WHO

Scholars affiliated with the SREB-State Doctoral Program and seven other scholarship programs, including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Scholars Program.

WHAT

The 31^st annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring: the nation’s largest gathering of underrepresented Ph.D. students and faculty in higher education. This year, more than 1,000 are registered to attend the conference hosted by the Southern Regional Education Board’s Doctoral Scholars Program.

WHERE

New Orleans Marriott                       

WHEN

Thursday, 8 a.m. Oct. 31 through Sunday, Nov. 3 at noon CST

WHY

Faculty of color – especially in leadership positions – are still underrepresented in comparison to the racial and ethnic diversity of the students they teach. For instance, nationwide, only about 6% of faculty are Black, just over 5% are Hispanic or Latino and only about 1% are Native American. In addition, research shows that white faculty are significantly more likely to occupy higher-ranking roles in academia than faculty who are African American, Asian American or of other racial and ethnic groups.

HIGHLIGHTS

Recruiters Some 225 recruiters will work 96 booths all four days of the conference.

Sessions Topics on the 2024 conference agenda range from getting published to describing research to financial planning basics.

Graduate Banquet  Those who earned doctoral degrees in 2023-24 will speak about their experiences at a graduation celebration at 5:30 p.m.  on Friday. Testimonies from past participants and a 2020 virtual graduation ceremony are available on SREBvideo on YouTube.

MORE INFORMATION

• The SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Institute landing page includes recent news, video shorts from previous conferences, links to past webinars, blog posts by program graduates and other information related to the program. 

• The following SREB reports and publications are available on the website:​
  • Now Is the Time to Focus on Faculty Diversity
  • Connect, Build and Grow: Tips on How to Make the Most of the Institute from Graduates
  • Student Debt Stifles Faculty Diversity
  • Changing the Face of College Faculty: 25 Years of Increasing Faculty Diversity
  • Institute on Teaching and Mentoring is an Effective Faculty Diversity Strategy
• Ph.D. students, faculty and faculty recruiters will be available for interviews. Ansley Abraham, founding director of the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program, which was created in 1993, can talk about the diversity faculty shortage and efforts to address it.
• Social media hashtags and handles for the conference include:
  • #INST2024
  • #ILookLikeAPhD
  • @SREBDocSch
  • @SREBeducation

Contact: Janita Poe, SREB News Manager, at Janita.Poe@sreb.org or 404-879-5516, ext. 216

The Southern Regional Education Board works with states, districts and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. An interstate compact and a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region.