Washington University in St. Louis
PAE-8: Support Programs for Under-Represented Groups

Professional TRIO staff offer student services which include academic advising, individualized academic coaching, workshops to strengthen skills in writing, chemistry, biology and mathematics, assistance in preparing for graduate school admission examinations, and experience working with and in study groups led by a trained academic peer mentor. In addition, cultural and leadership programs, summer internship assistance and information regarding other campus resources are available. Also, students may apply for monetary assistance for tuition, book purchases, pre-freshmen program scholarships and study abroad opportunities. Also, we house the Disability Resources unit that specifically registers students with disabilities (SWDs) and authorizes their accommodations. In that regard, we are all about “leveling the playing field” . In addition, we are currently working on a grant application from NSF to support under-represented minorities in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields, see them persist to graduation in their chosen STEM area and encourage graduate and professional school in their STEM area. For this grant, WashU would lead a consortium of universities and colleges from Missouri and Kansas. In the past, we worked with the Sloan Foundation to determine baseline data for females and under-represented minorities in an effort to determine barriers to completing degrees in the STEM fields.

The Provost’s Office Diversity & Initiative Grants started 3 years ago as a way to support faculty and staff who would like to do their own programming to support diversity. $250,000 is given out every year for this purpose. The Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program was established in Fall 1998 as part of Washington University's efforts to increase the representation of underrepresented faculty (African-American, Hispanic, American Indian) on campus. The program brings to campus persons who have distinguished themselves as leaders or potential leaders in the academy, business, or fields of endeavor. During their sojourn the Scholars participate in the intellectual life of the campus by teaching seminars and giving lectures. Interacting with students is especially important and encouraged. The hosting department or school extending the invitation coordinates all the appropriate and necessary arrangements for a successful visit. On the Danforth Campus, female faculty connect for support and guidance through the Association of Women Faculty. DISSS is a multi-cultural support group on the Danforth Campus for faculty and staff of color. A program beginning fall 2011 will coordinate mentoring for incoming faculty of color. The Campus Diversity Collaborative is led by Julia Macias Garcia and coordinates trainings and discussion forums around diversity, with an LGBT component led by Saida Bonifield. The Academic Womens Network is a female faculty support network at the Medical School campus. Our Medical School also has Gender Equity Pay and Faculty Diversity committees aimed at reducing the pay gap between the genders and increasing diversity in the faculty, respectively. The Office of Diversity Programs (ODP) at our Medical School promotes the concepts and benefits of pluralism throughout the medical center and strives to recruit, develop and retain talented students and faculty from under represented groups. For more information about the ODP, see http://medschooldiversity.wustl.edu/diversity/diversity.nsf/0ee53e934810efcd86256a94005e5f7d/1a326d56f24c8b8a86256c150056834e?OpenDocument

In November 2010, a symposium was held on The Importance of Mentoring Relationships in the Careers of Traditionally Underrepresented Women of Color in Higher Education. The goals of the symposium were two-fold: (1) To provide the University community with nationally recognized women of color who have benefited from professional mentoring relationships and who have seen first-hand the value of mentoring not only to the mentee, but to their employing institutions, and (2) to inspire and encourage Washington University underrepresented women of color and senior University administrators to begin institutionalizing in a meaningful way mentoring relationships as a mechanism to foster professional development and institutional retention of talented faculty and staff. The event was supported through funds from a WUSTL Diversity and Inclusion grant. For more info, see http://ja.wustl.edu/mentoring/