Although the enrollment rates in higher education among students of color have

increased, retention rates for students of color are still very low. This leads to low enrollment for

graduate students of color. The percentage of students of color enrolled in the School of

Graduate Studies at Salem State University is currently 17% (Salem State University Enrollment

Fact Book, 2016). It is crucial that because the percentage of students of color enrolled in our

graduate programs is fairly low, we make our students feel connected to Salem State University.

The School of Graduate Studies will be collaborating with the Diversity and Multicultural

Affairs office in order to create a series of three events for underrepresented graduate students

and faculty. The purpose of this series of events is to provide our underrepresented graduate

students with an opportunity to network, provide resources that will help them be successful in

graduate school, and create a connection between faculty and graduate students so that they feel

more connected to their school.

Haskins et al., (2013) found that there are less black students who pursue post

baccalaureate education than black students who pursue education at the undergraduate level.

Due to the low percentage of black students pursuing graduate level education, there is a

possibility that black students in graduate school may feel less connected and more invisible than

they did during their undergraduate career (Haskins et al., 2013). Their research has shown that

interacting with faculty increases success for black students (Haskins et al., 2013).

Underrepresented racial minority students are more likely to interact with faculty of color

(Griffin, Perez, Holmes & Mayo, 2010). Griffin et al., (2010) state that students of color view

faculty of color as role models because they demonstrate that it is possible to succeed in higher

education as a student of color. It is important that our graduate students get to interact with

faculty of color to remind them that they do belong in their graduate programs and they can be
just as successful. Faculty of color can also connect with our graduate students of color on a

more personal level. Students of color may feel more comfortable contacting faculty of color

because of the possibility of sharing similar educational experiences such as stereotyping and

isolation on campus (Griffin et al., 2010).

This fall, the School of Graduate Studies plans to collaborate with the Diversity and

Multicultural Affairs office in order to create a three-part series for underrepresented graduate

students to connect with their faculty. The purpose of this series is to provide our students of

color with an opportunity to network, learn about academic and personal resources on campus,

and create a connection between faculty and graduate students so that they feel more connected

to their academic program and the University as a whole.

The first session, held in October, will focus on graduate students of color and faculty

interaction. We would like to have a graduate student and faculty of color reception which will

allow graduate students and faculty to interact and build relationships. We plan to invite faculty

of color to this event and ask that they bring their faculty colleagues who are interested in

supporting graduate students of color. We recognize that students of color report receiving

different kinds of support from faculty of color and White faculty (Haskins et al., 2013).

Although students indicate that White faculty are very supportive, these faculty members tend to

provide reactive support, which is support given when an issue is brought up whereas faculty of

color provided proactive support which is support being given without being prompted (Haskins

et al., 2013).

The second session will expand on the Graduate Multicultural Student Symposium that

has been held for the past several years in November. The symposium has a panel with current

graduate students, graduate faculty and administrators and alumni to discuss how pursuing a
graduate degree or certificate program could be beneficial for our current undergraduate

students. The panel also discusses the challenges undergraduate students may face during the

application process as well as challenges they may face while in their graduate programs (Salem

State University, 2015). The purpose of the graduate student symposium was to encourage

undergraduate multicultural students to pursue their education at Salem State. The goal is to

include current multicultural and/or graduate students of color in order to network with

undergraduate students as well as faculty. Graduate students may also serve as a mentor for

undergraduate students along with faculty. Current graduate students could talk about the

programs they are in and how they feel about their graduate experience. Both undergraduate and

graduate students would be given tips on how to be successful throughout the school year as well

as discuss “what’s next.” The graduate symposium will provide networking opportunities for

student and faculty within their program and across campus as well. They will be able to learn

from other disciplines and learn that some skills are transferable or may meet someone who was

on the same career path before they changed career paths and would be able to give each other

advice.

When thinking of underrepresented students, we automatically think of underrepresented

minorities, however we also need to support our graduate students in the LGBTQIA+

community. The University of Chicago has a mentoring program for graduate students within the

LGBTQ community that provides support for students in the process of coming out or feel they

are not able to come out, provide resources that help the students explore their identities, provide

LGBTQ faculty, staff and graduate students with the opportunity to help students develop

outside of the classroom and across campus (UChicago, 2017). During the Graduate

Multicultural Symposium, we could also address how to better support our students who are in
the process of coming out and allow students to develop relationships with faculty and staff as

well as the possibility of finding someone who is willing to be a mentor for them throughout

their graduate experience.

Evaluation

Using the data from the Graduate School orientation, we will assess the needs of our incoming

graduate students which could be used as future panel discussions in the series. We will also

discuss future topics of discussion/types of events during each session.

Budget

Networking Reception (50 people)

Sandwich board - $377.50 (without tax) $7.55 per person

All lunches served with soda and/or water

Coffee (Green Mountain Coffee services includes, regular, decaf and assorted teas) - $49.50

(without tax) $0.99 per person

Dessert (Assorted Cookies) - $6.90 per dozen (3 dozen) - $20.70

Total: $447.70
 References

Griffin, K. A., Pérez, D., Holmes, A. E., & Mayo, C. P. (2010). Investing in the future: The

importance of faculty mentoring in the development of students of color in STEM. New

Directions for Institutional Research, 2010(148), 95-103.

Haskins, N., Whitfield-Williams, M., Shillingford, M. A., Singh, A., Moxley, R., & Ofauni, C.

(2013). The Experiences of Black Master's Counseling Students: A Phenomenological

Inquiry. Counselor Education & Supervision, 52(3), 162- 178. doi:10.1002/j.1556-

6978.2013.00035.x

Salem State Fact Book

The University of Chicago (2017). LGBTQ Student Life: Mentoring Program. Retrieved from

https://lgbtq.uchicago.edu/mentoring