Science and....Women?

I came across this incident a few days after it happened and while it made me upset, I can't say I'm surprised. A female blogger who posts all things "hard" science on her FaceBook page posted a link to her twitter account on her Facebook. Her twitter account revealed that she was female. Her Facebook account gave no indication as to her gender. Her page is called "I F***ing Love Science" and it is an opportunity for her to engage society with science information. What was upsetting but not surprising were the comments made after people found out she was female. Many people responded saying they were shocked to find out she was female. Others were shocked that people assumed she was male. I am unsure of how many Facebook "likes" she had before this incident but currently, she has 4.4 million likes. This tells me that she was popular way before this incident. The article below explains the incident and gives links to her Twitter and Facebook page (Check out March 20th on her Facebook page) and the author makes a good point that we can't be too sure why people were surprised to find out the blogger was female. The author suggests it could have been the humor or cussing on the blog, or it could be the science. Either way, I think the comments of her followers bring to light the stereotypes of women in the hard sciences. It is incidences like these that make it easier to understand why women would not want to major in a STEM field and consequently, why female undergraduates do not have role models in the STEM fields that they can look to for support. As a future practitioner in academic advising in a hard science, it will be important for me to understand the female students and their particular experiences in a male-dominated field. 

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/03/22/new-online-debate-over-women-and-science

A few questions to think about:

How can we, as practitioners or researchers, individually and systemically help to debunk the stereotype of women in hard sciences?

Alternatively, in female dominated professions, like education and nursing, do the same conversations exist about attempting to diversify the fields? If so, what steps are being taken?

Movie "Admissions" through the lens of real admissions process

Inside Higher Ed wrote an interesting piece about the movie "Admissions" and how it portrays college admissions.  Has anyone seen the movie and can comment on it?  In that same link, they talk about other movies/novels that address college admissions and college life.

Article

School in BIG 10 Makes Strides to Support LGBT

With the recent, and much needed, focus on human rights and equality of many Americans these past couple of days, I thought it was important to see how America's colleges are aligning with these efforts in regards to the LGBT community.

I did a search for LGBT on The Chronicle of Higher Education and found very little relevant information, which is disheartening. However, I was proud to be part of the BIG 10, as The University of Iowa is seeming to make positive strides in identifying and supporting students in the LGBT community. The article explains that Iowa placed a question on their admissions application regarding whether the student identifies as LGBT. This is in hopes to support the students prior to their arrival on campus by supplying them with campus resources and information and aid in their transition to campus. 

I, personally, think this is a great tool to monitor the number of students who identify with this community, so that resources can be provided for them. However, as the article states, there are many who disapprove of this method.

What are your thoughts? Do you think this is a positive progression? Should this concept be adopted by other/all institutions? 

In limbo

One of the main themes of Cedric’s first year at Brown University can be summed up by the term “in limbo.” This term reflects Cedric’s uncertainty of how to navigate between the sharp academic, social and emotional learning curve of new situations commonly faced in higher education while keeping his past struggles and lessons in mind.  He distanced himself from his mother (physically and emotionally) Barbara, as a mechanism to protect himself and her from the stress of uncertainty.  His benefactor, Donald, was able to send financial support, but little in the way of empathetic understanding and guidance.  Cedric is undoubtedly steadfast in his convictions, and anyone can appreciate A Hope in the Unseen’s positive message of overcoming the odds.  However, it begs many questions. 

The main focus of this post is what is currently being done, at an institutional or macro, to help students that are “in limbo”? Being “in limbo” tends to occur to lower SES and first generational students. They tend to be, like Cedric, educational and personality anomalies in their families and/or communities. Arthur Levine and Jana Nidiffer write in their book, Beating the Odds: How the Poor Get to College (1996), that starting mentorship early is a key factor to creating a normalcy, rather than anomaly of the poor getting to college. Not only can proper mentorships benefit the student’s likelihood of getting to college, but it can also create a catalyst for social change by breaking communication barriers that often occur across generations and social class.  Mentorship is individual by nature, so it has its shortfalls. Again, what is being done to support students, and their families, that face the situation of being “in limbo”?

Social Media and Underserved Students

Here is an article on using social media to provide college resources to underserved students, particularly in areas pertaining to access, financial aid, and academic success.

“For underserved students, one of the most plaguing issues is affording and accessing college, as the lack of resources has been a perpetual struggle. Social networking, society’s most transformative and interactive tool, hosts applications that bring complex and inaccessible resources to all students. Founded on the campuses of higher education institutions, social media sites are incorporating a mixture of entertainment, interaction and guidance to the college admissions and completion processes.”

While social media could be a valuable tool for providing resources to underserved students, I wonder what effects it might have on the social experiences of these students. It used to be that a student met her roommate and classmates when she arrived at college; now she can find these students on Facebook and Twitter and communicate with them before the school year begins. I wonder if early exposure to classmates online helps underserved students feel more accepted when they get to campus, or if it can have the opposite effect and leave them feeling more anxious and excluded. (Considering, too, that our online and face-to-face personas are often different.) How might Cedric’s first-year social experiences have been different if he had met Rob and Zayd online the summer before Brown? Would he have initially felt more comfortable at Brown or more isolated? How might the other students' perceptions of Cedric have been different?

This is a follow-up to Marques's post about the "White Student Union" at Towson University.

Here's Marques's post:
http://thegrio.com/2012/09/10/towson-university-student-proposes-white-student-union/

Here's the new article:
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/03/25/1772141/racist-hate-group-to-conduct-nighttime-patrols-on-college-campus/

The WSU has been designated a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Why One University Chose to Become a HSI

I came across this article on Notre Dame de Namur University, in Belmont, California, making the decision to become a Hispanic Serving Institution. The institution, once lagging in enrollment, now has an all-time high enrollment after becoming an HSI. A third of California's population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, so Notre Dame de Namur decided to direct its recruitment in a different route. The Education Department recognized Notre Dame de Namur as a Hispanic-serving institution in September 2011, awarding it two grants totaling more than $6-million. 

This article describes the decision making process and how the funds were used. http://chronicle.com/article/Why-One-University-Became-a/138105/

What are your thoughts on this decision? Do you think the mission of Notre Dame de Namur aligns with the decision to become an HSI? 

Supreme Court and affirmative action

And here goes the Supreme Court again in the issue of affirmative action.  I was not aware of what has happened in Michigan and the voting that happened in that state. Very interesting.

Click here for article

Interesting article on the ways that white men feel alienated in student affairs. Thoughts?

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/03/22/white-men-alienated-higher-ed-workplace-survey-suggests

Higher Education isn't for Everyone

Reminiscent of scenes from Stand and Deliver (1988), Dangerous Minds (1995), and Freedom Writers (2007), a Chronicle of Higher Education post published March 11, 2013 entitled "The Second-Chance Club" offers a narrative account of a remedial English course taught by an instructor by the name of Greg  in a Maryland community college. "The Second-Chance Club" sheds light on the unique challenges that Greg faces not only as a teacher but as a counselor of sorts. Not only does he have to begin with the very basics of classroom know-how, "Who knows what a syllabus is?" but as the article describes, “Instructors here must be social workers, too. If you take students in, Greg believe, it’s your obligation to support them.” In the case of 19-year old Xiomara who often has to take care of her nieces and nephews, Greg must decide whether to let her come back to class after missing several weeks and also struggles with whether she should pass the course after her mother suffers a stroke, causing her to turn in her final assignment late.

“The Second-Chance Club” reads like a short story, narrating a semester of trials and successes. Much like students at Ballou High School, the students enrolled in English 002 face many hardships outside of the classroom. Unlike the Ballou students, those who enroll in English 002 must pay nearly $750 to enroll. This course comes at a steep price—especially considering that many of the students come from poverty, no credit is offered for course completion, and many students do not pass the first time around. The student must pass the course before gaining permission to enroll in for-credit courses. One student, Elio, works 40+ hours at a local Safeway grocery store to make ends meet, another student Kenneth, is from Nigeria and is ineligible for financial aid. Kenneth offers insight, "Being in a noncredit class takes a toll on you," he says. "I feel like they put you in a corner to milk out more money."

In a Letter to the Editor submitted March, 18, 2013, a disgruntled reader (a Professor Emeritus of Walsh University) vehemently opposes the support of students like those in the English 002 course. He writes, “Academics, and really Americans in general, have to recognize that it’s not heartless to believe that higher education isn’t for everyone. It’s bad enough that recent studies consistently show how ill-prepared and unfit modern students are for college, but Mr. Wahl’s “enrollees” have to be among the worst.”  Refusing to call them “students,” this despicable professor refers to the “enrollees” of English 002 as “wards” and challenges their intellectual capabilities—claiming no employer will ever want to hire them.

If, as stated by one of Greg’s students, Lynn (54), "You can better yourself by going to school and getting good grades and getting a good job,” then what is to be said about the vicious cycle of poor students remaining poor while trying to pay their way into a system that doesn’t want them? If these students work hard to pay tuition do they not deserve to be enrolled in a college course? Is higher education for everyone? Who should take responsibility for the lack of basic reading and writing skills of these enrolled students? If remedial classes are not the answer then what is?

Women of Color in the Academia

This article discusses a new book that highlights the challenges for women of color but also speaks to an issue regarding all faculty of color and how diversity initiatives fulfills an objective of a monetary end.

Read:
　

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/khanh-ho/presumed-incompetent_b_2778384.html

New program in Georgia for enrolling Black males

University System of Georgia Offers a Model for Raising Black Male Enrollment

The University System of Georgia created a new statewide initiative to increase Black male enrollment and are just starting to see results with an 80% increase in enrollment. Their focus is on recruiting  retaining and graduating this specific group of students by creating:

• Summer Bridge programs
• Mentoring programs
• Elite Scholars program (focusing on STEM fields)
• Leadership Training programs
• Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB) chapters
• African American Male Institutes (links to resources and alternative weekend and evening activities)

Policies for Transgendered Students

Here is an interesting article on institutional policies for transgendered students, particularly at women’s colleges. Some colleges have specific policies reassuring their students that, once admitted, they will be allowed to graduate as long as they meet the requirements, regardless of a change in gender. The article raises questions about the intersection of gender-specific college goals and inclusiveness in higher education.

http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/article_e5dc42e2-890f-11e2-8085-0019bb30f31a.html

Recent wave of bias incidents at Oberlin College.  When I read things like this, about campus climate, I can't help but wonder how does this influence access and persistence in higher education from students of color. 

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/03/08/oberlin-says-context-was-key-canceling-classes-after-kkk-report 

Murillo

More Minority Scholars in Liberal Arts Schools

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This post discusses the need to diversify college faculty at these postsecondary institutions. Reading this article, I began to draw the connection to this campus and other institutions that I have visited.  It makes one wonder if there are any initiatives put into place that helps gain some type of equal faculty body. 

I thought it was interesting, hope it's thought provoking for you all too. Enjoy.

The article can be found here:

http://chronicle.com/article/A-Dean-Seeks-Ways-to-Recruit/137641/

One initiative that article used can be found here:

http://www.middlebury.edu/media/view/440374/original/c3_strategy.pdf

Shirley M. Collado, 41, dean of the college, chief diversity officer, and an associate professor of psychology at Middlebury College, has been working to diversify the faculty at the institution and help other liberal-arts colleges do the same. Here's her account of that effort, as told to Audrey Williams June.

Economically Adrift: Sequestration is HERE and There are Serious Consequences for Low Income Students

Today is the day. March 1, 2013, the deadline created in 2011 in an attempt to force congress to agree on terms to reduce the federal budget after raising the debt ceiling (source). Instead of steep budget cuts, the Obama administration proposes tax hikes for those who make 250,000 and above. Republicans are holding out for increase reduction in federal spending (source). Regarding of position, indecision of the federal government and subsequent sequestration, has deleterious effects on the financial stability of higher education and ability of many low-income students to reduce cost of attendance in our nations institutions.

Low-Income students across the country rely on sources of funding that fall under the "discretionary income" purview of the federal budget. Sequestration means that 5% will be cut from discretionary programs such as Upward Bound, Federal Work-Study, and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. It also includes federally funded research, which solves pressing world problems, and funds graduate students at research institutions across the county.

Scholars have estimated the state by state cost, indicating that the State of Illinois would have 3,280 fewer students on financial aid and 2, 650 fewer work study jobs (State by State breakdown). This could set a precedent, one in which encourages the federal government to makes these cuts permanent instead of looking for other long term solutions in making up the federal deficit.

As you think of readings from Kezar, what does this mean for access and retention of all low-income students  with special attention to private for profit, and two-year institutions, where most low-income students are located?

If you were President or Chancellor of an institution of higher education, what may be an appropriate action to take in order to:

1. Support currently enrolled low-income students and
2. Attract future low-income students to your campus?


To read more about sequestration, and its impact on Higher Education here are a few articles of interest:
CNN Explains: Sequestration
Education Sequestration: State By State Breakdown (Diverse Issues In Higher Ed)
Dire Warnings as Cuts Approach ( Inside Higher Ed)
America's Research Community Speaks Out