride and assurcdness that, as Aﬁ'ican
Americans, they could and would succeed.

These participants believed that some of their most positive educational
experiences occurred during their time at HBCUs. For example, Wilma reported that
she was able to gain support socially, academically, and professionally from her
undergraduate college professors:

I feel like I got a very, very good grormding in terms of my academic

background; but also, there was an empMsis on teaching us the social skills

and setting a standard of excellence because the professors at Commerce

University (ﬁctitious name) felt that they Md a role in producing the leaders

of the future.
She felt supported in particular by one sociology professor at Commerce University
who invited Aﬁican American students to her home, fed them, and spent a
considerable amount of time helping them plan their educational or career goals.
This support motivated Wilma to pursue her graduate studies.

Brandon, who majored in the biological sciences, asserted that his

undergraduate college professors at a HBCU served as role models, which

120

encouraged him to perform well in the sciences and Mve a sense of pride in his

college. He said:
It was not unusual to see African Americans as professors. . . .So I don’t
think I ever questioned whether that was something that I could do
[succeed in his undergraduate science courses and become a college
professor/researcher]. . . .Now, if you want to say that means that Mving a
role model, someone to look to who’s in that ﬁeld [the sciences], helps you
overcome issues that you may Mve had with self-esteem or saying ‘Could I
really be this?’ I don’t know. . . .I don’t know wMt would Mve Mppened, for
instance, if I would have gone to a majority school as an lmdergrad where
there were no African Americans in science, in my micro [microbiology]
department. I don’t know if that would Mve made me question whether I
could do it [succeed in the sciences]. So the only perspective I Mve is the
perspective that I came from, which was everybody in my biology
department was either Aﬁ'ican American, African, Asian, or Indian [Middle
Eastern Indian]. But the majority [was] Aﬁican American.

Brandon experienced special commitments to students ﬁom his undergraduate

professors. He explained this by taking the professors’ points of view:
HBCU. . .there’s more of an emphasis on well, how do you relate to students,
because you’re going to be in the classroom, you’re going to be teaching, and
we’re a small university, we pride ourselves on turning out [graduating]
students who are capable and ready to perform at the next level, be that

graduate school or going into the workforce.

121

Therefore, the message that Brandon received ﬁom his college professors,
through their role modeling or verbal expressions, was that he could succeed in the
sciences. He claimed that the thought that being Aﬁ'ican American would hinder his
success in the biological sciences never entered his mind. Furthermore, one
particular Aﬁ'ican American professor’s role modeling made such an impact on
Brandon that he decided to undertake his doctoral studies at MSU, his professor’s

alma mater.

African American Student-Peer Support

 

When Aﬁ'ican American students meet and interact, they can provide one
another with social and academic support, information about the availability of
ﬁnancial aid to meet student ﬁnancial obligations, and perspectives related to
academic achievement. The participants believed that these types of interactions
enhanced their learning experiences. When they met and interacted with their
Aﬁ'ican American student-peers, they discovered common social interests that made
college life more enjoyable. I offer participants’ stories illustrating how meeting and
interacting with student-peers provided a means to meet their social and information-
gathering needs.

Delores maintained that her interactions with African American students
from other universities helped her overcome her loneliness. Since there were no
other Aﬁ'ican American students in her particular doctoral program with whom to
discuss issues related to graduate school, she often felt lonely. This feeling began to

change when she was given the opportrmity to host African American students ﬁ'om

122

various colleges and universities at a conference co-sponsored by her department.
She said:
My race allowed me to do some things [i.e., host Aﬁican American students
attending the conference] just because I was Black, because they [college
professors] wanted to say, oh we’re conscious and we support minorities . . .
and so that gave me some leeway to do certain things [meet and interact with
other Aﬁ'ican American students] that maybe other [non-African American]
students wouldn’t be able to do. . . .I met other Black students ﬁom other
universities during a conference that was co-sponsored by MSU, the
University of Iowa, and Penn State . . . not realizing [initially] that these
students were Aﬁican American until they arrived in a van at my apartment, I
was surprised to see several Black students unload out of the van and the
other students and I started screaming [with excitement] once we all saw one
another. . . .I had fun the entire time they [Aﬁican American students] were
at the conference. . . .I want to be around Black people . . . I want to know
Black people . . . I want good things to Mppen for Black people in general.
Delores further stated that being asked to host students at the conference
made her Mppy because such experiences allowed her to'develop long-lasting
friendships and networks that contributed to her success in graduate school and as a
scholar. For example, at the conference, Delores and another Black female graduate
student formed a relationship. A year later, they presented together at another

conference, which added to Delores’s scholarly accomplishments.

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Odessa reported that she, too, often felt alone because she was the only
African American in her particular program of study. Consequently, she began
meeting and building relationships with other Aﬁican American students within her
department, though not in her program, and outside of her department to gain
academic and social support. Odessa maintained that she was unable to interact with
her White peers because the White students in her department did not share relevant
infornEtion that would assist her in her coursework. Often, these students did not
invite her to participate in study group sessions. She said that, although she tried to
form student relationships with them and tried to discuss various course curricula or
assignments, they were not willing to include her in their study sessions. In contrast,
the African American students in her department often supported one another by
discussing which classes to take and sharing information about homework
assignments and ﬁnancial aid opportunities such as scholarships and graduate
assistantships. She also found support as a member of Black Graduate Student
Association (BGSA). The friendships Odessa formed with Aﬁican American
student-peers in her department and in BGSA assisted her in meeting her academic,
social, and information-gathering needs. This support impacted her success in
graduate school.

Brandon also suggested tMt meeting and interacting with other Aﬁ'ican
American students in BGSA provided him with information that inﬂuenced his
success in graduate school. Brandon joined BGSA to ﬁrlﬁll his social needs and to
meet students ﬁ'om other disciplines who could provide him with diﬁ‘erent

perspectives on current events and other issues. He further maintained that he liked

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to “be around” (socialize with) BGSA students because they were all close in age
and shared experiences involving racism and discrimination. These commonalities
made it easier to relate to one another, which opened the lines of communication.
Brandon said:
I gotacMncetohearsome ofthe struggles fromaﬁnancialstand . . . and
how they [BGSA students] Mve Md to patchwork [gather] funding sources
and things like tMt. . . .For them, it wasn’t a given that they would Mve
funding from year to year. . .and in the sciences, as long as you make the
transition from year one to your advisor’s research plan, which generally
Mppens, you’re funded as long as your advisor Ms funding. . . .[Also] BGSA

helped me to maintain a grounding outside of the research world that I felt I

 

needed. . . it [BGSA] also helped me maintain connections and develop
connections with graduate students who were going through the process
outside of sciences, because there were very few Blacks in the science degree
. programs here. Most of them were in other programs, in the social sciences,
tMt kind of thing. If you didn’t Mve some kind of way of connecting with
them [African American students outside of the sciences], as someone going
through a science program, you probably would never mt them. BGSA
helped me to connect with them. And I didn’t know at the time that it would
be useful for me to be connected with people outside of science who were
going through graduate programs here. But it was really nice. So outside of
microbiology that [meeting other African American graduate students outside

of the sciences] was the other piece that I think was a really good inﬂuence

125

on me. . . .I developed relationships with Black graduate students that I’m
almost certain I would not Mve developed Md I not been a part of that
organization [BGSA] because I would Mve never known that they existed.
We would Mve just seen each other walking along this huge campus, and we
wouldn’t Mve Md a way of knowing that the other person was in a graduate
program Yes, those relationships were very necessary relationships. . . .I
met a lot of people tMt I wouldn’t Mve met, and I was able to get their
experience of graduate school ﬂour a non-science perspective, because they
went through a different program. Their time to degree is different [amount
of time to receive degrees]. Some of the things that they Mve to do are
different. Even the way they think and process information is different, in a
way, from the way sciences do things. It was good to start to see that then
because I’ve learned tMt as a science major, if you limit your circle of ﬁiends
to sciences, then your perspective and your world view is obviously colored
by that [science perspective], and I think it’s colored to your detriment. One
should be required to develop a circle of ﬁiends outside of the scientiﬁc
community, in my opinion. And BGSA provided that, because like I said,
most of the graduate students in the program [BGSA] were not in the
sciences.

According to these participants, meeting and interacting with other Aﬁican

American students through activities such as conference participation or joining

BGSA embled them to not feel alone, to meet academic, social, or information-

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gathering needs, and to gain different perspectives on various issues or concerns

pertaining to the success of African American graduate students.

Minority-Based Financial Aid: A Resource for Student Success

The academic success of some Aﬁican American students often is supported
by the opportunity to receive minority-based ﬁnancial aid. Because they were
African American, two of the participants were eligible for minority-based ﬁnancial
aid, which paid for their college tuition and other college-related fees and contributed
to their success in graduate school. Following are stories that illustrate the beneﬁts
of receiving ﬁnancial aid.

Patrick, whose discipline was computer science, explained:

One of the fellowships I Md was just for minorities . . . so obviously the Ect

thatlwasaminoritywasagoodthing, inorderformetocompete forthis

fellowship. . . .So in that sense, that [minority-based fellowships] was
something that helped me succeed, by obtaining a fellowship.

James, whose ﬁelds were math and education, also asserted that being
Aﬁican American enabled him to compete for a minority-based fellowship, the
“Minority Competitive Doctoral Fellowship.” This fellowship was oﬁ'ered to
outstanding ethnic minority students who maintained a high G.P.A. (grade point
average), and who wanted to become Eculty members of a college or university.
The fellowship paid for six credit hours of tuition and allowed for additional funding
for nonacademic (i.e., living) expenses. “The only thing I Md to do was just go to

school,” he said. James further commented that he was fortunate to receive this type

127

of fellowship because he did not Mve the concerns about ﬁnancial expenses that
worried some of his colleagues who did not Mve sumcient ﬁnancial aid.

Some people might argue that fellowships are not as beneﬁcial to student
success as graduate or teaching assistantships. Fellowships do not encourage
students to engage in department activities or interact with other students or
professors inside or outside of their departments, unlike teaching or graduate
assistantships. However, these participants were strong proponents of minority-
based fellowships because they said that they were able to spend more time studying
and participating in lab activities, which was crucial to their success in math and
science.

Although Brandon did not report receiving minority-based fellowships, he
did provide a commentary about how colleges and universities could dramatically
impact minority graduate student success through the use of minority-based ﬁnancial
aid or other types of funding:

Making sure that there is ample ﬁmding available to retain Aﬁican American
students and [other] students of color . . . for us [Aﬁican Americans], that’s an
issue. I don’t know in the coming years how much of an issue it’s going to be
compared to majority students; but in the past it’s been an issue, and it’s been
an issue that Ms been unequal. The majority students in the past Mve Md an
easier time ﬁnancially getting through [graduating], if for no other reason than
they got more fellowships, or even if they didn’t get a fellowship, they Mve
better access to Emily funds or personal funds . . . easier for them [Whites] to

take out student loans, wMtever the issue. But institutionally, just creating an

128

environment that’s more assertive in its efforts both on the level of colleges
and then departments to say “hey, we’re going to put resom'ces [ﬁnancial
assistance] here,” this is important to us [Aﬁican American students] to not be
passive; to not be passive in terms of helping to sMpe the Ece of our
department . . . as students [to increase the Aﬁican American graduate student
presence].

Although Brandon did not receive minority-based ﬁnancial aid himself, he
nonetheless felt that it was a valuable resource in recruiting and retaining African
American graduate students. For sonre of the participants, receiving minority-based
ﬁnancial aid contributed to their academic successes. The fellowships eased the
ﬁnancial burdens associated with the high cost of graduate education and permitted

participants to focus on their studies.

Taming Potential Barriers into Motivators for Success

Some scholars Mve argued that when racial barriers and stereotyping are
present, it is often difﬁcult for Aﬁican Americans to overcome those racial barriers
and stereotypes and move forward to achieve their desired goals. However, some of
the participants in this study would “beg to differ.” Even when racial barriers were
present, the participants were able to overcome them and accomplish their
objectives. Because these participants Mve conceptions of themselves as “strong
African Americans,” they believed they could succeed no matter the circumstances.
Most participants, in fact, used potential or present racial barriers in ways that

motivated them to succeed. Following are stories of some of the participants that

129

illustrate how they overcame potential racial barriers and turned them into motivators
to achieve their goals.

When Delores’s high school math teacher heard of her interest in going to
college, she told Delores that she “would never make it in college.” Delores said tMt
her teacher implied that, since Delores “was not good at algebra” and “was not
serious enough about school,” she would not succeed in college. Delores was
surprised by her teacher’s comment, but she thought to herself, “I don’t want
anybody ‘White’ to say that I couldn’t do it [make it through college].” Not only did
Delores take her teacher’s comment to be personally oﬁ‘ensive; she also thought that
it could be racially motivated. Consequently, she decided to improve her
performance in math to the level required for admission into college. Developing
such motivation ultimately contributed to her success in graduate school.

Lucy reported several encounters that caused her to turn potential racial
barriers into motivators that helped her achieve her goals. For instance, Lucy’s third-
grade teacher stereotyped and discriminated against Lucy because of where she
lived. Lucy recalled being questioned about this by her White teacher. The teacher
wanted to know whether Lucy lived in [a community where several
wealthy Blacks lived]. When Lucy replied, “No, I live in __ [an urban Black
community],” Lucy maintained that the teacher’s entire beMvior toward her
changed. This caused Lucy to feel that she lived in the “wrong community.”

Reﬂecting on that incident, Lucy jokingly said, “I was from the wrong side of
the tracks.” Lucy then stated that the teacher was unaware that Lucy’s parents

deliberately chose to reside in that community because they wanted to own more

130

land and still live in a nice house. “She made assumptions [stereotypes] that if I
didn’t live in __ [the wealthy community], we couldn’t live there,” Lucy
suggested. “She didn’t know that we could Mve lived there [wealthy community],
but it was a choice that my parents made.” Although the community where she lived
“was considered one step away from the ‘hood,’ [lower income community
consisting primarily of Aﬁ'ican American Emilies] with no paved streets,” it was
where her parents wanted to reside.

Ironically, several of the children who lived in the wealthy Black community
“ended up on drugs, or ended up doing some really outrageous kinds of things,”
Lucy revealed. Despite these children’s involvement in drug use and other
unacceptable beMviors, Lucy reported that some of the teachers seemed to Mve
more respect for and better relationships with them than with the students who lived
in when communities.

Lucy, however, did not allow her teachers’ biases and prejudices to
negatively affect her educational progress. She was determined to show these
teachers that she would succeed, despite where she lived. She recalled thinking to
herself:

So you think I’m not worthy and I’m not a good student if I don’t live in the

right community—I’ll show you. . . .You may knock me down, but you can’t
keep me down. You may make judgments about me anI walk in the door
because you see a Black female, but then I Mve an opportunity to prove your

[negative] assumptions wrong.

131

Lucy’s determination to overcome the stereotypes she conﬁ'onted motivated
her to become a pacesetter. She recalled, “I was the ﬁrst Black cheerleader at my
high school; not only that, I was also the ﬁrst Black head cheerleader [of her high
school].”

Another racial incident that motivated Lucy involved her undergraduate
college professor. She reported that, despite legislation that required public state
colleges and universities receiving state funds to increase their minority student
enrollments, one of her undergraduate college professors still resisted minority
recruitment efforts. Lucy said that he did everything in his power to ensure that
minorities did not succeed. He said to her directly, “We may Mve to let you in, but
we don’t Mve to let you out.”

Lucy also overheard this professor say to another Eculty member, “You Mve
to let minorities in? Oh okay, make it easy for them? I’m not going to do tMt. We
ean let them in, they can come to our classes, but they’ve got to fend for themselves
and we’re not going to be supportive, we’re not going to try to help.” Lucy,
however, was determined not to let this professor hinder her educatioml goals.
Similar to Delores’s experience with her algebra teacher, she decided to channel her
professor’s negative energy into a motivation to succeed.

Lucy encountered other racist incidents when she was a school administrator
during an early stage of her career. She said that, on the ﬁrst day of school, she
became aware that there were two Black administrators—Lucy herself and another

woman. The head administrator (Lucy’s supervisor) was a White male. He offended

132

her, to her Ece, with racial insults. He told Lucy that be recruited her because he
wanted the other Black female administrator “to Mve a playmate, and I ﬁt the bill.”

Lucy said that the head administrator made no attempt to hide his prejudices,
which be exhibited through racist behaviors on a daily basis. For example, one day
he suggested to Lucy and the other Black female administrator, “You got to run on
down to the cafeteria because they Mve watermelon today.” Lucy reported that this
type of racist and condescending beMvior ﬁom the head administrator went on for
several months until a group of school staff members complained to the proper
authorities about it. As a result, he was removed from the school. Fortunately, these
experiences did not hinder Lucy’s zeal for success. In Ect, they motivated her to
achieve.

Lucy reported yet another experience involving racism, this time with a
White male coworker. After proving her administrative competence and skills, Lucy
was promoted to the position of head school administrator at another school. She
said that she did not even apply for this position. She was approached by school
district ofﬁcials and asked whether she was interested in the position and, if offered
it, whether she would accept.

Lucy thought about the position for a few days, then accepted the offer.
Shortly thereafter, the White male coworker asked Lucy if he could visit with her
and take a tour of the school. Lucy gladly complied with his request. During the
school tour, however, the man said to Lucy, “You know, you only got this position
because you’re Black.” Lucy said that his comment surprised her. However, she

quickly resorted to her numerous previous encounters with racism and boldly stated:

133

“Well, after hundreds and hundreds of years of us [Blacks] being overlooked for jobs
that we were qualiﬁed for, it’s about time.” Lucy maintained that “Those things
standoutinmymind. TMtwasin 1992; however, itstandsoutinmymindasifit
were yesterday.” Lucy concluded by saying, “All of those experiences, along with
many others, Mve sMped who I am as a Black woman.”

Wilma also battled potential racial barriers throughout her life. She, too,
refused to let these barriers stand in the way of achieving her goals. She reported
two experiences that she encountered within the community where she attended
high school. She laughed quietly as she spoke:

Ask me if I experienced racism, I’d say, “Yes, you better believe it!”. . .Beginning
an1 wasinhighschool, one ofthethingsthat sortofhurtmethemostwasthatl
was the ﬁrst Aﬁican American ﬁom my hometown to make the honor society. . .
.Now, you ask me, “Why did it hurt?”. . .I’ll tell you; it hurt me because of the way
it Mppened.

Wilma recalled that, prior to her acceptance in the honor society, every
student (all White) in her sophomore class had been accepted as an honor society
member except a Hispanic male (who is now a judge in Wilma’s home town) and
herself. Her parents went to the school to inquire why Wilma was not chosen as an
honor society member. The administrator of the school said, “Well, she’s not in
enough leadership activities and groups—because there are seven leadership things
you Mve to do.”

After receiving this explanation, Wilma maintains that she participated in

every organization that existed and ran for several ofﬁces. As a result of her

134

persistence, she said that she ﬁnally received acceptance into the honor society her
junior year. She added, however, tMt she eventually discovered the
administrator’s true reason for excluding her and the Hispanic student ﬁ'om the
honor society. It was that the administrators “Md not ﬁgured out how we [she and
the Hispanic student] would be able to stay at hotels during the conference.” She
said that this was back in 1972 and 1973, when many hotels still did not welcome
minorities.

Wilma reported another incident in which she overcame a potential racial
barrier and turned it around to achieve her goals. In her jlmior year in high school,
her band director talked to her about becoming the drum major. When the
community learned of Wilma’s interests and intentions to become the drum major,
they were totally against it. She said that this instance, too, occurred when it was not
acceptable for a Black to serve as drum major.

Although initially challenging, the obstacles Wilma faced did not deter her
from accomplishing her goals. After graduating from high school, Wilma stayed
focused on her goals. She was determined to ﬁnd a way of accomplishing her
educational goals, regardless of the obstacles she encountered along the way. Thus
Wilma asserted:

You Mve to be clear about how you’re going to approach it [racism]. What’s

your worldview, and when certain things [racial barriers] occur. . .because of

who you are, your race, how you’re going to deal with it. I think that
becomesimportant. AndIthinkitbecomesveryimportantknowingthat

there are going to be hurdles because you are African American. You Mve to

135

Mve something within you that helps you to [remain] determined and

motivated to achieve in spite of things deterring you from your goals. So you

Mve to somehow ﬁgure all those things out [how to effectively overcome

obstacles to achieve success].

Based on the analysis of the data, the participants were able to overcome
obstacles and barriers presented as a result of their race and move forward to achieve
their goals. These participants held positive self-perceptions as “strong Aﬁican
Americans” who could succeed regardless of the difﬁculty of circumstances.
Moreover, since the data indicate the competitive nature of most of these
participants, 1 would argue that their competitiveness motivated them to strive even
harder to reach their goals. Exemplifying

tenacity in reaching their goals, they were motivated to overcome potential obstacles.

“Just Dealing” with Racial Barriers

Overcoming racial barriers that hinder goal achievement requires great
tenacity or determination ﬁom ethnic minorities. Some participants, however,
were not able to turn barriers into motivators for their success. One reason some
participants were not able to overcome racial barriers was their young age, when
the power or knowledge with which to overcome racial barriers Md not developed.
Following are stories that illustrate instances in which the participants could not
change their situations when racial barriers were present. Consequently, they just

had to deal with those barriers as they strived for success.

136

For example, Kimberly related how she frequently was excluded ﬁ‘om
certain swimming functions because of her race. She was on various swim teams
throughout high school, and one of the best swimmers, but often she was not
invited to the celebratory occasions, even though all the other participants, who
were White, were invited. She attributed her exclusion by those in the swimming
community to racial discrimination and intimidation:

I found that I could be very intimidating as an Aﬁ'ican American female swimmer
because ﬁrst of all, they didn’t live around us [Blacks]. . . .They never saw us.
And then for me to Mve the nerve to be a Division I swimmer standing next to
them [Whites] in a major meet—in the lane that is faster than theirs—just
intimidated them.

Kimberly further reported that other swimmers often came up to her on the
day following a particular reception or party to ask if she Md attended, knowing,
since they attended the event themselves, that she was not there. She felt that she
often was not invited to various celebrations, receptions, or parties because she was
Black. She also maintained that, although some African Americans might not Mve
been able to handle discriminatory acts such as this, her many encounters with
racial discrimination taught her how to deal with this kind of behavior.

Lucy, who Ms been able to overcome many racial barriers, explained how
overcoming racial barriers were sometimes impossible. For example, she grew up in
a very small town in a southern state. “The town was known historically and
nationally for Mving a large red sign at both entrances of the county displaying a

picture of a Ku Klux Klansman on a horse in full regalia—white hood and white

137

robe.” She stated tMt the signs in her town read: “KKK Welcomes You To

.” “I grew up knowing [about the racial discrimination/bigotry in the
town] and I don’t even know if I ever saw the sign or if they took it down before I
was even born, but historically we [our town] were known for that [racial
discrimination/bigotry],” Lucy maintained. She reﬂected on these experiences and
said, “I should not be able to easily remember this [racism] in my childhood; these
are the types of experiences that should not be in my distant memory.”

Although the “Welcome Sign” of the KKK might Mve been removed prior to
Lucy’sbirth, the overt racial discrimination that lay behind it existed well into her
youth. Passed ﬁom generation to generation, the town’s strong and overt racism Md
been ingrained in the minds of many who lived there. Because of her age and
inexperience in ﬁghting against racial injustice, Lucy could do nothing but live under
those circumstances, at least until she was old enough to move out of the town.

Sally Ms struggled throughout her life with the Ect that, no matter how
hard she tried to “blend in” and be accepted in different environments or groups,
she still stood out because of her race. She found it difﬁcult to just “blend in” like
everyone else. She said that at times, particularly during her early school years,
“blending in” was crucial to her social development. It was not until her
undergraduate years, however, that she came to the conclusion that, as an ethnic
minority in America, she would never “blend in.” She argued, “Regardless of wMt
you do, you will stand out. So if you’re going to stand out, you might as well
make sure that what you’re doing is good and positive. . .[especially].. .when we’re

the only one in the classroom.”

138

Another perception associated with race tMt Sally became cognizant of was
the belief that “Aﬁican Americans often Mve to work twice as hard and do twice
as much to succeed,” regardless of their level of education, credentials, or
community status (suburban residence). She said:

I’m very much aware of who I am as an Aﬁican American woman. I am a certiﬁed
athletic trainer and educator. . .so I have an understanding of the intersection of
gender, race, and ethnicity. . . .I recognize that I am privileged in many ways and
also discriminated against simultaneously. . . .I’m sitting here as a Black women with
a doctorate who is working at an institution of higher education. . .and I know with
that comes a responsibility that I can’t take lightly. . . .I also know that I’m living in
a predominantly White community and regardless that I Mve Ph.D. behind my name.
. .that they’re [non-Blacks] just as likely to call me the ‘N’ word, regardless. . .and
those kinds of things are real salient. . . .It [race] is important.

Sally’s race and her racial identity are very important parts ofwho she is and
her concern for the well-being of the Aﬁican American race. She nonetheless
realizes that, even though she must work harder than most to succeed, others will
likely view her negatively because of her race. Thus, since she cannot do anything
about the way people often view Aﬁican Americans, she can only do her best to
ensure tMt she presents herself in the most positive manner.

There were other instances when the participants could not do anything about
racial discrimination or stereotyping, but rather just Md to deal with those situations
as best they could. For example, both Delores and Odessa had difﬁculty in

overcoming negative or unEir perceptions others had of them. Although the

139

participants did not Mve any control over people’s beliefs and values, they still tried
to dispel, by their actions and words, stereotypes and misperceptions of Aﬁican
Americans.

During some classes, for example, Delores found herself trying to help her
professors and classmates understand that, as an Aﬁican American, she could not
speak on behalfofall the Aﬁ‘ican Americans in the world. Although there were
times when her professors discussed minority issues in class, Delores was troubled
that they rarely elaborated on many issues and their complexities. Therefore, she
often attempted to explain the issues ﬁom her point of view to broaden the thinking
and understanding of her classmates. However, by offering her opinions, she faced
another challenge because she then became viewed as an “expert on minorities.” In
fact, Delores said that when she discussed some of her experiences as an ethnic
minority, the professors and the students often became quite engaged and wanted her
to tell them “everything she knew about minorities.” She explained to them,
however, that she could only report on her speciﬁc emeriences and that they must
realize that some of her experiences differed fiom those of other Aﬁican Americans.
The task grew increasingly difﬁcult. She ﬁnally gave up and just hoped that
someone actually understood her intentions. She realized, however, that she could
not always change people’s minds and just Md to move on with trying to met her
goals.

Delores’s concerns about the misperceptions that non-Aﬁican Americans
Mve of African Americans were mirrored in Odessa’s struggle with Whites unfair

portrayals of Aﬁican Americans, or how they “put all Aﬁ'ican Americans in a box,”

140

as she described it. She said that as a “Black female” her race and her racial identity

are very important to her. Because she is a “Black woman” who Ms overcome many

obstacles, at times, Whites’ views of her role as a Black woman Mve been very

discouraging. She asserted:
When they [Whites] see an Aﬁican American woman. . .coming in the
doctoral program, the Eculty members want people of color, particularly
Black people to come into this [Ph.D.] program, but they want a White
perspective. . . .They see me as a strong Black woman who can easily adopt
the White perspective. . .and I don’t agree with that. . .I can’t Mve a White
perspective, I’m a Black woman. . . .So I think the face [Black presence] is
sometimes nice to them [White Eculty], but if we [Blacks] don’t Mve their
perspective, then that could cause a problem. . . .I think that my race is the
ﬁrst thing tMt people see when they see me. . . .Some people Mve said in my
department that they don’t see color. ...I want them to see color, because a
Black woman is wMt I am. . .and it’s very, very, very important. . . .I don’t
like it when people Mve the assumption that goes along with being Black
[needing to be strong]. . .but I think that it’s very important to know,
however, that Ms gotten me into a lot of trouble because, although race is
important, some people say that they don’t see color. They just see gray, and,
as a result, I Mve challenged them on making such a statement.

Odessa stated that her race and racial identity played a signiﬁcant role in how she

feltaboutwhoshe isasapersonandinhowsheMsbeenviewed byothers. Others’

expectations of her as a “strong Black woman” provided experiences that interfered

141

with her learning. She felt that she could not change others’ perceptions of her, but
justhto acceptanddealwiththem.

The majority of participants related experiences in which they were able to
overcome racial barriers. This was not always possible, however, even for
participants who overcame racial barriers in a variety of situations. In most of these
instances, the participants confronted stereotypical views or moist beMviors that they
were unable to change. The participants dealt with them as best they could and

moved forward with accomplishing their desired goals.

When Race Was Not a Salient Issue

Nine of the ten participants reported that race played a signiﬁcant role in their
experiences and academic successes in graduate school. There were, however, a few
instances when race was not a salient issue in the participants’ experiences and
achievements. Following, 1 present stories that illustrate how issues unrelated to race
played larger roles in their particular experiences and academic successes.

David, for example, reported that, although he is proud to be an African
American, he believes that “race is over-generalized” and tMt people tend to
overemphasize it. For David, social class has been a more salient issue than race.
David reported that his lower income background, when compared to the middle-
class background of most college students, made social class the important issue in
his experiences. Thus, he suggested that a person’s race is not a primary concern
to him. He would rather “look for ways to help people like himself, who are at the

bottom of the [economic] ladder.”

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David maintained that, prior to receiving his doctorate, some of his peers
and coworkers often thought of him as lower class. Now, with his Ph.D. in Mnd,
some of the same individuals say to him, “Oh, you’re a member of the elite class
now.” David argued, though, that he is a “human being” whose community is
‘ more important to him “than a doctorate degree.” He implied that the degree is
important but nurturing human life is more so.

He said that he realizes that there are racists everywhere. He realizes, as
well, that there are good and evil persons in all races. However, he expressed a
concern that African Americans and other ethnic minorities often polarize around
race and discuss race to the point that they Mve allowed themselves to become
oppressed by it. David maintained that another type of oppression exists tMt is not
salient to the general public, regardless of race, which he called “oppression by
class or social economic status.”

David suggested that ethnic minorities, especially Aﬁican Americans, Mve
become “complacent in their own oppression because once they achieve, or arrive
at a higher socioeconomic status, then they tend to indirectly oppress the less
fortunate.” For example, he mintained that most Blacks who achieve higher
levels of income move away from their old neighborhoods and shop at higher-
priced stores, beMviors that reﬂect wealthy lifestyles and success. Once this
Mppens, David continued, “their identity becomes one of elitists”—they no longer
support the Black urban community.

He recalled another experience of oppression because of class or

socioeconomic status. He said:

143

The ﬁrst time I went to school with both White and Black students who
were privileged [middle-class to wealthy], I just didn’t think I ﬁt in. . . .My
family was very poor and so it was just very hard. . . .I just felt left out
because I didn’t Mve clothes like they Mve. . . .That was difficult.

David maintained tMt, although he is proud of his Black culture and
identity, in his opinion, race is overrated because his parents taught him to treat
everyone equally, regardless or their race or ethnicity. He said that, instead of
focusing on race, people, particularly African Americans, need to address
socioeconomic oppression and its impact on people’s lives, especially those of
children. He implied tMt he could identify with socioeconomic oppression more
than he could with racial oppression because of his early school experiences. He
restated that going to school with children who came ﬁom wealthy backgrounds
was very difﬁcult for him.

Patrick and Brandon are very proud to be Aﬁican American, and they
acknowledged the positive and signiﬁcant role race has played in their life and
graduate school experiences. They also asserted, however, that issues unrelated to
race sometimes were more salient in their graduate school experiences in the math
and science disciplines. Race was not an issue because of the objective nature of
math and science. As Patrick stated, “either you know how to solve math or science
problems, or you don’t.” Patrick and Brandon contended that race is more related to
subjective issues, but academic achievement in math and science is associated with
objective skills tMt are the criteria for problem solving and measuring success.

Patrick said:

144

In terms of just doing the work yourself [math and science], I mean I don’t
know if it [race] matters. I mean I think that, hey, you have to know how to
do mathematics. I don’t know whether the Ect that you’re Black or White

Ms any relevance or whatever your racial background is, I’m not sure that,

you know, that’s relevant, you just need to know how to do mathematics;

you need to know how to write computer programs, and you need to work
hard and be good at this. So interms ofacademics, I don’tthinkthatthe
racial part is a deﬁning Ector.

Patrick also claimed that he Ms “never experienced racism or unequal
treatment” in the sciences’ programs:

Math and science are not subjective—either you know the material or you

don’t. If you know how to solve the math problems and get the correct

answers, for instance, professors don’t Mve the liberty to grade you
incorrectly. . . .All you Mve to do is check your work, and if they are
grading you incorrectly, it will be noticeable.

Like Patrick, Brandon stated tMt issues of race or racism were not present
in his department. He said tMt the department’s professors, students, and staff
always treated him Eirly. As a result, he had no concerns about being stereotyped
or viewed differently than other students in his department:

It’s difficult [to experience racial problems] in science, though, because

color supposedly is not something that people deal with. . . .Science is

supposed to speak for itself. . . .It doesn’t matter wMt color you are. . .

.What really matters is how engaged you are in the research that you do.

145

James, too, reported that he did not experience racism within his particular
department or ﬁeld of study. He said:

The issue of my being a Black student in the Department of Chemistry

never came up. . . .I mean, I was perfectly aware that I was Black, the three

of us [other ethnic minority students], we were minorities in the
department. . . .And I don’t feel like that, as a minority, there should be
special consideration, or treatment; and maybe that’s why I never thought
about it [racism or issues connected with race]. . . .I never felt like I needed
any special support; but then, the issue never came up.

James ﬁrrther stated that he never “played the race card [using race to
achieve].” According to him, his self-determination and hard work were the most
salient issues contributing to his success.

Based on the data analysis, some of the participants did not experience race
as the most salient issue in their experiences. For one, socioeconomic status was the
most important. For the others, the nature of the math and science disciplines and
self-determination and hard work often were more important than race.
Interestingly, the three participants who were either in math and science disciplines
or took coursework concentrated in them claimed to Mve no experience of racism
within their departments or discipline area.

Conclusion

Several scholars Mve argued that race plays a signiﬁcant role in the

experiences of Aﬁican American graduate students because it raises nEny barriers to

success, such as racist beMviors or actions (Anderson, 1994; Haymes, 1995; Lusane,

146

1997; Turner & Myers, 2000; West, 1994; White, 1984; Willie et al., 1991).
Contrary to this contention, nine of the ten participants in this study revealed tMt
race played a positive role in their doctoral student successes.

Race played a positive role in the participants’ graduate experiences in six
key ways. The positive perceptions and the importance of their race to the
participants positioned them to overcome success-hindering racial barriers they
might confront. The participants’ Emily members, through their actions and
encouragements, sMped the participants’ views of their race and provided examples
of ways to resist discrimination. Pride in their race motivated the participants to
succeed in their ﬁelds of study so that they could serve as both positive role models
for other Aﬁican American students and as good representatives for their race by
dispelling stereotypes. Ethnic minority college professors, administrators, or
student-peers provided them with support to succeed in college. Minority-based
fellowships helped to pay tuition and other college-related fees and allowed those
participants receiving them to concentrate on their studies. And, ﬁnally, the
participants used racial barriers as motivations to perform well in their ﬁelds and
achieve their academic goals.

Although race played a significant and positive role in most of the
participants’ experiences, a few experienced incidents in which race did not
contribute to their successes in graduate school. When conﬁonted with racial
barriers about which they could do nothing, these participants simply dealt with them
as best they could and moved on. Moreover, race was not always the most salient

issue in certain of the participants’ experiences. Issues unrelated to race, such as the

147

objective nature of nrath and science disciplines or self-determination and hard work,

were more important in those particular experiences.

148

Chapter 6
How Participants’ Experiences in Their
Departments/Disciplines Impacted Success

Introduction

Previous statements from participants Mve indicated that they were supported in
attaining their academic goals by professors, both Aﬁican American and of other
ethnic minorities, who were in the participants’ departments or disciplines. Aﬁican
American student-peers, when they were present in participants’ departments or
disciplines, also provided support for the participants’ successes. Based on the
interview data, the participants encountered other experiences, often within their
disciplines or departments that impacted their graduate school successes.

The positive experiences varied in nature. Some participants gained a sense
of acceptance and inclusion in their departments by being actively recruited or being
asked to participate in various departmental activities and events. Permission ﬁom
advisors or department heads to enroll in dual departments, which helped
participants meet their educational and career goals, was another positive experience.
Some of the participants attributed their positive experiences in part, to the strategies
they used to ensure success in their doctoral studies.

It is important to note that non-African American student-peers and college
advisors positively impacted the participants’ doctoral successes. Many of the
participants’ positive experiences involved support and guidance ﬁ‘om White
student-peers and advisors who were in their departments or disciplines. In this

chter, I address how these student-peers and advisors gave the participants

149

academic, emotional, and/or social support that contributed to their successes in
graduate school.

Not all of the participants’ experiences were positive. Negative experiences
included difficulty in completing their programs within the allotted time and taking
on course overloads to speed up degree completion. Difficulty in narrowing their
research projects, the lack of political knowledge to maneuver through doctoral
study, and insufficient ﬁnancial aid to meet college and living expenses were
perceived as negative experiences. Other negative experiences involved obstacles
associated with comprehensive examinations and meeting committee members’
research expectations. However, these negative experiences generally were
outweighed by positive experiences.

Following, I present participants’ stories that illustrate how their positive
experiences contributed to their successes in their doctoral programs. I also discuss

how the participants’ negative experiences affected their successes.

Feelings of Acceptance Lead to Success

Some scholars Mve argued that doctoral students who feel accepted or
included within their departments are more highly motivated to persist in completing
their degrees when compared to the motivation of students who do not experience
these feelings (Girves & Wemmerus, 1998; Smith & Davidson, 1992; Tinto, 1993).
Many participants reported feelings of acceptance. These arose ﬁom various sources
that included depMment personnel actively recruiting them for their programs or

allowing them to enroll in dual programs to meet their educational and career goals.

150

James, for example, said that his applications for acceptance into doctoral
programs did not include an application to MSU. However, an organization that
sponsored the national doctoral fellowship for which James had applied sent his
credentials to several colleges and universities, including MSU. As a result, MSU
accepted him, without a direct application, into the university’s Department of
Chemistry doctoral program James said that MSU’s unsolicited acceptance
impressed him His sense of acceptance by the Department of Chemistry’s staff
members motivated him to pursue his doctoral study at the university.

Jarnes’s career goal was to teach chemistry at a college or university. He said
that, as a result of the university’s efforts to recruit him into their doctoral program,
he was inspired to pursue a dual degree in chemistry and education. Doing so, he
felt, would allow him to meet his career goal by enhancing his knowledge and skills.
He received approval to create a dual doctoral program in chemistry and education
ﬁom advisors in both departments.

James also gained a sense of acceptance and inclusion within the Department
of Education. In Ect, he said that he felt more included in the education classes
because of the way in which many of his education professors taught. He asserted
that, unlike his chemistry courses, where students were taught to self-direct their
learning and become independent thinkers and researchers, the education courses
encouraged students to work cooperatively and collaboratively in order to solve
problems. “TMt experience itself [working collaboratively with students] invited me
to this whole world of cooperative learning,” James said. As a result of his education

professors promoting student teamwork, James felt a sense of inclusion in these

151

classes because he was able to interact with'other students to solve problems and
draw conclusions about particular subjects or issues.

Brandon gained a sense of acceptance and inclusion from his microbiology
department when he was allowed to transfer from a non-degrced genetics program
into the degree-granting microbiology program Transferring from the genetics
program to the microbiology program also enabled Brandon to meet his educational
and career goals. He said that, initially, he was recruited into the genetics program
He did not realize that the program was non-degree granting until he arrived on
campus. Several of the Eculty members in the genetics program held joint
appointments in the Department of Microbiology. They suggested that it was in
Brandon’s best interests to obtain a degree tMt would be nationally recognized. On
the basis of this advice, Brandon requested a transfer to the microbiology
department. The advice from these Eculty members and his acceptance into the
Department of Microbiology enabled him to feel accepted in his department, which
positively impacted his success in graduate school and the achievement of his career
goals.

Staff members in Patrick’s department created a learning environment that
promoted his feelings of acceptance and success. This learning environment
encouraged students within the same discipline to work in teams. This impacted
Patrick’s student success because working alone often “slowed the research down
[because of] not having someone to work with who is in the same area of research,”

Patrick asserted.

152

He said that Mving two or more people in the same ﬁeld working on the
same research project, with each person engaged in separate parts of the research,
accelerated project completion. Moreover, it elevated the quality of the students’
research because, when the research was completed, all of the students could come
together to discuss the pros and cons of the research and how it could be improved.
Furthermore, Patrick stated, “If the guy sitting next to me understood my research
problem . .that was very important in my opinion.” Patrick’s department also
provided a room for weekly meetings that allowed research group members to
discuss the progress made by each person during the week.

Wilma felt accepted in her department because she was encouraged to
provide suggestions to improve her program’s doctoral process. She said that Eculty
members allowed her to give her opinion regarding how the program could be
utilized to support students’ successes in graduate school She proposed two ways to
improve the program First, she suggested that students might Mve less difﬁculty
completing the dissertation if the dissertation process were reorganized. She said:

I do think that the Eculty doesn’t make the dissertation easy. . .I think that

there are things that they [Eculty members] could tell you about how to do it

[successﬁrlly complete the dissertation]. . . .But they sort of just start you oﬂ‘

kind of like, “Well, how do you think you should approach it [the

dissertation]?”. . .They give you some things but, to me, they sort of let you

wander in the wilderness for a period of time; and I think they think that’s a

good aspect to the process.

153

She said that, although advisors are extremely helpful, they should be more explicit
in informing students of the doctoral process.

Second, Wilma told Eculty members within her department that “they did
not Mve a network or placement service to help their graduates network in ways that
could help them get jobs.” She said that, although faculty members were not
interested in developing these services, she still felt compelled to give them her
opinion concerning the matter. Her opinion was that the department was missing out
on a great opportunity to help advance their graduate students’ careers. She said:

People [Eculty] here are real clear tMt that’s not wMt they’re about. . .and I
think that’s a fallacy because, at the Ph.D. level, folks do pretty well on their
own, but with a little bit of organizational help, their graduates could go a lot
further. . .and so I don’t think it’s a good thing for them to say, “Oh, we don’t
do that.”
Because Wilma’s department encouraged her and other students to contribute to the
improvement of their department by voicing their concerns and suggesting solutions
to them, she felt connected to her department. This contributed to her success in

graduate school.

Using Strategies to Succeed

Many beginning and seasoned doctoral students use certain strategies that
help them to succeed. Some of these strategies are learned by the students
themselves during the course of their studies. Others are recommended to the

students by persons within their departments or disciplines. According to some of

154

the participants in this study, using strategies to succeed contributed to their positive
experiences and impacted their successes. Following are stories from some of the
participants that illustrate wMt these strategies are and how using the strategies
assisted them in succeeding in their programs.

' Patrick, for instance, stated that one strategy that contributed to his success
was working on his dissertation ﬁ'om the very beginning of his doctoral studies.
Rather than putting off work on his dissertation until his coursework was ﬁnished, as
he suggested other students often do, he took his advisor’s advice and made sure that
every paper he wrote, whether it was for a particular class or for publication, could
be incorporated into his dissertation. He said, “While I’m publishing these papers,
I’m also writing chters of my dissertation; and so, now, when it comes time for me
to work on my dissertation, I’ve done all my research.” Patrick maintained that this
strategy helped him to obtain his doctoral degree in four years and that others who
did not use it might require a longer time to do so.

Sally suggested that, with the advice from her professors, she, too, used
strategies that enabled her to succeed in graduate school. One strategy was to Mve
others in her department read and critique her written assignments. According to
Sally, allowing others to read her papers was very difﬁcult initially. When she did
so, however, she found that the feedback she received positively impacted her
graduate school success because it helped her to become a more accomplished

writer.

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White Student-Peer Support

Most of the participants reported that they obtained support in graduate
school ﬁom Aﬁican American student-peers more often than they did ﬁ'om White
student-peers. However, two of the participants recounted receiving social and
academic support from some of their White classmates that contributed to their
successes.

For example, at the beginning of her ﬁrst year in graduate school, Delores
“became really ill and had to miss class for approximately two weeks.” She stated
that she did not know whether her illness was due to stress or complications caused
by a physical condition. She did know that the situation produced some positive
experiences. Some of the student-peers who phoned and came by her apartment to
see how she was progressing and whether she needed any assistance were White
classmates. “I didn’t even know them tMt well at that point, yet they were
concerned about me,” she asserted. This type of social and emotional support ﬁom
her student-peers motivated her to get well quickly and return to classes, and such
support ultimately contributed to Delores’s success in her doctoral program

Sally gained academic support ﬁom at least two of her White student-peers in
statistics courses. She said:
There were a couple of White women that we Md the same research classes
together. In general research, we had a couple of stats classes together. And
so we wind up Mving the same professors and got to know each other very
well and read each other’s papers, studying for exams together. One woman

was my partner. For stats, when you’re doing different homework

156

assignments, you were able to Mve partners. So that was a nice little group

that met just by chance. I mean we didn’t talk to each other and say, “Which

instructor are you taking next semester?” It just so Mppened that we took one

[class] and wound up sitting near each other, you know, making a connection.

Andthenthenext semesterwe woundupbeing inthe sameclassagain. So it

was like, “Hey, we worked together before. . . .This is great. . . .Let’s do it

again.” And then it was kind of, “Are you taking the next level one?” “Yeah,

I am” “Who are you taking it with?” You know, we had something like three

classes together. And that was very, very, very nice.

These participants suggested that, while Aﬁ'ican American student-peers were
helpful in meeting their social and academic needs, some of their White student-
peers also provided social and academic support. Moreover, when they needed
support, it was not important whether it was offered by Aﬁ‘ican Americans, other
ethnic minorities, or White student-peers. They appreciated the support that they

received from all of their student-peers during certain times of need.

Support from White Advisors

Most of the study participants reported that Aﬁ'ican American and other
ethnic minority faculty members provided them with support during their
educational endeavors. Some participants also reported tMt their White advisors
contributed to their doctoral successes by providing academic assistance and
opportunities to obtain ﬁnancial aid. Following are stories from participants that

illustrate how their advisors’ support impacted their successes.

157

James, for instance, reported that the support he received ﬁom his advisor
was signiﬁcant. His advisor not only assisted James in selecting his discipline, but
also in preparing his dissertation. James said tMt, initially, he wanted to graduate
with a Ph.D. in education, with a concentration in chemistry. However, there was no
such program at MSU. Therefore, after taking several courses and the
comprehensive examination in chemistry, be consulted with his chemistry advisor.
Together, they decided that James should enroll in the College of Education, thus
creating a dual program of study in chemistry and education.

James said that this dual program was created speciﬁcally for him and
supported his career goal to teach chemistry at the university level. The program
also would enable him to become a college administrator of a major research
university. Unfortunately, there were difﬁculties because the respective colleges
were not able to accommodate the necessary procedural requirements for just one
person. Therefore, James and his advisor decided that he should select education as
his primary doctoral ﬁeld of study. He said that his advisor felt that choosing the
education program would provide more job opportunities in the academy.

James also reported that he and his advisor met on a weekly basis to ensure
that he prepared properly for his dissertation. He said that, often, Eculty members
did not allow time in their schedules to meet weekly with doctoral students regarding
their dissertation work. However, his advisor allotted time and provided relevant
guidance and feedback tMt enabled James to develop and improve his dissertation.
His advisor’s assistance helped him focus on his dissertation and complete it in a

timely manner. This support made the dissertation process less stressful for James.

158

James expressed his great appreciation of the time tMt his advisor spent with
him, especially since his advisor traveled extensively on professional business.
Looking back on this experience, he proudly proclaimed that he was “blessed to Mve
had a good advisor who respected him” professionally. He said that, because he
enjoyed his dissertation topic and because of the time his advisor spent with him
discussing his dissertation and research, his graduate experiences were extremely
positive.

With the dual program, James Md two advisors: his main advisor ﬁ'om the
chemistry program and his advisor ﬁ'om the education department. James stated that
his education advisor, who was also White, was as supportive of his work as was his
chemistry advisor. He often scheduled weekly group meetings with James and other
student advisees who were in various stages of their dissertations. These meetings
allowed group members to share portions of their dissertations and receive the
feedback necessary to improve them

Brandon stated tMt his advisor’s assistance and guidance with regard to
publishing papers and articles and presenting at conferences enMnced Brandon’s
research and publication skills. Brandon said:

In the sciences, the opportunities that you Mve are heavily inﬂuenced and
sMped by your major advisors. . . .A lot of times graduate students don’t know
coming into this whole thing [graduate program] how important [it is]
presenting at conferences, getting publications, presenting papers, posters,
abstracts, all ofthat. . .and it’s up to their major advisor to direct all ofthat. .

.tMt’s very important. . .it falls right at the feet of the major advisor. . . .Some

159

advisors make it a point to ensure that you Mve those key things [academic
and emotional support systems], and that you get them in the right tirneﬁame.
Other advisors don’t take an active role in making sure that Mppens, and that’s
to the detriment of the graduate student.

Brandon believed that the encouragement to publish articles and present at
professional conferences provided by students’ advisors was an essential component
for success in the ﬁeld of science. He felt that his success was. due, in part, to his
advisor’s encouragement to publish and present at conferences.

Patrick stated that his advisor played a key role in his success by making him
aware of the politics that ﬁ'equently impact the dissertation process. Patrick’s
advisor informed him that, although students present their written proposals in an
organized and professional manner, dissertation committee members sometimes
made decisions about whether certain changes need to be made to the proposal prior
to the students’ arrivals at committee meetings. Therefore, his advisor recommended
tMt Patrick come to his proposal defense well prepared to defend his proposal and
other issues that might be brought up by committee members during the defense.

Several participants indicated tMt their advisors were instrumental in their
doctoral successes because their advisors assisted them in obtaining ﬁnancial aid.
James’s advisor, for example, helped him obtain funding to pay his tuition and living
expenses. The ﬁnancial aid meant that James did not Mve to seek a job outside of
his department and, therefore, he Md additional time to study for his classes and to

prepare and write his dissertation

160

Brandon’s advisor also helped him to receive ﬁnancial aid to cover his
research and personal expenses. Brandon did take out some student loans, but he
maintained that the majority of his ﬁnancial assistance came from funding provided
by his department. Brandon said that his advisor and his department chair did
everything possible to ensure that their students’ ﬁnancial needs were met. They did
not want students to take outside jobs because they felt doing so would hamper the
students’ abilities to focus on their work. Brandon said that they wanted to make
sure that their students were successﬁrl in completing their degrees, and, if students
did not succeed, they could not attribute their Eilures to lack of ﬁnancial assistance
and the stress of holding an outside job. He stated:

It’s kind of difﬁcult to do research and to Mve an outside job just because of

the nature of the work [graduate research]. . .once you start setting up

experiments at the research bench, a lot of times you am into timed
experiments that require your attention at odd hours. . . .If you’re working

with animals, they need attention, and you have to be there to provide that. .

.so a scheduled outside job is kind of difficult to make work.

Brandon also suggested that his research was his work.

When asked if he thought that he Md an easier time in school than someone

who Md to hold down an outside job to meet their ﬁnancial needs, Brandon replied:
I think it focuses you more. . . .The last 40 or 50 years Ms been wMt we call a
reductionist approach. . .you pick things apart and you try to reduce questions
to the smallest, the most approachable portion of a larger research question that

you can handle. . .therefore, in order to do that, it requires a lot of focus, a lot

161

of single-mindedness. . .not Mving to think about a non-research related work
environment Ecility.

Some participants reported that their advisors impacted their doctoral
successes because of the support they provided in preparing for a major doctoral
degree hurdle: qualifying examinations. Brandon, for instance, stated that his
positive experiences with his advisor included the amount of support he was given
by his advisor while he prepared for his qualifying examination.

He further maintained that his positive relationship with his advisor enabled
him to complete his program He stated tMt supportive student-advisor relationships
were helpful because they generally facilitated students’ progress through the
diﬂ‘erent stages of their programs. He maintained that, in his experience, students
tend not to think about the timeline of their program completion until they reach their
ﬁfth year. He said that, because students prepare for their preliminary exams during
the ﬁrst two to three years of their doctoral study, “they really don’t start to get that
itch [excitement of degree completion] until after the fourth year. . .but when you’re
in year ﬁve or six, and you’re not sure when this is going to end. . .that advisor
becomes your link to the end of the road, so to speak.” In other words, Brandon’s
positive relationship with his advisor gave him the academic and emotional support
he needed to stay motivated during the long doctoral process. According to
Brandon, without this kind of assistance, some science majors might lose the
persistence required to achieve the Ph.D.

Delores, too, sang her advisor’s praises because he helped her prepare for her

comprehensive examinations. Delores relied on her advisor for this assistance

162

because, as the only student in her particular program, she did not Mve anyone with
whom to study. Her advisor believed that group study was essential for passing the
comprehensive examinations. Knowing that Delores would not Mve this, he met
with her weekly to go over questions similar to those that would be on the tests and
evaluated her prepared responses to those questions. According to Delores, her
advisor’s assistance helped her to pass the comprehensive examinations and
contributed to her overall success in graduate school.

Patrick also suggested that his advisor’s guidance helped him pass his
qualifying examinations. He reported that the experiences of passing his exams were
major highlights because of the “accumulation of the whole thing [doctoral
experience]. . . .When you pass your qualifying exam and present your defense, you
know that this is your contribution.” Although he missed spending one Christmas
with his family and friends because he felt that he needed to study for an upcoming
qualifying exam, it was worth it. “Once you get the exam results, you know that you
are on your way,” he proclaimed.

James, with his dual program, Eced the added pressure of dual examinations.
He reported that his chemistry and education advisors were instrumental in helping
him to successfully pass the required qualifying and comprehensive examinations.
Hesaidtheyhelpedhimto understandandadapttobothexamsandgainthe
knowledge necessary to pass them. This assistance was particularly important to
James because his ﬁrst attempts to pass qualifying exams were unsuccessﬁrl. While

he was in the Department of Chemistry, he studied and prepared by himself, rather

163

than collaborating with other students and professors. As a result, he failed his ﬁrst
two chemistry examinations.
James’s third, and successful, attempt came after he received semiweekly guidance
ﬁ'om his chemistry advisor.

Some of the positive graduate school experiences reported by participants
resulted from their supportive relationships with their White advisors. These
advisors provided academic, emotional, and ﬁnancial support in a variety of ways.

Their support strongly impacted the participants’ successes in doctoral study.

Negative Experiences Encountered

The majority of the participants reported encountering positive experiences in
their doctoral programs, but some encountered negative experiences. Some
participants contended that their motivation to succeed outweighed these
experiences, which enabled them to persist to graduation. Some participants
indicated experiences tMt negatively impacted their success in graduate school.
Following are stories that illustrate the participants’ encounters with negative
experiences.

Wilma described the difﬁculties in preparing for her comprehensive
examinations as a negative experience. She indicated that, since no one Md given
1 her any advice, she did not realize how long it would take to prepare adequately for
these exams. Wilma spent an entire semester cramming for her comprehensive
exam, while at the same time, taking courses. Originally expecting to ﬁnish her

program in four years, she found that studying for her comprehensive exam and

164

taking courses at the same time extended her time in the program a ﬁll] year. Wilma
said that, in her opinion, students should complete all of their coursework before they
start studying for the comprehensive examinations. Freedom ﬁ'om the need to focus
on courseWork, she argued, would allow students to concentrate on their exams and,
consequently, perform better on them.

Odessa described her overall doctoral experiences as “interesting” and
sometimes “negative” because no one in her program pointed out to her the
emotional costs of going through the doctoral process. She did not know wMt to
expect or how to deal with the emotional issues. Odessa maintained that her aunt,
who has a doctorate degree, informed her about what to expect academically, such as
certain classes to take and some of the processes of the dissertation, but she offered
no guidance on how to emotionally prepare for graduate study. Furthermore, no one
explained to Odessa how to maneuver through the “politics” often associated with
pursuing a doctorate degree.

David recalled that the most negative experience he encountered in graduate
school involved the lack of ﬁnancial aid. This was problematic. David’s program
had not offered him a graduate assistantship, so, when he ﬁrst arrived at MSU, he did
not Mve that or any other source of funding. He not only had difficulty paying his
room and board and tuition, but he also could not buy a computer to write papers for
class assignments.

David maintained that, when he ﬁrst started his program in 1994, there were
far fewer computers on canrpus than there are today. Because he did not own a

computer and rarely Md access to a campus computer, he Md to rely on borrowing

165

those owned by ﬁiends, which often were not available. In his second year of study,
David received ﬁnancial aid to buy a computer, but his ﬁrst year without one added
to his ﬁrst-year pressures because he found it difficult to complete assignments.

Delores, too, said that the main negative challenge conﬁonting her during her
doctoral study was the lack of available ﬁnancial aid. She said that she did receive a
federal scholarship, but still Md to work at a part-time job to meet all of her ﬁnancial
needs. When asked whether her school experience would Mve been different if she
had not had to work, she maintained that it would Mve been much easier. She said,
“I think that, if I didn’t Mve to work, things would Mve been a lot less stressful.”

She further commented that not Mving to work while attending school would
Mve allowed her to spend more time and energy on her studies. She said that, while
some of her student-peers met in groups to study for exams and work on research
projects, she could not participate in these group sessions because they often were
held during the hours she worked. Therefore, she missed many opportunities to gain
knowledge and collaborative support ﬁom some of her classmates, which Delores
believed made it Mrder to succeed in graduate school.

Patrick described one of the difﬁculties he Eced during doctoral study this
way: “The biggest challenge was actually deﬁning a good [research] problem
because that was between 60% and 70% of the work.” Patrick formd that, as a
research assistant for his advisor, deﬁning his research problem through his advisor’s
research was the most chlenging experience for him because he Md difﬁculty

breaking down the problem so that it was manageable and solvable.

166

He maintained that spending most of his daily work horns researching a
particular area in his advisor’s ﬁeld of study intensiﬁed this difﬁculty. He said that,
although he ﬁnally developed a workable research problem that was interesting and
could be used in his dissertation, the hours spent on his advisor’s research negatively
impacted his success in graduate school. Patrick felt that those hours could Mve
been spent on publishing or other academic activities, which could Mve yielded
better graduate school results in a shorter time.

Kimberly decided that, after several years of being absent ﬁom her program,
she wanted to complete her doctoral work. She asserted that her greatest graduate
school challenge arose when she had to defend to her committee members her
position that it was not necessary to retake her comprehensive examinations or do
additional coursework. She said:

That was a hard defense because by nature, one should Mve retaken those

courses just because of the timing. . . .There should Mve also been more

information [research] out there in my program . . .Between taking a cornse
ﬁve years ago, and taking a course now, one would expect new discoveries in
that particular ﬁeld; but, because I started in the health promotion ﬁeld, it was
in its infancy and there’s not a lot of new work out there.

According to Kimberly the research in her area Md made few advances in
preventative health concerns, such as exercising and eating Mbits, since she Md
withdrawn ﬁom her program In a defense before her committee members, she had
to demonstrate that her research was up-to-date and convince them that she should be

permitted to continue her doctoral work from the point at which she left the program

167

She said, “I had to sit in ﬁ'ont of my committee and basically defend it [her research]
as though it was like a dissertation. . . .It was very easy for me to defend it because
tMt’s my job. . .to do it here [her workplace].” Although viewed by Kimberly as a
negative experience, this challenge did not Mve a negative impact on her doctoral
success. Kimberly’s experience illustrates that the motivation to succeed and
persevere can outweigh encounters with negative experiences.

Sally recalled a negative experience tMt conﬁ'onted her. She recounted an
occurrence in which one of her committee members disagreed with the methodology
for her dissertation research. According to Sally, the committee member argued that
the size of her pilot study was insufficient and that she needed to sample more
people. Although Sally informed the committee member tMt the development of her
survey instrument and her chosen methodology were based on the literature, this
professor contended that the small number of articles Sally used did not provide a
sufﬁcient literature base to support her methodology or why the group of questions
used in the survey should “come together as a construct and be analyzed.”

This particular committee member also wanted Sally to survey 300 people for
the pilot study. However, according to Sally, there were only about 200 people in
her targeted population in the entire country, which made surveying 300 an
impossibility. Sally informed her advisor of the committee member’s demands.
Sally said that her advisor told her not to worry about sample size, but that she
should ﬁnd a way to validate the survey. Sally sought help ﬂour a ﬁ'iend who taught
3 statistics course. As a result of her ﬁiend’s help, Sally was able to validate her

survey by composing a statistical analysis tMt met the committee member’s

168

requirements. Sally concluded tMt this particular situation was deﬁnitely her most
negative experience while in graduate school. She believed that it negatively
impactedhersuccessbecause sheMdto spendanenormous amount oftimeand
energy validating a survey that was difﬁcult to validate.

Most of these participants viewed their experiences as negative because their
degree completion was prolonged. For other participants, the stress associated with a

lack of ﬁnances and preparing for comprehensive examinations were negative

experiences.

Conclusion

Based on the interview data, the study participants encountered a variety of
experiences tMt impacted their graduate school successes. Often, these experiences
occurred within the participants’ departments or disciplines.

The participants reported numerous positive experiences. Some involved
academic and emotional support or guidance provided by White student-peers and
advisors. Some participants gained a sense of acceptance and inclusion in'their
departments by being actively recruited, being asked to participate in various
departmental activities and events, or being encouraged to voice their opinions
regarding departmental practices. Permission ﬁ'om advisors or department heads to
enroll in dual programs tMt helped participants meet their educational and career
goals was another positive experience. Some of the participants attributed their
positive experiences to particular strategies they used tMt allowed them to focus on

their studies or improve their writing abilities.

169

Some of the participants’ experiences were negative. Negative experiences
included those that prolonged degree completion or a lack of ﬁnancial resources to
pay tuition and living expenses, which elevated stress levels. Other negative
experiences involved issues that related to preparing for and passing comprehensive
examinations. Despite their encounters with negative experiences, most participants
reported Mving experiences that positively impacted their successes in graduate
school. 1

170

 

Chapter 7
Discussion and Recommendations
Introduction
Few studies Mve been conducted on the graduate school experiences of Aﬁican
Americans. This study is signiﬁcant because it helps ﬁll the present void and
provides information that will raise college and university Eculty members’ and
administrators’ understanding of the Ectors that contribute to the successes of
African American doctoral students. This understanding could promote the
implementation of programs and practices that positively impact the graduation rate
of these students. A higher graduation rate, in turn, will mean a greater
representation of Aﬁican Americans at the upper levels of the American workforce.
This is particularly important in the scientiﬁc ﬁelds, given the stereotypical view that
Aﬁican Americans lack the ability to succeed in math and science. Greater visibility
in these ﬁelds center on Afiican Americans’ successes in math and science at the
Ph.D. level.

This study is also important because of its qualitative nature. It provides
descriptive and detailed reporting on the experiences of Aﬁ'ican American doctoral
students in their own voices, which Mve been neglected in prior research.
Furthermore, past research Ms neither explored discipline-based diﬂ‘erences in
African American doctoral student experiences nor thoroughly addressed how the
role of race impacts these experiences. This study adds to existing literature by
including personal stories of Aﬁican American doctoral students that pertain

speciﬁcally to various experiences within their disciplines (math and science or

171

education) and by investigating the impact of race on doctoral students’ experiences
prior to and while attending Michigan State University.

The primary question guiding this research, wMt are the experiences of
Aﬁ'ican American doctoral students in graduate school, was answered through
information obtained in one-on-one interviews with study participants. Some of the
ﬁndings supported the literatm‘e on graduate education. Other ﬁndings identiﬁed
certain experiences of Aﬁican American doctoral students that were missing ﬁom
the literature.

This chter discusses the study’s ﬁndings and implications and is organized
in the following way. First, a summary of the key ﬁndings is presented. These
ﬁndings are discussed in more detail later in the chter. Second, key themes and
implications are presented. In this section, the present study’s ﬁndings are compared
to those of past research to highlight this study’s contribution to the literature on
graduate student education. The discussion will show how the present ﬁndings
concur with or refute past research ﬁndings or provide information that is missing
from the literature. Third, unexpected ﬁndings that emerged from the data are
discussed. Fourth, recommendations are oﬁ'ered for future research. Fifth, and
finally, recommendations are offered for departmental Eculty, administrators,
universities as a whole, teachers, and graduate students themselves that could

contribute to the positive experiences of Aﬁican American doctoral students.

172

Summary of Key Findings
Impact of experiences prior to graduate school.

The participants indicated that many experiences preceding the students’
doctoral work inﬂuenced their successes in graduate school. Their experiences with
family members, junior high and high school teachers, undergraduate college
professors, or coworkers impacted the participants’ perceptions of the importance of
academics, choices of discipline and career, and participation in math and science
courses and activities. Spirituality also was a signiﬁcant contributor to success for

some of the participants.

Impact of discipline/department and the institution on doctoral students.

The participants’ experiences within their discipline/department or the
university affected their successes in graduate school. For some participants, a sense
of acceptance and inclusion in their departments was important to their success. This
often was achieved when participants were actively recruited by the university or
departmental personnel or asked to participate in various departmental activities and
eVents. Other departmental or institutional experiences that impacted their successes
included permission from advisors or department heads to enroll in dual
departments, academic success strategies the participants learned ﬁom other students
or persons within their departments, or academic strategies they devised and

employed.

173

Impact of students’ awareness of racial and/or ethnic identity.

Without exception, the participants had a strong sense of pride in being
African American. Their awareness of and pride in their race and/or ethnic identity
primarily resulted from early inﬂuences within their families. Pride in their race
motivated the participants to perform well academically, particularly in their ﬁelds of
study, so that they could effectively serve as positive role models for other African
Americans to follow. Additionally, a sense of pride in being Aﬁ'ican American
inspired some of the participants to perform well in math and science speciﬁcally.
This motivation enabled them to serve as good representatives for their race by
disproving stereotypes suggesting that African Americans may leave difﬁculty in
succeeding in these disciplines.

Impact of race on experiences prior to and during graduate school.

Some scholars have argued that race plays a signiﬁcant role in the
experiences of African American graduate students because any attendant racist
behaviors and prejudices create many barriers to success (Anderson, 1994; Haymes,
1995; Lusane, 1997; Turner & Myers, 2000; West, 1994; White, 1984; Willie et al.,
1991). As illustrated in the participants’ stories, race did play a signiﬁcant role in
their graduate school experiences, particularly in their academic achievements. The
participants maintained, however, that race was a positive factor in their lives and
experiences. They asserted that the positive experiences connected with their race,
prior to and during graduate school, enabled them to overcome potential racial

barriers that often adversely impact the academic successes of African Americans.

174

Factors that motivated the participants’ persistence in completing their doctoral
degrees.

Certain factors motivated the participants to persist in completing their
doctoral degrees. These factors included family members instilling a sense of the
importance of academics and pride in their race. Additionally, teachers, college
professors, and administrators, especially ethnic minority professors and
administrators, provided participants with academic and emotional support that
encouraged and motivated them to complete their undergraduate and graduate
degrees. Furthermore, Aﬁican American student-peers enabled them to not feel
alone and helped them meet academic, social, and/or information-gathering needs
and gain different perspectives on issues or concerns pertaining to the successes of

Aﬁ'ican American graduate students.

Key Themes and Implications

This section presents a more in-depth discussion of some of the interesting
themes that emerged in the study’s ﬁndings. The following themes are discussed:
(1) Effects of being positive role models and good representatives of their race, (2)
Overcoming racism, (3) Comparisons between math and science and education
students regarding the existence of racism, (4) Financial aid availability: math and
science students versus education students, (5) The need for ethnic minority

professors and mentors, and (6) The need for Aﬁican American student-peer support

175

 

Effects of being positive role models and good representatives of their race.

Motivated by pride in their race, the math and science students in this study
began their doctoral studies with a desire to succeed in their respective disciplines.
They felt a sense of responsibility, which sometimes became a burden, to perform
well in their programs in order to dispel stereotypes about Aﬁ'ican Americans’
inabilities to achieve academically in math and science. Their motivations to
succeed were enhanced further by their desire to become positive role models for
other African American students. Their university experiences showed them that
fewer Aﬁ'ican American students enrolled in math and science programs, particularly
at the Ph.D. level, in comparison to students of other races or ethnicities. These
participants felt a responsibility to demonstrate to new African American math and
science students, with whom they worked closely, that Aﬁ'ican Americans can, and
do, succeed in these disciplines. Consequently, they believed that they should be
positive role models or mentors to new students.

These participants’ experiences and perceptions support the existing literature
in several ways. According to Banks (1996), for example, Aﬁican Americans often
feel that they must prove to themselves and to others on campus that they can
succeed academically and, at the same time, make their colleges more desirable
places for others of their race to attend. The feelings of the participants, as they
strived to become positive role models, concur with Banks’ analysis. The
participants believed tint their achievements in math and science would encourage

other Aﬁ'ican American math and science students to perform well also.

176

The ﬁndings here also support Banks’ (1996) analysis that, since few Aﬁican
Americans attend predominately White college campuses, those who do feel that
they are “representing the Black race.” Therefore, African American students often
feel that they must present themselves in a positive light academically and socially.
The math and science participants in this study believed that they needed to do well
academically in order to be good representatives of the Black race.

The ﬁndings also coincide with Steele’s (1990) argument that, for many
years, African Americans have been stereotyped as lazy, nonproductive, stupid,
inferior, or more complaining of their circumstances than any other ethnic group.
These characterizations have spread throughout college campuses in particular. To
disprove these myths and stereotypes, African American college students often “burn
the midnight oil” studying (Steele, 1990, p. 138). The math and science students in
this study diligently applied themselves to ensure their superior academic
performances, not only for the sake of personal achievement, but also to dispel
stereotypes relating to the abilities, motivations, and ambitions of Aﬁican
Americans.

Moreover, Banks (1996) contends that African American students often work
harder than other students because of family expectations and views that have been
passed down for generations. Many family members tell the younger generations
that they must perform twice as well academically as their White counterparts. This
premise is supported by one participant’s opinion, held throughout her educational
pursuits, that “African Americans often have to work twice as lmrd and do twice as

much to succeed,” regardless of their level of education and socioeconomic status.

177

She further realized that, even though she had to work lmrder than most to succeed,
others were likely to view her negatively because of her race. Despite this
possibility, she continued to do her best to present herself in the most positive
manner.

The math and science participants most consistently reported wanting to
become positive role models for new Aﬁican American students. One could
reasonably conclude that these particular participants, who either worked closely
with other African American students or felt that other Aﬁican Americans could
approach them easily for academic support and mentorship, felt compelled to work
even harder to perform well academically. The degree to which enrollment in
particular disciplines impels Aﬁican American graduate students to serve as role
models for other Aﬁ'ican American students and to perform well academically in

order to do so has been neglected in the existing literature.

Overcoming racism.

All of the participants in math and science and several in education strived to
perform well academically to dispel the stereotypes attached to African Americans.
There were times when their efforts were extremely difﬁcult and, often, to no avail.
Motivated by personal fortitude and encouragement from family members, however,
these participants did not allow potential racial barriers to stand in the way of their
successes.

For example, four of the participants majoring in education experienced
racism, stereotyping, or racist behaviors from elementary or secondary school

teachers. However, because of strong support from family members and the

178

 

participants’ strong pride in their race, they were able to overcome these potential
barriers by demonstrating to those teachers that they could succeed academically if
they worked harder on their academic deﬁciencies. These ﬁndings support the
literature on graduate student education and socialization processes. Family
members have a strong inﬂuence on their children’s values and growth, including a
sense of race pride and the important place of academics (Cross, 1995; Elkin &
Handel, 1984; White, 1994). Their families instilled in the participants a sense of
pride in their race and sense of the importance of academics. As a result, participants
were able to overcome racial barriers and succeed academically.

Several of the participants also encountered racism and stereotyping during
their involvement in high school sports activities. However, because of their strong
pride in being African American and their competitive natures, they did not succumb
to these potential barriers. instead, they overcame them by working harder to build
the skills necessary to meet the competitive requirements of their chosen sports. The
experiences of these participants lead to the conclusion that they were able to achieve
their goals because of their competitive natures and their pride in being Aﬁ'ican
American. Thus, although they could not prevent acts of racism and discrimination,
they, like the participants who encountered academic discrimination, used potential

barriers as motivators for their successes.

179

Did racism exist? Comparisons between math and science and education doctoral
students.

The participants in this study who were in math and science disciplines did
not experience racism or racist behaviors in their academic pursuits during their
college years. However, the majority of the participants in education did report
encountering such experiences. While generalizations cannot be made from so few
people, one wonders why the math and science students were shielded from racism
and stereotyping while the education students were subjected to them. Do math and
science disciplines provide some safeguard against racism or stereotyping?

According to the participants in math and science, the answer is yes. They
stated that these disciplines are built on objective principles and facts and do not
promote subjectivity or emotional responses. These participants maintained that the
only basis for their grades was their understanding of the objective principles with
which to solve math and science problems. Students who could correctly solve the
problems, they asserted, succeeded academically. Racism and discrimination, which
are subjective responses, did not impact the participants’ successes in inherently
objective disciplines.

In education, on the other hand, math and sciences courses are only a limited
part of the curricula. Academic success in many, perhaps most, education courses
can be impacted by professors’ subjective evaluations. The participants in education
recounted incidents in which their grades hinged on subjective measures. This was

particularly true in courses where professors were at liberty to determine whether a

180

 

paper was written well enough to meet their expectations. Therefore, emotional
responses from professors played a role in determining a particular student’s grade.
An exploration of the factors that shield African American students in some
disciplines from racism and subject students in other disciplines to it is absent ﬁ'om
the literature. Although the sample of math and science students in this study was
small, the ﬁndings contribute to the literature by providing some information on
discipline-related differences in encounters with racism. These ﬁndings suggest that
comparisons between students in different disciplines with regard to experiences

with racism may be a productive area for ﬁrture research.

Financial aid availability: math and science students versus education students.
Some of the graduate student literature argues that students who receive
ﬁnancial aid and do not have to seek employment outside of their departments often
have more positive graduate school experiences than students who must work at
outside jobs (Tinto, 1991). Financial aid not only covers much of the high cost of
graduate school and, sometimes, living expenses, it also reduces ﬁnancial and time
constraints that negatively impact on students’ abilities to focus on their coursework
or research. Financial aid, however, is not equally distributed among disciplines.
Doctoral students in laboratory science ﬁelds generally receive research grants
and/or other funding obtained by faculty members in their departments with which
the students can further their studies (Bair & Haworth, 1999; Bowen & Rudenstine,
1992; Nerad & Cerney, 1991). In contrast, doctoral students in the ﬁeld of education
receive these types of funding inﬁequently (Bair & Haworth, 1999; Bowen &

Rudenstine, 1992; Nerad & Cerney, 1991).

181

 

This study’s ﬁndings support these arguments. All of the participants in math
and science reported that their advisors or departmental heads consistently ensured
that the participants had sufﬁcient ﬁnancial resources to conduct their research and
pay their academic and living expenses. The availability of ﬁnancial resources
resulted in positive experiences for these participants. On the other hand, several of
the students in education reported that ﬁnancial resources ﬁom the university were
hard to obtain, which negatively impacted their graduate school experiences.
Because of their motivation to complete their programs and receive their degrees,
these students ﬁnanced their tuition and living expenses by Working at jobs outside
of their departments. They contended that receiving funding ﬁ'om their departments
or the university would have allowed them to participate in various support groups,
which often met during their work hours. This support, they believed, would have
assisted them in their academic success and, subsequently, yielded more positive

academic eiqreriences.

The need for ethnic minority professors and mentors.

African American doctoral students often beneﬁt academically and
emotionally when they have faculty of color to serve as advisors, mentors, or role
models (Willie et al., 1991). Faculty of color at colleges and universities seem more
able to encourage persistence among minority students than White faculty members,
particularly at research universities. The apparent greater effectiveness of faculty of
color is due, in part, to shared research interests with minority students, which often

results in these faculty members sharing resources that are relevant to the students’

182

 

 

research (Harvey, 1994; Nicholas & Oliver, 1994: Sloan, 1994; Turner & Myers,
2000). .

Sloan’s (1994) study is especially helpful in supporting this premise. His
data comprised interviews with six mentored African American doctoral students
(three male and three female), most of whom were enrolled in the education ﬁeld.
Sloan reported that Aﬁican American doctoral students show a stronger desire to be
mentored by Aﬁican American faculty. They are more responsive to African
American faculty as mentors tlmn they are to White faculty because African
American faculty members typically are more sensitive to racial issues and may have
experienced the same types of concerns that students have. Other researchers
indicate that the lack of African American mentors in departments causes many
Aﬁ'ican American doctoral students to seek mentors and other role models outside of
their departments (Gold & Dore, 2001; Neilson, 1997; Phillips & Pugh, 2000).

The ﬁndings in this study support previous research. Most of the participants
reported that they often sought out ethnic minority professors or administrators to
assist them with academic and emotional needs. The ﬁndings here also show that
ethnic minority professors or administrators outside of the participants’ departments
or programs provided the participants with guidance, advice, and knowledge that
helped them to successfully complete their doctoral programs. An interesting
ﬁnding was that, for one participant, the age of ethnic minority professors played a
role in her ability to relate to them as role models. This participant stated that seeing

Aﬁican American faculty members in inﬂuential positions within her department

183

 

 

who were close to her in age inspired her to become a faculty member and program
coordinator, which she achieved.

In addition, several of the ethnic minority professors, particularly the Aﬁican
American professors, gave the participants very realistic information and advice
regarding some of the obstacles that Blacks often face in graduate school. This type
of awareness enabled them to better understand how to overcome certain racial
barriers that might impede their successes.

The support provided by faculty of color, particularly African American
faculty, enhanced the successes of this study’s participants. They beneﬁted
academically and emotionally from faculty of color more often than they did from
White faculty. Moreover, these students, like Aﬁican American students in previous
studies, often sought out ethnic minority professors to serve as role models and
mentors, either in their own departments or, if this was not possible, in other

departments.

The need for African American student-peer support.

Several of the participants in this study reported that they beneﬁted
academically and socially by surrounding themselves with Aﬁ'ican American
student-peers. Many met and became ﬁ'iends with other Aﬁican American students
by joining and participating in campus organizations such as the Black Graduate
Student Association (BGSA). Others met and socialized with Aﬁican American
students at conferences, sometimes forming long-lasting friendships. These
relationships provided students with support and opportunities to share an array of

networking resources, such as information about the availability of ﬁnancial aid, and

184

 

 

to gain different perspectives on various issues or concerns pertaining to the success
of Aﬁican American graduate students.

These ﬁndings also correlate with the literature. Interactions among students
promote students’ social integration into their departments or the university, which,
in turn, promotes academic success (Tinto, 1991, 1993). Becoming socially
integrated into their departments or the wider university results from students’
ﬁiendships and activities, such as attending social events, “hanging out” in the
student lounge, or meeting informally with peers (Golde, 2000; Lovitts, 2001).
Furthermore, social integration into the department or university community
enlmnces students’ intellectual development (T into, 1993). Social integration also
enhances the development of important skills required for program completion
because students at a particular stage in the doctoral process can learn ﬁom others
who already have completed that stage (Tinto, 1993).

Although much of the literature contends that students can gain academically
and socially from student-peers regardless of their race or ethnicity, other studies
have shown that doctoral students from different ethnic backgrounds often
experience more support in peer relationships with students of similar ethnicity
(Hamilton, 1998). These types of relationships encourage positive graduate school
experiences because students can discuss with one another common issues, such as
those related to race. The opportunity for openness to stare feelings with one

another (Hamilton, 1998) tends to increase student success.

185

Unexpected Findings

While many of the ﬁndings from this study concurred with the literature,
there were some surprises. For example, it was notable that none of the math and
science students, all of whom were male, reported any experiences of racism prior to
attending graduate school. These individuals always attended segregated schools,
including HBCUs for their undergraduate studies, primarily comprised of an Aﬁican
American student body and faculty. In these environments, they were not treated
diﬂ‘erently because of their race. According to the participants who attended Black
schools and I-IBCUs, these institutions generally taught students to have pride in their
race and, consequently, they were able to overcome those racial barriers that they did
encounter later and achieve academic success.

It also was surprising to ﬁnd that race was not a determinant in the graduate
school success of math and science students. As previously stated, the math and
science students contended that their programs focused on teaching and assessing
students’ understanding of objective math and science principles. Therefore, race
did not play a role in determining how well they performed in these disciplines. As
one of the math and science participants stated, his department “did a pretty good job
ofmaking sure that race was not a concern.”

Another interesting ﬁnding was that family members of the participants in
math and science either attended HBCUs themselves or encouraged the participants
to do so and also were in math and science disciplines. These family members were

instrumental in the participants’ academic and career development.

186

 

 

 

Recommendations for Future Research

In this section I offer eight recommendations for future research. First, '
absent ﬁ'om the existing literature and this study are the voices of Aﬁican American
women in math and science disciplines. Their perceptions and experiences need to
be explored. Since there are fewer women in the sciences, particularly Aﬁican
American women (National Opinion Research Center, 1999), it is reasonable to
speculate that their graduate experiences might differ from those of the male math
and science participants in this study. Moreover, the sample ﬁom math and science
disciplines in this study was small. Therefore, I recommend that future research
investigate more fully the experiences of Aﬁican American math and science
students generally and those of African American women in the science disciplines
speciﬁcally. Conducting more studies with larger and gender-balanced samples
would generate additional knowledge about graduate school experiences that could
contribute to the implementation of programs that would positively impact the
success of all African Americans in these disciplines.

Second, the experiences of African American male graduate students also
deserve further study. The education sample in this study comprised only one male
participant. Furthermore, he stated that race was not a salient issue in his
experiences. Cross (1995, p. 28) contends that “persons who hold low salience
views do not deny being physically Black, but consider this ‘physical’ fact to play an
insigniﬁcant role in their every day life.” I recommend that larger samples of
Aﬁican American males be studied to gain information about their particular

experiences in various disciplines. It also is important that future research explore

187

more thoroughly the circumstances in which race is or is not a salient issue in
students’ graduate school experiences.

Third, I recommend interviewing larger samples of Aﬁ'ican American
doctoral recipients across more disciplines. Conducting interviews with individuals
in a range of disciplines will provide opportunities to examine their experiences and
the factors that inﬂuence those experiences in greater detail. Since families inﬂuence
students’ academic outlook, speciﬁc questions in such interviews pertaining to the
students’ family members’ academic experiences might enable researchers to further
explore the degree to which family members affect the students’ doctoral
experiences. Some possible questions to probe this particular inﬂuence might
include: What kinds of discussions, if any, did family members have with students
concerning family members’ beliefs in the importance of academics? How did
family members overcome potential racial barriers in academic settings? How were
family members, particularly those who attained higher degrees, able to achieve
academic successes?

Fourth, further studies of the graduate experiences of African American
students should attempt to draw samples that include students whose undergraduate
degrees were ﬁ'om Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as well as
students whose undergraduate degrees were from predominantly White institutions.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities are known for giving special effort to
preparing students for graduate work and professional careers. Some graduate
programs speciﬁcally recruit academically talented Aﬁican American students ﬁ'om

HBCUs to enter graduate programs. Thus, further research should explore the

188

 

 

different graduate experiences of students ﬁom HBCUs as compared to those whose
undergraduate degrees were from predominantly White institutions.

Fifth, since all of this study’s participants expressed, in various ways, their
strong sense of pride in their race, further investigation would be useful regarding
how racial pride plays a role in how Aﬁican American students experience graduate
education. Some participants, for example, indicated that experiences they
encountered at an early age helped solidify their pride in their race, but other kinds of
pride, such as pride in being involved in political movements, may also have played
a role in their development and, ultimately in their perceptions of the graduate
experience.

For example, one participant’s family members’ pride in their race enabled
her to overcome racial barriers in order to achieve academic and career successes.
Since this participant looked to her family members as role models when she
conﬁ'onted potential barriers, their role modeling almost certainly inﬂuenced the
participant’s political stances, which ultimately gave her conﬁdence and thus
impacted her academic and career successes. One might conclude that pride in race
sometimes leads to various activities such as political involvement, which may affect
the self-conﬁdence with which someone might approach graduate school. Thus,
further research might examine how pride in one’s race plays out in a variety of ways

in one’s life experiences, including in the graduate experience.

189

 

 

Recommendations for Action

In this section, recommendations to enhance the positive experiences of
African American graduate students are offered for faculty members and advisors,
departmental and university-wide officials, teachers, and graduate students
themselves. First, I recommend that faculty members, staff, and administrators at
predominately White colleges and universities try to gain a better understanding of
students’ personal resiliency, which often embles them to persist in completing their
degrees. For example, college ofﬁcials might gain this understanding of students’
resiliency by conducting personal interviews with them prior to their admittance into
the institution. Students who show resiliency probably are more likely to overcome
challenges and become successful.

Second, I recommend that faculty members and other university ofﬁcials help
students and their families feel welcome at their universities and within students’
particular departments. This could be achieved, in part, by providing on-campus
orientations for students and their families prior to the start of classes, which focus
on acquainting students and family members with departmental faculty and staff.
This could promote positive relationships between students and departmental
members. In addition, departmental faculty members and advisors can invite Aﬁican
American students to participate in research projects with professors and other
students with similar research interests. The participants in this study suggested that
working with professors and/or student-peers on research projects helped them feel

included in their particular departments or disciplines.

190

 

Third, faculty members, advisors, and other university oﬂicials who want to
further Aﬁ'ican American doctoral student achievement should assist these students
with securing ﬁnancial aid. This type of funding should be available through
graduate and teaching assistantships, scholarships, and other ﬁnancial sources that do
not require repayment. African American graduate students might perform better
academically when provided with ﬁnancial aid because they would not have to take
outside jobs that constrain study time and prevent them from participating in student
support groups and interacting with professors. Furthermore, ﬁnancial aid that does
not need to be repaid might encourage more African Americans to pursue doctoral
degrees.

Fourth, the participants in this study suggested that the positive role played
by their race derived, in part, ﬁom the academic, emotional, and social support
provided by ethnic minority, particularly African American, professors,
administrators, and student-peers. Therefore, I recommend that colleges and
universities make every effort to recruit faculty and students of color to create
diversity within departments. The presence of more Aﬁican American faculty will
increase ethnic minority students’ access to positive mentors and role models to
whom they can relate and who can assist them in successfully maneuvering through
the doctoral process, despite the existence of potential racial barriers. More students
of color also will provide more sources of peer support to minority students.
Overall, departments characterized by more diversity will enlmnce students’ sense of

inclusion in their departments.

191

 

 

Fifth, one might ask, “How can faculty of color provide academic and
emotional support to minority students and still successfully meet tenure and other
college-related requirements?” I propose that tenure requirements take account of
the quantity and quality of advising and mentoring responsibilities that are expected
of faculty of color. For instance, if faculty members of color are expected to serve as
mentors to minority students and to work closely with them to support their
academic success, some of their other faculty responsibilities should be decreased in
order that they can successﬁrlly perform all of their duties. This type of practice will
encourage faculty of color to become mentors and role models for minority students
because it will reduce the stress associated with meeting tenure requirements and
other responsibilities. Some of the suggestions I offer may require consideration of
the overall expectations for a university’s tenure review process.

Sixth, I recommend that faculty members, staff, and administrators at
predominately White colleges and universities provide and promote African
American graduate student organizations (i.e., BGSA) and spiritual organizations. It
has been demonstrated, in this study and others, tint organizations such as BGSA
enable students to meet, interact with, learn hem, and support one another.
Additionally, since several of the participants reported that their spirituality
motivated them to complete their degrees, department personnel should make
students aware of the full range of spiritual organizations on and near campus. This
will allow students to meet their spiritual needs by participating in such

organizations, if they so desire.

192

Seventh, student success, of course, does not necessarily start with college
professors or administrators making a difference. Achievement can be motivated by
elementary and high school teachers who provide students with encouragement to
succeed in their chosen ﬁelds of study, particularly in math and science. As one of
the study participants stated: “When I was in high school, I had a couple of mentors
[teachers] who told me ‘You are going to grad school; you are going to be a
scientist.’” This participant believed that his motivation to pursue advanced degrees
in math and science was encouraged early in his schooling by his high school math
and science teachers, who strongly suggested that he had the abilities to do so. In
this regard, it is important that teachers be trained to recognize and encourage talents
in Aﬁican American students. Therefore, a further recommendation deriving from
this study is that all public school teachers should be required or encouraged to
attend ongoing training programs that concentrate on teaching a diverse student
body.

Eighth, recommendations for African American doctoral student success also
must include recommendations to students themselves. Students should not expect
college faculty members and administrators to take sole responsibility for students’
achievement. Students must take responsibility for their positive experiences and
successes. They might accomplish this by using academic success strategies
suggested in the literature or by professors or other students in their departments.
They can initiate academic and mentoring assistance ﬁom faculty members within
their departments. If they are not successful in obtaining assistance

interdepartmentally, they should seek assistance ﬁom faculty members,

193

 

administrators, or student-peers in other departments or disciplines in order to

receive the help they need to succeed.

Conclusion

Few studies have investigated the graduate school experiences of Aﬁican
Americans. This study helps ﬁll the void in and adds to the literature by exploring
the factors that contribute to the successes of Aﬁican American doctoral students.
Many of this study’s ﬁndings support those of other studies, such as the perception
held by Aﬁican American students that they need to work twice as hard as Whites to
achieve success and their desire to perform well in order to serve as role models and
good representatives of their race. Other ﬁndings here refute some past ﬁndings, the
most notable of which is that these participants viewed their race as positively
impacting their graduate school experiences. Also important is that this study raises
questions about possible discipline-related differences in students’ encounters with
racism, obtaining ﬁnancial aid, and motivations to succeed academically.

Further research with larger samples is needed on all of the issues examined
in this study. Nonetheless, there is accumulating evidence that Aﬁican Americans’
positive experiences and academic achievements in graduate school relate to partly a
variety of factors that do not apply to their White counterparts. Studies such as this
one will contribute to university faculty members’ and administrators’ understanding
of the factors that contribute to the successes of Aﬁican American doctoral students.
Strategies and practices should be implemented to increase African American
students’ success in doctoral study and, by extension, their representation in the

upper levels of the U.S. workforce.

194

 

 

APPENDICES

195

 

APPENDIX A

INTERVIEW PROTOCOL

The purpose of this study is to examine African American doctoral recipients’
student experiences prior to doctoral study and during their doctoral study, to gain an
understanding of what factors contribute to their successes in completing their
degrees, to examine how the role of race played in their doctoral student experiences,
and to examine how they perceive or understand their racial and ethnic identity.
According to the literature, race and how African Americans view their racial and
ethnic identity play a signiﬁcant role in the experiences of these individuals.
Furthermore, according to the literature concerning graduate education research,
there are other factors that may impact doctoral student experiences, regardless of
race or ethnicity. Therefore, in this study, I took into consideration these factors in
relation to the graduate student experiences of Aﬁican Americans.

To assist in understanding some of the experiences of Aﬁican American doctoral
students, I explore how some Aﬁican American doctoral recipients perceive their
graduate experiences through one-on-one interviews. Prior to starting the interviews,
I thanked the participants for agreeing to discuss their doctoral student experiences
with me. Then, I explained to the participants the purpose of the study and that their
participation in the study will contribute to graduate education research by informing
graduate education researchers of some factors that contributed to their success while
pursuing their doctorates. Although the participants should have read the cover letter
explaining the study, I believe that it is appropriate to review the purpose of the

study with the participants to clarify any misunderstandings. I also reiterated that the

196

 

 

 

. my
interviews will be held in conﬁdence and that the interviews should take between

two to three hours in length. Furthermore, I informed the participants that if
additional or clariﬁcation of information is needed, requests for multiple interviews
may be necessary.

I started the interviews by asking some broad questions concerning the
participants’ doctoral student experiences. Below, I constructed a table to that

assisted me in developing my interview questions.

 

 

Major Research Probe Questions
Questions
1. Tell me o What were the highlights?
about your 0 What were the challenges or problems?
gradate student 0 Did you receive mentoring from faculty in your
experiences. department or ﬁom other faculty or staff members

elsewhere? Tell me about it.

0 Did you receive any fellowships or other ﬁnancial aid
from the university or other resources? If so, what type?
If you did not, why?

0 Were there any Aﬁican American faculty members
within your department? If there were, what types of
relationships did you have with them?

0 Did you form any relationships with student peers?

If so, please elaborate.

 

 

 

 

197

 

 

Did you attend any academic conferences, present
papers at conferences, or publish any articles or other
materials? Please explain or elaborate.

Did you ever lack enthusiasm for your work or

research? Please explain.

 

 

 

2. What prior 0 What role did family and ﬁiends play in your
experiences educational experience prior to graduate study and your
before graduate life in general?
school may 0 Did you have any mentors or role models (i.e.,
have aﬁ‘ected teachers, counselors, etc.) that assisted you in your
your graduate educational development prior to graduate school?
experiences?

3. Tell me 0 Why did you choose to attend MSU for your doctoral
about your study?
overall 0 Did your program or department welcome ethnic
institutional minority issues in the classroom or in the curriculum?

experiences (as
they relate to
your
department
and/or
discipline)

while in

 

Please explain.

Based on your student experiences, what is your
perception of the institutions’ role in helping African
American doctoral students succeed in completing their
degrees?

What was your academic discipline in graduate

school?

 

198

 

 

 

graduate

Why did you choose this discipline?

 

8011001? 0 What inﬂuence did family, peers, mentors, etc. have
in your choice of this discipline?
0 Were you satisﬁed with your choice of discipline?
Why or why not?
0 Did you apply your discipline to your career? How
or why not?
0 What is your current occupation?
- What are your future career aspirations?
4. What is o In your opinion, how important is race and ethnicity
your in your own personal development?
understanding 0 How much of a role does being Aﬁ'ican American
01' awareness of play in your educational experience and your life in
your racial and general?
ethnic identity? 0 (a) Very strong role
0 (b) Somewhat strong role
0 (c) Not a role at all
0 ((1) Not sure
0 Please explain your answer.

 

 

5. How does 0 How has race impacted yom' experiences prior to

race and your doctoral study?
awareness 0f 0 How has race impacted or played a role in your
racial/ethnic experiences as a doctoral student?

 

 

199

 

 

 

 

 

identity impact
or play a role
in your
experience
prior to
graduate

school and as a

graduate

student?

Did you ever perceive your race as being a
contributing factor to problems or successes you may
have experienced while in your doctoral study? Please

explain.

 

 

What kept
you motivated
to persist in
completing

your degree?

 

Did you consider leaving the university while
pursuing your doctoral degree? Why or Why not?

Why did you decide to stay?

What individual strategies did you use, if any, to

‘ assist you in gaining positive student experiences and/or

ensuring your degree completion?

Wlmt organizational strategies, if any, did you use to
assist you in gaining positive student experiences or

, ensuring your degree completion?

 

200

 

 

APPENDIX B

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE / COVER LETTER
(Date)

(My name and address)

[Participant’s name and address]
Dear [Insert participant’s name]:

Your name has been randomly selected from Michigan State University records to
participate in a research study that explores the graduate experiences of Aﬁican American
doctoral students. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of Aﬁican
American doctoral students and to gain an understanding of what factors contributed to their
success in completing their degrees. When comparing the total number of Aﬁican American
doctorates earned in the United States by 1979 (1058), with the total number of Aﬁican
doctorates earned by 1999 (1596), the number of African American doctoral recipients
annually has only increased by 538 within the past 20 years.

By participating in this study, you will be able to contribute information that could assist
educational researchers and academic institutions increase the pool of Aﬁican American
doctoral recipients. The information provided will be obtained by tape recorded interviews
and used as part of my completion for my Ph.D. in Educational Administration at Michigan
State University. The one-on-one interview session will take approximately two to three
hours in length. In addition, multiple interviews may be requested in the event that
additional information or clarity of information is needed. Your cooperation throughout this
endeavor will be held in conﬁdence.

Enclosed you will ﬁnd a consent form that brieﬂy summarizes the purpose of this study,
statements concerning your rights as a voluntary participant, and an explanation of how your
conﬁdentiality will be maintained. If you agree to participate in this study, please sign and
date the consent form and return it to me in the enclosed envelope by [imert date]. I will
contact you in two weeks to follow up on receipt of this letter and discuss any questions you
may have. Should you have questions at any time about this study or its intentions, please
feel free to contact my advisor, Ann E. Austin, Ph.D., or me.

I can be reached by telephone at (517) 381-9267 or by e-mail address bin a.msu.edu or
Ann E. Austin can be reached at (517) 355-6757 or by e-mail address a_a,ustin@msu.edu.
Thank you in advance and I look forward to speaking with you within the next two weeks.

Sincerely,

Lloyd G. Bingman, M.Ed.

Doctoral Candidate, Michigan State University
Department of Educational Administration

Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education Program

201

 

 

APPENDIX C—CONSENT FORM

Title: Aﬁican American Doctoral Student Experiences: Factors That Impact Persistence and

Graduation
Researcher: Lloyd G. Bingman, M.Ed.

Doctoral Advisor and Principal Investigator: Ann E. Austin, Ph.D.

The research project in which you are agreeing to participate is a dissertation study about the
experiences of 1999, 2000, or 200] Michigan State University doctoral graduates. You will be asked
several questions in an interview session format concerning your doctoral student experiences.
Furthermore, the one-on-one interviews will be tape-recorded and may last approximately 2 to 3 hours
in length. In addition, multiple interviews may be requested in the event that additional information
or clarity of information is needed.

All information obtained during the interview will be held in strict conﬁdence and your
identity will not be disclosed in any form during the preparations or at the completion of the study.
Only the researcher will be aware of your identity. Moreover, any names or identiﬁers presented in
this study will be deleted or changed for your protection. Your privacy will be protected to the
maximum extent allowable by law. The data obtained ﬁ'om this study will be stored by and accessible
to only the researcher.

This research project is being conducted for the purposes of a dissertation. The research
ﬁndings may also be included in an article or book for publication. There is no compensation for
participation in this study. Again, all names and identities will be held in strict conﬁdence at all
times.

Rights as a Research Subject: If you have any questions at anytime pertaining to the purpose or
intensions of the study and your role as participant, please contact Lloyd G. Bingman at (517) 381-
9267 or Dr. Ann E. Austin at (517) 355-6757. Participation in this study is completely voluntary.
You may withdraw your consent and discontinue your participation at anytime by contacting Lloyd G.
Bingman. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, or are dissatisﬁed at
any time with any aspect of this study, you may contact—anonymously, if you wish—Ashir Kumar,
MD. and Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) by
phone at Michigan State University at (517) 355-2180, by fax: (517)432-4503, e-mail:
ucrih§@msu.edu. or regular mail: 202 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824.

Your signature below indicates your voluntary agreement to participate in this study.
Moreover, a copy of this consent form with your signature and the researcher’s signature will be

 

 

provided to you.

Participant‘s Printed Name: DELL
Participant’s Signature: Date
Principal Investigator's Signature: DELL

 

To ensure accurate data, the researcher requests to audio tape the interviews. After
transcription of audio tapes has taken place, the researcher will destroy the audio tapes. Your
signature below indicates your voluntary agreement that the interviews be audio taped for the purpose
of ensuring accurate data.

Participant’s Signature: Date
Please return this form in the enclosed stamped addressed envelope by [insert date] to:
Lloyd G. Bingman
4271 Indian Glen Drive
Okemos, MI 48864
UCRIHS APPROVAL FOR THIS PROJECT EXPIRES: ”/"l"

 

202

 

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