California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education a big success at UCSB

On Saturday, November 7, thousands descended upon the UC Santa Barbara campus as the university hosted the biannual California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education. About 220 private and public universities from throughout the nation joined more than 1,000 undergraduate and master's students in an all-day event designed to recruit students from underrepresented backgrounds (low-income, first-generation college students; and African-American, American Indian, Latino, Filipino, Pacific Islander, and Asian American students in non-professional degree programs) to doctoral-level study. The majority of the student participants in the Forum, now in its 25th year, were members of the University of California and California State University system.

After a welcome by UCSB Graduate Division Dean Carol Genetti, UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry T. Yang kicked off the plenary session, held on the Sciences Lawn, with his own welcome and a personal testimony of the importance of diversity in graduate education. Following Chancellor Yang was keynote speaker Dr. Victor Rios. Dr. Rios provided a riveting account of his rise from a marginalized graduate student at UC Berkeley to his current position of full professor and educational ambassador to the White House. Rios emphasized the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity and the trend in higher education to diversify both student and faculty populations - a trend that students in attendance were encouraged to take advantage of by pursuing a graduate education.

Following the morning plenary session, students attended informational workshops held in nearby classrooms. Topics included how to finance graduate education; how to write a winning statement of purpose; demystifying the GRE; the relationship of the master's degree to the Ph.D.; how to prepare for the GRE; and the role of undergraduate research in graduate admissions.

The main event of the day was the recruiter fair held from noon to 3 p.m., also on the Sciences Lawn. This is where all 215 universities set up tables with representatives to promote and share information on graduate programs to potential students.

Additional workshop sessions on the aforementioned topics were held in the afternoon for students interested in attending more than one session. The Forum concluded with discipline-based workshops. Disciplines included social sciences, engineering and computer science, behavioral science, physical sciences and math, business and management, life science, education, health and human services, fine arts, and humanities.

Several students from UCSB's McNair Scholars Program participated in the recruiter fair alongside visiting students from across California. They spoke of the importance of the Forum to them.

"The Forum provided the route for me to explore my future," said Buki Akinyemi, UCSB McNair Junior Scholar and a biopsychology major. "Talking to different graduate program reps about their experiences in grad school and struggles to success made me want to achieve that high level as well. The future is looking pretty promising as the faces of higher ed are changing to look more like me."

Joshua Hudson, UCSB McNair Junior Scholar and a Sociology and Global Studies double major, also praised the Forum: "The Diversity Forum impacted me a lot because it showed me that people from underrepresented communities - including myself - have the opportunity to go further into higher education and make a difference in academia."

For Victoria Melgarejo, UCSB McNair Junior Scholar and a Linguistics and Spanish double major, the event "made me realize how important it is for students of color to be represented, not only in graduate school, but later in academia."

And Ema Angeles, a UCSB McNair Junior Scholar and Anthropology major, called the Forum "a great experience that helped me answer questions, meet with graduate schools, and feel prepared to move onto the next step in my education. It was great to realize the diversity that is about to enter academia."

A large event of this magnitude required support from university leadership. Chancellor Yang, the UCSB Graduate Division, and McNair Scholars Program were key in the coordination and implementation of the Diversity Forum. In addition to university leadership, more than 150 UCSB student volunteers helped with various logistical issues during the day. The Graduate Division would like to give a special thanks to these volunteers, who helped to make the event a success. For a snapshot of the day's events, view the video below.