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AD HOC PANEL ON CAREER OUTCOMES OF NSF FELLOWS
CHARLOTTE KUH (Chair), Executive Director,
Graduate Records Examination Program, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey
GEORGE LEITMANN,
Office of Research Services, University of California, Berkeley California
CORA MARRETT, *
National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.
GEORGE W. SWENSON, JR.,
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
NRC Staff
Joe G. Baker, Senior Staff Officer
OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING PERSONNEL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
LINDA S. WILSON (Chair), President,
Radcliffe College
ERNEST JAWORSKI (Vice Chair),
Monsanto Company (retired)
BETSY ANCKER-JOHNSON, Chairman,
World Environment Center
DAVID BRENEMAN,
Harvard University
DAVID GOODSTEIN, Vice Provost and Professor of Physics and Applied Physics,
California Institute of Technology
LESTER A. HOEL, Hamilton Professor of Civil Engineering,
University of Virginia
JUANITA M. KREPS,
Department of Economics, Duke University
DONALD LANGENBERG, Chancellor,
University of Maryland System
JUDITH S. LIEBMAN,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BARRY MUNITZ, Chancellor,
The California State University
KENNETH OLDEN, Director,
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health
EWART A.C. THOMAS,
Department of Psychology, Stanford University
ANNETTE B. WEINER, Dean,
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, New York University
WILLIAM H. MILLER (Ex-officio Member),
Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley
NRC Staff
Alan Fechter, Executive Director
Marilyn J. Baker, Associate Executive Director
PREFACE
In 1978 the National Science Foundation (NSF) established the Minority Graduate Fellowship Program. The purpose of this program was to provide financial support to minority students seeking doctorates in science or engineering fields. As an initial step in assessing the effectiveness of the program, the NSF asked the National Research Council to analyze information available on the applicants and awardees in the formative years of the program (1979-1981). In addition to examining demographic and other background data about these individuals, the doctorate completion rates of minority fellows were compared with comparable rates of other groups. This report summarizes the results of this initial examination.
The data presented herein have several limitations. First, since this three-year cohort included only 1,361 applicants and 224 awardees, detailed comparisons among fields and race/ethnic groups are based on small numbers. Second, the 1979-1981 applicants and awards may differ significantly from those in more recent cohorts. Third, the data on doctorate completion rates are based on degrees awarded by 1988 or earlier (i.e., 7 to 9 years after most of these individuals had entered graduate school) and therefore underestimate the true rates of completion. This underestimation may be particularly large for minority students, who, on average, have taken longer than whites to complete their requirements for the Ph.D. Finally, it was not meaningful to compare the early career experiences of these individuals since, at the time these analyses were performed, employment data were available only through 1987.
Despite these data limitations, we believe that this exploratory effort is instructive in illustrating the types of analyses that can (and should) be conducted. Based on these analyses we have identified three issues, in particular, that merit further attention: (1) differences in the experiences of students from historically black colleges and universities and other graduates, (2) the high proportion of applicants who did not accept the NSF awards, and (3) the relatively low rate of Ph.D. completion for those who did accept awards. These issues should be examined using data now available for more recent graduates.
The Minority Graduate Fellowship Program plays an important role in federal efforts to achieve diversity in our science and engineering enterprise. In these times of budget stringency it is essential, therefore, that the selection process and the performance of awardees be monitored closely to ensure the program is operating effectively. We believe that this study represents a good beginning to the monitoring process.
Charlotte Kuh, Chair
Ad Hoc Panel on Career Outcomes of NSF Fellows v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This analysis was overseen by the Ad Hoc Panel on Career Outcomes of NSF Fellows, which was chaired by Charlotte Kuh and contained as its members George Leitmann, Cora Marrett, and George Swenson. The panel acted with the authority of the Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel (OSEP) Advisory Committee on Studies and Analysis. Joe G. Baker of OSEP was the study director.
In addition to the guidance and suggestions provided by the panel, this work benefited from the support of many individuals and organizations. Beverly Kuhn, OSEP Fellowship Programs, made substantial contributions to the study and provided valuable insights based on over 30 years of involvement with the NSF fellowship program. Norman Braveman of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Division of Planning and Evaluation provided access to NIH data as well as helpful comments on the report. Robert Moore of the NIH Division of Research Grants also provided assistance and data. Susan Duby and Terence Porter of Graduate Fellowships, Directorate for Education and Human Resources, National Science Foundation provided intellectual as well as financial support. Paul Phelps provided guidance in the preparation of the manuscript and summaries; Kevin Coughlin and Catherine Jackson worked long and hard on its production. Marinus D. Van Der Have developed data files and tabulations for the report; his expertise and knowledge contributed greatly to the research. This work also benefited from the comments and suggestions of Pamela Ebert Flattau and Alan Fechter of OSEP.