FACES:Facilitating Academic Careers

In Engineering and Science

Gary S. MayDean, College of Engineering

Project Director

Background• Despite some progress, the proportion of women and minority freshmen in

engineering has been declining.• Although absolute numbers have increased for women, Hispanics, and

underrepresented minority engineering freshmen, the numbers for men and non-minority freshmen have been increasing at a faster pace.• the number of African American freshmen has declined from 8,552 in 2001 to

7,338 in 2008 – a drop of 14%.

Source: ASEE Data Mining Tool

Percentage Represented in Engineering Freshman Class

2005 2010

Women 16.2% 18.1%

African- American

7.3% 6.8%

Engineering Master’s Degrees

Source: NSF

Engineering Doctorates

Source: NSF

Demographics of Academia

Full-Time S&E Ph.D. faculty (2008):• African American: 3.5% (8,800)

• Hispanic American: 3.7% (9100)

• American Indian: 0.2% (600)[SOURCE: Women, Minorities, and Person with

Disabilities in Science and Engineering, NSF, 2011]

Number of S&E doctorates graduating (2008):• African American 4.9% (983)

• Hispanic American 5.8% (1162)

• American Indian 0.5% (102)[SOURCE: Women, Minorities, and Person with

Disabilities in Science and Engineering, NSF, 2011]

FACES Overview

Two majority institutions (Emory University and Georgia Tech) and two minority institutions (Spelman College and Morehouse College) combine to form one alliance – FACES, Facilitating Academic Careers In Engineering and Science.

GOAL: Systemic changes for increasing the number of underrepresented minority (URM) engineering and science PhDs, as well as those choosing academia.

Majority Institutions

Georgia Tech • Colleges of Computing, Engineering, and Sciences recommend meritorious candidates

for supplemental financial or mentoring support. • Fosters an added vested interest on the part

of the school/department co-investing in the student.

Emory University • A post-baccalaureate program (PREP) serves as a secondary

path to research training and careers for URM students . • Currently developing a program to continue the mission of FACES,

as well as a program targeting undergraduate students. • FACES works to keep issues of student and faculty diversity on the

agenda of university decision-makers and thought-leaders.

• By providing supplemental funds, FACES is able to help a larger number of students.

Minority Institutions

Morehouse College • Research Careers Office (RCO) supports the training of

undergraduate STEM students and their participation in research training programs.

• The international research collaboration with Georgia Tech through FACES has catalyzed the STEM community’s interests to develop more opportunities for all science and engineering students.

Spelman College • Office of Science, Engineering and Technical Careers

(OSETC) recommends that all undergraduate students pursue a research internship beginning the summer after their freshmen year.

• Participation provides the students with a competitive edge when applying to graduate school.

Recruitment

Georgia Tech’s enrollment of URM students in graduate engineering and science programs has risen by approximately 50% since FACES started in 1998.

Bolstering the pipeline: Upperclassmen undergraduates are provided research experiences to promote their interest in research and graduate school. All four alliance partners are instrumental conduits for the undergraduate talent that is trained in research.

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20100

50

100

150

200

250

300

Upward trend in enrollment since the inception of the FACES program.

Recruitment

Concerted national recruitment: Using the “success breeding success” theme, current URM faculty and graduate students interact with prospective graduate students at national events, such as the GT FOCUS program and the National Society of Black Engineers annual convention.

FACES supplemental fellowships: FACES funds and programming offer schools and departments a strategic enhancement to their ability to recruit prospective URM graduate students. Recruits may be offered additional tangible (i.e., the financial supplement) and intangible (i.e., mentoring) support.

Retention

The FACES alliance has directly aided the retention of over 160 (and counting!) URM science and engineering fellows.

Term progress reports: Georgia Tech FACES Fellows are required to give a tangible account of their progress via reports at the beginning of each academic term. The students’ research advisors and FACES Steering Committee must agree with these reports in order for the students to receive fellowship installments. The reports keep the students, advisors, and FACES administration mutually engaged in student observation.

RetentionRapport-building “socials”: Periodic social events facilitate a sense of “community” amongst FACES fellows and administration. Fellows are brought together from different majors and research thrusts to bond with and encourage each other.

Additionally, the fellows experience the engagement of the FACES Steering Committee, which is primarily comprised of URM faculty.

Complementary Mentoring: The FACES program also fosters mentoring between URM STEM faculty and URM FACES fellows (graduate students). This allows faculty and fellows to interact in fulfillment of FACES’ objectives to facilitate the students’ progress toward attaining their Ph.D. and gaining insight about the professoriate.

Increase in Select Faculty Diversity

FACES has been a significant part of the continued diversification of STEM departments within the alliance members.

Georgia TechThe FACES program integrates with GT’s FOCUS Fellows Initiative, in which URM engineering and sciences Ph.D.recipients are invited to departments in search of new faculty.

Four participants have joined the Georgia Tech faculty:Sam Graham (Mechanical Engineering) Tequila Harris (Mechanical Engineering) Ayanna Howard (Electrical and Computer Engineering)Mitchell Walker (Aerospace Engineering)

GT ECE Associate Professor Ayanna Howard

Transition into Academia

Career Initiation Grant (CIG)/“Portable post-doc”: The FACES program provides $30,000 Career Initiation Grants (CIGs) to new and recent URM doctoral graduate students of the alliance that accept tenure track faculty positions in engineering or science at a U.S. college or university.

Alternatively, the Portable Post-Doc Program provides a talented Ph.D. engineering or science graduate (from the alliance) with a stipend of $35,000 that serves as a one-year post-doctoral fellowship.

Both funding mechanisms are novel incentives and catalysts for a “newly minted” Ph.D. to have expedited success in academic roles.

FACES Career Initiation Grant (CIG) awardee Dr. Ron Metoyer (center) with

CIG coordinator Prof. Reginald DesRoches (left) and former Georgia Tech President G.

Wayne Clough (right).

Transition into Academia

FACES has directly supported the academic preparation and/or financial support of 32 URM GT engineering and science Ph.D. recipients who went into academia as tenure-track professors.

Teaching practicum: Selected FACES Fellows are exposed to all aspects of teaching a course under the supervision and mentorship of the course’s responsible professor. This opportunity involves potential syllabus direction, lectures preparation and delivery, test and assignment formation and evaluation, and other core instructional activities.

FACES enrichment seminars: FACES Fellows are required to attend monthly enrichment seminars throughout the academic year. Although a number of seminars address conventional preparatory topics (i.e., faculty interviewing, successful research proposal development), a key impetus is placed upon illuminating fellows about the lesser-known advantages of the professoriate.

10 Early Career Awardees

Georgia Tech’s FACES beneficiaries that entered STEM academia in tenure tracks. As of 2012, each of the highlighted individuals have received meritorious early career awards. (e.g., NSF CAREER/PECASE, NIH and AFOSR young investigator awards).

A. Asa-Awuku - University of California, RiversideR. Beyah - Georgia Institute of TechnologyT. Brown - Michigan State UniversityT. Clegg - University of Maryland, College ParkJ. Coombs-Reyes - Norfolk State UniversityJ. Ejae - University of Trinidad and TobagoJ. Fairley - Emory UniversityS. France - Georgia Institute of TechnologyD. Geddis - Norfolk State UniversityA. Gordon - University of Central FloridaS. Graham - Georgia Institute of TechnologyM. Griffith - Kennesaw State UniversityJ. Hickman - Southern Poly UniversityM. Hite - Morgan State UniversityA. Johnson - Morehouse CollegeW. Johnson - Armstrong State University

M. Lewis - Cornell University

C. Liddell - Cornell UniversityJ. Matthews - Howard UniversityJ. Mendenhall - Morehouse CollegeR. Metoyer - Oregon State UniversityJ. Mcnair - University of FloridaE. Moore - Georgia Tech SavannahJ. Owino - University of Tennessee-ChattanoogaD. Paris - Savannah State UniversityA. Parker - Northeastern UniversityM. Platt - Georgia Institute of TechnologyW. Robinson - Vanderbilt UniversityG. Triplett - University of MissouriC. Vance-Harris - West Chester UniversityF. Williams - Norfolk State UniversityH. Wooten - University of California, Davis

Summary: FACES Impact

Goal: “Changing the FACE of the Engineering and Science Professoriate”

Multi-university collaborative effort

Initiated in 1998 ($2.5M NSF grant)Renewed in 2004 ($7.8M NSF grant)

373 URM STEM Ph.D. graduates at GeorgiaTech since FACES started

32 URM faculty produced – 13 received promotion and tenure

10 received CAREER Awards

3 received PECASE Awards

1st in the nation in number engineering Ph.D. degrees awarded to African Americans

4th in the nation in number of engineering M.S. degrees awarded to African Americans

2nd in the nation in number of engineering B.S. degrees awarded to African Americans

2nd in the nation in total number of engineering degrees awarded to African Americans

1st in the nation in number of engineering Ph.D. degrees awarded to Hispanic Americans

4th in the nation in number of engineering M.S. degrees awarded to Hispanic Americans

1st in the nation in number of engineering Ph.D. degrees awarded to underrepresented minorities

5th in the nation in number of engineering M.S. degrees awarded to underrepresented minorities

2nd in the nation in total number of engineering degrees awarded to underrepresented minorities

1st in the nation in total number of engineering degrees awarded to women

Georgia Tech: National Rankings