Beyond Banneker by Walker Erica N.;

Author:Walker, Erica N.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 2014-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Navigating the Graduate School Terrain

In choosing to remain at institutions, some Black mathematicians describe the situations they face as being par for the course for [Black] graduate students in general:

Being in grad school is a very personal process, you know, like you have to give up so much of yourself, not just for the work but because they want to see if you’re okay. It takes part of you. In order for you to do well with it, you have to be motivated. If you dislike the people you’re around, you’re going to be less likely to [succeed], and I think it’s especially difficult being a Black person in this country going to graduate school, you know, the isolation and all the rest of it, and the commitment … then to be isolated and have to be committed to people who make you feel funny.

This larger backdrop to the issues facing graduate students in general was a theme shared by mathematicians who had been graduate students in small and large graduate programs, northern and southern institutions, and public and private universities. As the mathematicians in the previous section stated, the culture of a graduate school mathematics program is critical to student success, even if, as in at least one case, a strong and welcoming department was not enough to make up for the racism a Black mathematician experienced on campus. What makes a “good” culture in general and for Black mathematicians in particular? In many cases, predominantly White institutions that have graduated “significant” numbers of Black PhDs in the sciences have committed faculty and/or administrators and/or strong alumni networks of Black graduates who share information about how to navigate the institution. Some of these institutions (Michigan and Maryland are examples) have a historical legacy, if not a reputation, for being receptive to having Black mathematics graduate students, and this is often generational in that one sees Blacks earning the PhD in mathematics from these institutions across multiple decades. In addition, Howard University has graduated a significant number of African American mathematicians since the inception of its doctoral degree program in 1975. One faculty member there, Neil Hindman, is responsible for sponsoring the largest number of Black students who have earned their PhDs in mathematics. In interviews with Black mathematicians, the role of faculty in crafting graduate school environments conducive to Black students’ success emerged as key.

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