Rice University
PAE-9: Support Programs for Future Faculty

Rice participates in a number of programs that aim to increase diversity in higher education faculty by providing assistance to grad school applicants. Below is a summary of these programs.

NSF ADVANCE: "The Rice University NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation for Faculty Diversity project is committed to increasing the number of women in science and engineering at Rice University, with a particular focus on the Schools of Natural Science and Engineering. The program is designed to capitalize on the strong commitment to gender equity at Rice University, and to create new insights into the features of the academy that impede the inclusion and progress of women and minorities more generally in the professoriate. Our hope is that more women and underrepresented minorities will be inspired to join the ranks of academe and to use their own skills to advance into important leadership roles based on the activities of this program."

Mellon Mays: "The fundamental objective of MMUFP is to increase the number of minority students, and others with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities, who will pursue PhDs in core fields in the arts and sciences. In partnership with the Mellon Foundation, the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows Program at Rice is aimed at increasing the number of students from diverse backgrounds who choose to enroll in PhD programs in the humanities, anthropology, mathematics, mathematical sciences, statistics, physics, geology, ecology, and earth sciences."

GEM (National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science): GEM's mission statement is to "enhance the value of the nation's human capital by increasing the participation of underrepresented groups (African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanic Americans) at the master's and doctoral levels in engineering and science".

Project 1000: This initiative helps Latino students applying for graduate schools by taking care of application fees and connecting prospective grad students with a liaison at each of the graduate programs under consideration.

Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers: "IRT seeks to bring more ethnic and racial diversity to the teaching profession by helping talented college students interested in a career in education through the graduate school application process."

Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professorate at Rice: "A year-round community experience designed to alter graduate student diversity and to encourage science, mathematics, and engineering graduate enrollment."

Rice is also a member institution of the following groups: COE (Council for Educational Opportunity), HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities), TABPHE (Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education), TACHE (Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education).