EMSW21-MCTP: Alliance for the Production of African American Ph.D.s in the Mathematical Sciences

University Of Iowa, Iowa City IA

Investigators

Abstract

Member institutions of the Alliance for the Production of African American Ph.D.s in the Mathematical Sciences. (APAAPMS) will carry out several projects which will lead to an increase in the number of African Americans who enroll in doctoral programs in the mathematical sciences as well as an increase in the number of these students who obtain the Ph.D. The Alliance, which consists of mathematics departments at four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) together with departments in the mathematical sciences at the three Iowa Regents universities, will expand activities that they are presently undertaking in this area. The first of these projects, the Alliance Scholar's Program, identifies eight students at each participating Alliance HBCU and provides these students with close mentoring by teams consisting of HBCU and Iowa Regents mathematics faculty. A second project, the Alliance Summer Research Experience, provides an eight week intensive research experience for Alliance Scholars as well as for selected undergraduate mathematics majors from other institutions. A third project, the Alliance Curriculum Project, provides for a careful analysis of the similarities and differences of undergraduate mathematics courses taught at participating institutions with an eye toward building seamless transitions between undergraduate mathematics programs at Alliance HBCUs and doctoral programs at majority institutions. A fourth project, the Alliance High School Math Circle, involves Alliance Scholars in outreach activities in the communities in which their schools are located. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) enroll approximately 20% of all African Americans who attend four year undergraduate institutions; they account for approximately 30% of all African Americans who graduate from these institutions. Yet, with the exception of three or four elite HBCUs with an established tradition of excellence, it is extremely rare for graduates of HBCUs to enroll in doctoral programs in the mathematical sciences or, indeed, in any doctoral program which leads to a position in the professoriate. The reason for this is not hard to ascertain: in fact, with few exceptions, African Americans were simply not welcome among the ranks of the professoriate until quite recently. As a result, HBCUs have tended to focus on producing professionals - doctors, lawyers, teachers and religious leaders who have historically provided critical infrastructure to a community at risk due to segregation and overt discrimination. Less than 2% of all Ph.D. in mathematics awarded at US universities each year are awarded to African Americans, a percentage that has remained more or less stable over the last twenty five years. It is the goal of this project to ease the transition to graduate programs in mathematics for students attending HBCUs with an eye toward improving these numbers.