VI. Students

Our commitment to the flourishing of our students—intellectually, morally, socially—is central to the university’s mission. For the university to discharge this responsibility, our undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows must be exposed to a variety of new ideas and encouraged to engage with diverse people and ideas. Moreover, we recognize that our students’ success upon graduation—no matter what field they pursue— will depend on their ability to navigate competently through an increasingly multicultural society.

Today, as a university that values the rich diversity of our student body, we aim to create a culture where all students can engage freely, but we recognize that we must identify and grapple with the systemic structures and historical decisions that have affected our ability to fully achieve this goal. It is imperative that we not only identify strategies that lead toward a more diverse and inclusive campus climate but also cultivate an environment that affirms and recognizes the experiences of those who have been historically marginalized. The conversation of inclusion cannot be addressed without tackling the harsh realities of racism and other prejudices, which still prevail within our society and communities.

We know that our university is not immune to these insidious influences. We reflect and are subject to the same dynamics that affect our broader community, and our university was shaped in part by exclusionary policies. While women were accepted into the schools of Nursing and Medicine from their founding, and into other graduate programs in 1907, it was not until 1970 that the university accepted women undergraduates. We did not admit our first African-American undergraduate until 1945, and it was nearly another decade before the first African-American student roomed on the Homewood campus. In the mid-20th century, university leaders also implemented a faith-based quota that severely restricted the admission of Jewish students. And once women and minorities gained admission and made their way to our campuses, many struggled to be fully included within the Hopkins community, reporting incidents of marginalization, bias, and harassment. This history factors into our continuing efforts to shape and change our institutional practices, norms, and customs.

In recent years we have made meaningful strides in enhancing our efforts and increasing resources to ensure that all students have the support needed to flourish and succeed. For undergraduates on the Homewood and Peabody campuses, recent efforts to foster inclusion have involved strengthening our recruitment and admissions processes, expanding staffing for diversity initiatives, hiring leaders with professional expertise in diversity and inclusion, introducing new forms of diversity education, and developing greater pathways toward academic and personal success. For graduate students, we have focused on enhancing the strategies used to recruit a broadly diverse population, alleviating the financial burdens that can deter talented scholars, and cultivating an environment that is inclusive and can become an intellectual home.

What we are doing

Undergraduate Student Recruitment

Between 2009 and 2016, the number of Johns Hopkins undergraduate students identifying as underrepresented minorities (URM) in the incoming class increased from 12 to 23 percent, as the number of URM applications doubled. Within this class, 9 percent identified themselves as black, and 13 percent as Hispanic, up from 6 percent and 7 percent, respectively, in 2009. This significant advancement correlates closely with changes made to our recruitment program. For example:

New recruitment staffing model. Our Office of Undergraduate Admissions introduced a new recruitment model four years ago. Whereas the previous model had two diversity officers designated for diversity recruiting, the new model expects every admissions officer to plan for and be involved in the recruitment of diverse students, underscoring the shared responsibility for supporting equal opportunity.
Recruiting collaborations. The admissions office now collaborates with peer universities on undergraduate recruiting trips focused on underrepresented populations, and has deepened its partnerships with 30 community-based organizations in 10 states that focus on college access and readiness.
Events for prospective URM students. The university now schedules recruiting events for URM students (such as the Hopkins Overnight Multicultural Experience and Discovery Days) in conjunction with broader recruitment events (such as Fall Open House and SOHOP) to increase participation and allow all prospective students to see the value we place on student diversity. (A one-time schedule change in 2016 led to the events being held separately; co-scheduled events will resume in 2017.)
Baltimore Scholars. Based on feedback from key stakeholders, we recently restructured the Baltimore Scholars Program to offer enhanced financial aid and other support to high-achieving Baltimore City Public School graduates with significant financial need. The shift, which starts with the Class of 2020, represents a boost in the university’s financial investment in the program. Over the last five years, Johns Hopkins has spent $11.6 million on the Baltimore Scholars Program; in the next five, it will spend more than $20 million. We are also expanding experiential elements of the Baltimore Scholars Program, offering opportunities such as paid internships, mentoring, career networking, and connections with alumni.

Peabody has also fostered key collaborations that support its efforts to recruit a diverse undergraduate population. The Tuned-In program, created in 2007, recruits musically talented Baltimore City Public Schools students to enroll in tuition-free private lessons, ensembles, and courses; several Tuned-In students have been recruited for the undergraduate program. Peabody has partnered with the Sphinx Organization, a national group dedicated to advancing diversity in the performing arts. In addition, Peabody’s strong relationships with the Baltimore School for the Arts, a public magnet high school, have helped build the conservatory’s cohorts of Baltimore Scholars.

Undergraduate Student Success and Retention

Over the past several years, following concerns raised by the Black Faculty and Staff Association, Black Student Union, and others, Johns Hopkins worked to increase the graduation and retention rates for Homewood undergraduate students and to close the gap in graduation rates between black students and the broader student body.

In recent years, we have seen significant—albeit inconsistent—improvements in the six-year degree completion rates for black and other URM students. In our 2009 cohort, 12 of 167 URM students (7 percent) did not complete their degrees; in 2010, 22 of 185 URM students (nearly 12 percent) did not. By contrast the six-year degree completion rates for the full student population held relatively constant at about 94 percent. While these numbers tend to fluctuate from year to year, our goal is to maintain a consistent graduation rate for URM students which mirrors that of the overall student population.

Data from our most recent student survey also indicate that black students are less satisfied and more stressed academically than the general student population. Over the past several years, in response to these concerns and others, we have developed or augmented a range of programs to provide more robust support for students. Each year, we review the services provided and consider appropriate enhancements. Specific programs include:

Mentoring Assistance Peer Program (MAPP). This long-standing program was originally designed to support the transition to college and the academic success of first-year URM students. It was recently expanded to offer similar support to first-generation and low-income students. Each year, nearly 40 upper-class MAPP mentors work with up to 120 incoming students as they acclimate to the university.
Johns Hopkins Underrepresented in Medical Professions (JUMP). JUMP was established in 2011 as a freshman program aimed at strengthening the academic success and retention of URM students. The first-year retention rate for JUMP students has shown positive results—ranging between 98 and 100 percent—and the university recently expanded this successful program to include sophomores. Further, we have developed new programming for JUMP students, including increasing participation in medical tutorials, shadowing opportunities, and research opportunities with faculty and summer internships with Johns Hopkins Center for Salud/Health and Opportunities for Latinos (Centro Sol).
Networking opportunities. Alumni play an important role in helping support our students during their undergraduate years and beyond. In fall 2015, the Career Center, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and Krieger School collaborated on a networking reception that provided an opportunity for black students to connect with JHU trustees and alumni. We have also recently partnered with companies, such as Accenture, to provide training and networking opportunities for URM students.
Hop-In. Hop-In is a major new initiative started in summer 2015 to support the transition to college for students who are among the first in their family to go to college, who come from high schools that offered fewer opportunities for advanced course work, or who are facing challenging time constraints during the first year on campus. Hop-In provides education, programming, and support that encourage campus involvement, use of academic support services, engagement with faculty, participation in research, and development of strong study skills—all factors that are correlated with student success. Hop-In includes a residential summer program for incoming freshmen and individualized academic advising throughout the undergraduate experience. Currently in its second year, the program has 66 students enrolled with a goal of expanding to 160 students by the program’s fourth year. The university has hired two full-time staff members to run the program and will add another in 2017.

Diversity and Inclusion Resources

Race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, faith, and identity are understood today to be multifaceted and intersecting. Increasingly, students from across the university are interested in programming, education, and outreach that respond to this demand, and we have, accordingly, reformed our approach and increased our resources in this area. Beginning in fall 2016, Homewood Student Affairs brought together several offices—Multicultural Affairs, LGBTQ Life, Gender Equity, and Campus Ministries—to support the many facets of diversity, intersecting identities, and community. This new entity, the Homewood Centers for Community, Diversity, and Inclusion, serves both graduate and undergraduate students on the Homewood campus. After a broad national search, the first associate dean of diversity and inclusion joined the university in summer 2016 and is responsible for leading this office and developing strategies to foster an inclusive academic and social environment.

Multicultural Affairs. The Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) has been an important locus of social, cultural, and academic support for our URM students since its creation. In response to students’ interest, Homewood Student Affairs held a series of focus groups in fall 2015 to better understand students’ needs and identify gaps in university programs and services. As a result of this input, HSA added two assistant director positions within OMA. The assistant director for programming now works to enhance culturally relevant programming across the campus and identify opportunities for social and community-building initiatives. The assistant director for leadership development will coordinate culturally relevant opportunities for leaders in student organizations and communities. HSA aims to position the OMA as a resource for the entire Homewood campus and to increase collaboration among OMA, LGBTQ Life, Gender Equity, and Campus Ministries.
LGBTQ Life. The Office of LGBTQ Life was founded in 2013 at the recommendation of the Diversity Leadership Council and serves as a central networking place for LGBTQ students and their allies. LGBTQ Life offers direct support, presentations, workshops, and educational opportunities, such as Safe Zone trainings and a speakers’ bureau. LGBTQ Life also has advocated for gender-inclusive on-campus housing at Homewood, which went into effect in 2014; the identification of all-gender restrooms, which are now listed on the LGBTQ Life website; transgender benefits within university medical plans, which went into effect in 2016; and a collaboration with the registrar to adjust the student information system to allow preferred name(s) within official academic records and class rosters. Meet-ups for LGBTQ students of color and dialogues on the intersections of sexual orientation, gender identity, and other dimensions of self are examples of new educational and community-building initiatives. A small workgroup is assessing current practices, policies, and procedures to ensure that transgender members of our campus community are treated equally and fairly, and that any issues that may negatively impact the experience of transgender students, faculty, or staff are considered.
Gender Equity. The newly formed Gender Equity office supports, advises, and educates students on matters related to gender equality and the achievement of women students, offering a locus for related initiatives and advocacy on the Homewood campus.
Campus Ministries. Through sponsoring student programs, activities, and service projects, such as the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Dinner, the Interfaith Social Justice Spring Break Trip, and the Sacred Spaces Intersession Course, Campus Ministries promotes and supports spiritual development, theological reflections, religious tolerance, and social awareness among Johns Hopkins students. As a pastoral presence that seeks to enhance the spiritual and ethical educational experience of the whole person, mind, body, and soul, Campus Ministries will continue to grow, seeking out new opportunities to support students as they explore faith and spirituality.

In addition to these offices, undergraduate students at both the Homewood and Peabody campuses have formed a variety of culture- and identity-based groups that come together around common interests and shared backgrounds, often with support from the Office of the Dean of Student Life or the Peabody Student Affairs Office. (A comprehensive list of student groups is provided at diversity.jhu.edu.)

The university is also focused on the broad range of needs identified by our diverse student body. Among them:

Counseling services. A 2015 national survey revealed discrepancies between the first-year college experiences of students of color and those of their majority peers, and made clear the urgent need to provide mental health support, education, and programming that meet the unique challenges of diverse groups. Recognizing the same trends exist on our own campuses, we seek to offer outreach, support, policies, and practices that meet the psychological well-being needs of all our students. A staff member at the Counseling Center is dedicated to coordinating services for black students, including helping Homewood and Peabody graduate and undergraduate students transition to the university and collaborating with student groups to support URM students throughout their academic careers. The Counseling Center also offers a Students of Color Support Group and facilitates a drop-in discussion group at the Office of Multicultural Affairs for first-generation students.
Services for students with disabilities. We are committed to ensuring that students with disabilities receive appropriate accommodations and access to available opportunities and programs. The director of Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and disability services in the Office of Institutional Equity provides leadership for our comprehensive disability program. The director works with designated student disability coordinators at each school responsible for student accommodations. The director is also responsible for working with university leadership on electronic/web accessibility and on building and facility accessibility. On the Homewood campus, Student Disability Services (SDS) also provides advice and mentoring to undergraduate and graduate students with registered disabilities and works with the SDS Student Advisory Board, which provides support, advocacy, and education.
Support for veterans. All Johns Hopkins schools assist active duty service members, veterans, and service family members, providing various supports. The Homewood Office of the Registrar, for example, added a position in 2015 to support students accessing veterans benefits. At the Whiting School of Engineering, the William F. Ward Jr. Fellowship provides approximately $44,000 annually to support up to two full-time graduate students. Groups such as the student-run SAIS Veterans Network and the School of Medicine’s Veterans for Hopkins provide student networks.All schools also participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program of the Post 9/11 GI Bill, a voluntary partnership with the Veterans Administration (VA) designed to make graduate schools and private universities more affordable for veterans. The VA matches funding available at each school; in FY17, we made more than $360,000 available across the university through this program.

Undergraduate Education and Training Initiatives

New student orientation. On the Homewood campus, all incoming undergraduate students are required to attend a session during orientation on privilege, identity, and social justice. The session focuses on how personal identities influence actions and how to use this knowledge to influence change. At Peabody, both undergraduate and graduate students now participate in a three-part workshop focused on various aspects of inclusion.
Cultural competency workshop. The university now provides a mandatory cultural competency workshop for all incoming Homewood undergraduate students. Identity and Inclusion at Hopkins is a two-hour interactive workshop designed to help first-year students appreciate the importance of diversity and inclusion in our community.
Cultural competency training for resident advisers and first-year mentors. Starting in fall 2015, all Homewood resident advisers and first-year mentors participated in enhanced cultural competency training with staff from the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Gender Equity, LGBTQ Life, and Campus Ministries. Topics ranged from how to be an effective advocate to how to confront problematic behavior. Peabody’s resident advisers and student ambassadors also took part in cultural competency training with staff from the Office of Residential Life and from Student Leadership and Involvement.

Building the Pipeline to Graduate Programs

As mentioned previously in this report, we have an obligation and an opportunity to help build the pipeline of diverse faculty, researchers, and professionals, particularly, though not exclusively, in the STEM fields. We are well-positioned to do so, given that approximately 40 percent of our undergraduates pursue professional or graduate studies after graduation, and we regularly host academic and scholarly programs that reach students from across the country. We are working to eliminate barriers to participation in research and other experiences outside the classroom. In keeping with the recommendations of a 2011 National Academy of Sciences report, our current support for URMs in STEM fields includes various research-intensive experiences.

Summer programs for underrepresented student populations help stimulate interest in advanced work through intensive study, hands-on research, and a network of peers. Johns Hopkins supports a number of programs open to high school or undergraduate students, including the Biophysics Research for Baltimore Teens Program, the School of Medicine Summer Internship Program, the School of Public Health Diversity Summer Internship Program, and the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) Technology Leadership Scholars (ATLAS) Summer Intern Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Minority Institutions. We have also participated in several Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs targeting students from colleges or universities with few research opportunities. These include REU programs in Biology, Nanotechnology for Biology and Engineering, and Computational Sensing and Medical Robotics. In addition, every summer the School of Medicine hosts a symposium to recognize the efforts of all summer programs through the Hopkins Career, Academic, and Research Experiences for Students (C.A.R.E.S.) Network and Symposium. The university also sought to broaden our reach by actively participating in national associations, such as the Leadership Alliance, which focuses on promoting diverse students into competitive graduate training programs and research-based careers. We also participate in initiatives open to post-baccalaureate students nationwide, such as the School of Medicine’s Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP); the Cancer in the Under-Privileged, Indigent, or Disadvantaged (CUPID) Summer Translational Research Program; the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Summer Internship; and the Doctoral Diversity Program.

Graduate Student Recruitment

The societal need for advanced scholarship at the master’s, professional, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels remains strong. In this area, too, we recognize the value in identifying and recruiting the best students from diverse backgrounds and helping them thrive. Current data trends across the United States are promising. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, both black and Hispanic post-baccalaureate enrollment more than doubled between 2000 and 2014, with black enrollment increasing from 181,000 to 366,000 students (~13 percent of total post-baccalaureate student population) and Hispanic enrollment increasing from 111,000 to 230,000 students (~8 percent of total post-baccalaureate student population). Each of our academic divisions has recruitment strategies aimed at enhancing the diversity of its graduate students. For example, several divisions (KSAS, BSPH, SOM) host visits for underrepresented minority students, targeting students attending colleges around the Baltimore-Washington area but also ensuring a broader national reach.

At the School of Medicine, the REACH for Graduate School program invites student from underrepresented groups, including students with disabilities, planning to apply to graduate within a year to campus for meetings with faculty.
The Bloomberg School of Public Health participates in joint recruitment efforts with Columbia, Harvard, and Yale schools of public health to target colleges and universities with prominent underrepresented minority student populations.
The School of Nursing has quadrupled its annual budget for advertising aimed at recruiting diverse students and faculty; broadened the range of journals and professional conferences in which it advertises its programs; and employed a strategic recruitment plan that includes distributing program materials to underrepresented minority professional organizations and admissions officer visits to historically black colleges.
A JHU Directors of Admissions Working Group (UDAWG) meets three times per year. In addition to discussing best practices, the group hosts and provides joint recruitment events for minority undergraduates at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and various scholar programs (Mellon Mays Scholars, McNair Scholars, Meyerhoff Scholars, Penn State Millennium Scholars, etc.).
Our divisions recruit URM students through national affinity groups, organizations, and programs aimed at promoting undergraduates from underrepresented minority backgrounds to graduate or professional schools. Examples of these external groups include the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers, National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), the Leadership Alliance, the Posse Foundation, Graduate Horizons, McNair Scholars, Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), or the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), among many others. We have also recruited from student populations on our own campuses; BSPH, for example, provides admissions presentations to nondegree students attending its Center for American Indian Health institutes and to participants in Kennedy Krieger’s Maternal Child Health Careers/Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement–Undergraduate Program (MCHC/RISE-UP).

Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellowships

We understand the role that financial barriers play in impeding broad access to graduate and postdoctoral programs for all students, and we have been working to increase our support for these programs through fundraising, external sponsorship, and reallocation of budgeted funds. We also recognize the need for focused attention on these barriers when graduate and postdoctoral programs are characterized by chronically low levels of participation by underrepresented minorities. Graduate and postdoctoral fellowships therefore play a critical role in recruiting and supporting the academic trajectories of diverse scholars.

To that end, JHU’s Faculty Diversity Initiative includes a Postdoctoral Scholarship Program. In 2016, the first year of this program, 51 postdocs were nominated by faculty mentors, and 10 scholars were selected to receive one-year fellowships. (Two recipients subsequently obtained permanent positions outside JHU and declined the award.) The first class of recipients included scholars from three divisions (BSPH, KSAS, and SOM). Among the eight recipients, three were women, five identified as African-American, and two identified as Hispanic. Each recipient received an award of more than $63,000, and opportunities for professional development and networking.

In addition, the divisions offer a number of fellowships and funding supports to attract and support diverse scholars. Examples include at KSAS, the Boggs Fellowship to support one or two minority graduate students in STEM disciplines, and the Bromery Fellowship in Earth and Planetary Sciences targeted to students from historically black colleges and universities, or tribal colleges; at WSE, the Deans Fellowship, Morgan State University Fellowships, and GEM Fellowships to attract URM graduate students; and at KSAS, WSE, BSPH, and SOM (PhD, MA, and MS programs), application fee waivers for participants in the national Leadership Alliance and other programs oriented toward underrepresented minorities.

Climate and Networking for Graduate Students

In 2015, more than 15,000 graduate and professional students, and 1,500 postdoctoral trainees were part of our community. As the members of this diverse group find their intellectual home here, we recognize their need for a community in which they can thrive while developing the skills and contacts needed for the next steps in their careers. Our students, postdocs, and trainees have founded a vast range of affinity groups and committees concerned with diversity to bring individuals with similar backgrounds, cultures, interests, and ambitions together in community or common purpose (a comprehensive list of student groups is provided on diversity.jhu.edu). On the Homewood campus, a group of graduate students developed a targeted guide that provides information on diversity resources, URM student organizations, community resources, and fellowship opportunities. “Flourish: A resource guide for and by the Homewood underrepresented minority graduate community” was first printed in fall 2016. Johns Hopkins divisions are also increasingly focused on providing diverse scholars with resources that expand their opportunities to build broad networks and skills in their fields of study and beyond. As examples:

In spring 2016, JHU expanded its institutional relationship with the Association of Women in Science (AWIS) to cover all faculty, staff, and students, including postdoctoral scholars.
In fall 2016, three projects received funding through the Postdoctoral Programming aspect of the Faculty Diversity Initiative: The Kennedy Krieger Institute hosted a mini-conference for postdoctoral scholars in the maternal and child health field at the schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health; the Diversity Postdoctoral Alliance Committee (DPAC) hosted its 2016 Excellence in Diversity Symposium, focusing on outstanding achievements of scholars from underrepresented backgrounds throughout the history of JHU; and DPAC will host a seminar series for postdoctoral scholars at five schools throughout the 2016–17 academic year.
The schools of Nursing and Public Health and the Carey Business School all host programs to support international students. At Nursing, a new initiative is working to support international students in the PhD program, providing both mentoring and opportunities to participate in meetings with visiting scholars from the students’ home countries. At BSPH, where 40 percent of full-time students and 30 percent of online/part-time students in the MPH Program are international, the program hosts a full-day International Student Information Day at which alumni of the program offer tips that range from where to get a phone to how best to approach a professor. At Carey, Summer Intensive, a program for international students, supports acculturation and preparation for personal, professional, and academic success.
The schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing are hosting a range of events for students providing care to diverse communities, including undocumented individuals, Spanish-speaking patients, children and geriatric patients with diverse backgrounds, and faith-based communities.

Next steps

As described above, over the last several years, we have increased our support for undergraduate students as they transition to college, and strengthened the services available to them on campus. We have also been increasingly purposeful in our recruitment of a diverse community of graduate students and in fostering a community that will support their personal and intellectual pursuits. But, for both student populations, we know we have more work to do and remain committed to honing and enhancing existing initiatives, and to working with a wide spectrum of groups and individuals to explore new ideas.

LGBTQ needs assessment. In spring 2016 we launched our second LGBTQ needs assessment. The associate dean for diversity and inclusion and the director of LGBTQ Life will share and analyze results from the assessment with administrators from the schools and the chief diversity officer in the 2016–17 academic year. New priorities will be identified based on areas of improvement identified by the assessment.
Task Force on Student Mental Health and Well-Being. A Task Force on Student Mental Health and Well-Being was launched in spring 2016 and charged with assessing the current state of mental health services and resources at Johns Hopkins, canvassing contemporary research on effective strategies for promoting mental health, benchmarking against best practices at peer institutions, and recommending effective services and interventions, including those customized to meet the needs of diverse students. In fall 2016, the university will survey students throughout the university, asking for their perspectives and their feedback on services, policies, and programming around mental health and other aspects of self-care. The results of the survey will inform the work of the task force.
Disability services. In fall 2016, the Homewood Student Disability Services Office will run focus groups with members of SDS’ Student Advisory Board to solicit their input on the range of services provided and any gaps in their full inclusion in campus life. SDS will analyze and summarize these data and will, in 2017, engage the other JHU schools in a broader discussion about serving students with disabilities.
Homewood student diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives. The Centers for Community, Diversity, and Inclusion will hold regular community forums in the 2016–17 academic year, inviting student leaders from culture-based organizations and advisory boards to provide feedback and recommendations on the evolving approaches to diversity and campus climate. This feedback will help identify areas of priority and focus for various offices within the center.
Doctoral program directors workshop. The vice provost for education is organizing this workshop in late fall 2016 to convene doctoral program directors and vice deans for education to discuss diversity in our doctoral programs; identify and discuss the challenges in successfully recruiting a diverse doctoral student body; share best practices for recruiting diverse doctoral students across all our divisions with doctoral programs; identify strategies that could be employed by divisions or across divisions to address key concerns; and develop a periodic report on the URM, gender, and minority composition of our graduate and postdoctoral programs to be shared with the university community.
New graduate student resources. We will tap into two external resources for graduate student recruitment and success. First, the National Name Exchange seeks to increase the number of qualified minority students accepted into graduate school, improve student access to information on graduate school opportunities, and assist graduate schools in identifying qualified minority candidates for consideration for graduate study. Second, the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society works to develop a network of pre-eminent scholars who exemplify academic and personal excellence, foster environments of support, and serve as examples of scholarship, leadership, character, service, and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy.
Report on graduate student composition. As the university has done with faculty, we will develop and publish data by the end of the academic year on the gender and racial composition of our graduate student community by division and department. This type of transparency will establish a baseline against which we can assess progress in our aim of recruiting a broader pipeline of diverse scholars.

VII. Staff