ASA Minority Fellowship Program (MFP)
Fellowship Roundtable – May 2, 2013
Washington, DC
Roberta Spalter-Roth, Director, Research Department
Jean H. Shin, Director, Minority Affairs Program
American Sociological Association
Information on the ASA Minority Fellowship Program
• Pre-doctoral training program founded in 1974 at the behest of the thenCaucus of Black Sociologists (now the Association of Black Sociologists).
• MFP was founded around the same period as similar training programs in
psychology, nursing, and social work (funded by the National Institute of
Mental Health).
• The original purpose of MFP was to address the severe
underrepresentation of senior minority scholars as campuses became
more diverse.
• Then and still today, MFP has been inclusive of all racial/ethnic minority
groups in the discipline.
MFP Background, cont’d
• Notable MFP alumni from Cohorts 1-10 (with current affiliation):
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Gary Sandefur, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Matthew Snipp, Stanford University
Patricia E. White, National Science Foundation
Ruth Peterson, Ohio State University
Verna Keith, Texas A&M University
Aldon Morris, Northwestern University
Mary Romero, Arizona State University
Dana Takagi, University of California, Santa Cruz
Patricia Hill Collins, University of Maryland-College Park
Linda Burton, Duke University
Lawrence Bobo, Harvard University
David T. Takeuchi, University of Washington
Rogelio Saenz, University of Texas-San Antonio
Changes in the Minority Fellowship Program
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Funded through 2010 by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), with a
peak of 30 full stipend lines per year in 2000-2005 (26 federally-funded through
T32 grant mechanism, 4 ASA–funded).
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Now 5-6 lines each year, funded entirely by organizational partnerships and
individual contributions (including the MFP Leadership Campaign). Formerly multiyear awards, now 1 year in duration with no renewal.
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Professional development activities/events at the ASA Annual Meeting.
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Contributing to ASA’s fundraising prospectus, we did a comparative outcomes
evaluation of MFP alumni over 10 years and two other groups.
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MFP is one of very few national fellowship programs that has done this sort of
systematic evaluation.
Mentoring, Networks and Resources for
“Ideal” Minority PhD Career Trajectories:
An Evaluation of the ASA Minority Fellowship Program
Fellowship Roundtable – May 2, 2013
Washington, DC
Roberta Spalter-Roth, Director, Research Department
Jean H. Shin, Director, Minority Affairs Program
American Sociological Association
Synopsis of ASA-Sponsored Research on
Mentoring and Networks
Today, we present findings from two-NSF-funded studies on
minority career trajectories in sociology (NSF grant
#0936783).
• The first study, a quantitative analysis, emphasizes cross-race
mentoring for an “ideal” career trajectory in the first 10 postPhD years.
• The second, a qualitative analysis, emphasizes dualisms or the
“two worlds” of mentoring, networks, and resource
distribution that minority PhDs need to navigate.
Slide 2
First ASA Study: Cross-Race Mentoring
• What are the effects of instrumental and communal mentoring on
long-term career outcomes of minority PhD graduates and the
likelihood of having an “ideal” post-PhD career trajectory?
• Do the two types of mentoring level the playing field for minority
scholars?
Slide 3
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Instrumental (or individual) mentoring is measured by having a white male
dissertation advisor because these advisors have more resources and contacts
and concentrate on ideal career paths.

Psycho-social (or communal) mentoring is measured by participation in ASA
Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) because this is a support network for
minority scholars.
“Ideal” Post PhD Outcomes
Ideal post PhD outcomes include:
Slide 4

Employment at a Research I university

High number of articles published

Receiving NSF and/or NIH grants

ASA section leadership
Comparison Groups
In order to evaluate MFP outcomes and whether the program
leveled the playing field we compared three groups:
1. Participants in the ASA Minority Fellowship Program (MFP)
2. Participants in the NSF Dissertation Improvement Grants in
Sociology
3. A randomly selected group of PhDs in sociology
Slide 5
Data
Three comparison groups:
• All 1997-2006 MFP Fellows.
• All 1997-2006 NSF Dissertation
Improvement Grant recipients.
• 200 randomly selected PhD
graduates from the same years.
PhDs:
• Received PhD between 1996/1997
and 2008/2009 academic years.
• Employed in the U.S. in 2010.
Sources of data:
• ASA records.
• NSF and NIH records.
• Faculty and department
websites.
• ProQuest database.
Independent variables:
• Race/ethnicity and gender.
• Participation in MFP or
receiving NSF Dissertation
Improvement Grant award.
• Dissertation advisor’s race.
• Type of graduate program.
• Years since graduation.
For more information see a research brief titled The Impact of Cross-Race Mentoring for “Ideal” and “Alternative” PhD Careers in
Sociology at www.asanet.org/images/research/docs/pdf/Impact_of_Crossrace_Mentoring_Report_2011.pdf.
Slide 6
Sample Characteristics
Variables
Demographic Characteristics:
Female
Minority
Missing race/ethnicity
Graduate School Information:
PhD from a Research I
university
Year since graduationa
Primary Dissertation Advisor:
Minority female
White female
Minority male
White male
Missing advisor's race/ethnicity
2010 Employment:
Research I institution
Number of Cases
Slide 7
Randomly
Selected
PhDs
MFP
Fellows
NSF
Awardees
61.6%
22.0%
11.9%
61.1%
100.0%
0.0%
59.8%
13.9%
10.5%
71.1%
82.4%
97.7%
7.5(3.6)
7.5(3.7)
5.9(2.9)
3.8%
31.4%
5.1%
49.1%
10.7%
11.1%
27.8%
13.9%
38.9%
8.3%
1.5%
31.6%
3.4%
55.6%
7.9%
15.2%
11.1%
36.8%
159
108
266
MFP Fellows and
White Dissertation Advisors
• Having a white male
advisor significantly
benefits MFP participants
in obtaining Research I
faculty careers, although
this type of relationship
does not have significant
effects on the other
comparison groups.
• Employment at a Research
I university, in its turn,
directly affects scholarly
productivity, grant awards,
and professional service for
all groups.
Slide 8
Expected Probability of Academic Employment at a ResearchExtensive University in 2010 for 1997-2009 Sociology PhD
Graduates in Academic Positions by Group and Advisor
60%
51%
49%
32%
40%
34%
33%
7%
20%
0%
Randomly
Selected PhD
Graduates
MFP Fellows
NSF
Awardees
Note: Results are from hierarchical logistic regression with robust standard errors,
population mean estimates. Control variables are held constant at the means for
randomly selected PhD graduates. Department-level variance held constant at
zero.
Mixed Findings for the Type of Mentoring and
Scholarly Productivity
• Publishing with a dissertation
advisor increases post-PhD
publication rate for all groups.
• MFP Fellows are twice as likely
to graduate with a published
article in their portfolio when
they have a minority rather
than a white male advisor.
Published at Least One Article Prior
to Graduation by Kind of Advisor
Randomly MFP Fellows
Selected PhD
Graduates
Minority advisor (male or female)
White female advisor
White male advisor
12.5%(8)
12.5%(32)
17.3%(52)
21.4%(14)
10.5%(19)
11.5%(26)
• Post-graduate publication rate among MFP Fellows is not statistically different
from the publication rate of randomly selected white PhD graduates, controlling
for other factors. This suggests the importance of minority advisors.
• MFP Fellows publish significantly less in the top three sociology journals (ASR,
AJS, Social Forces) than the randomly-selected white PhD graduates.
Slide 9
Leveling the Divide – Research Grants and ASA
Section Leadership
• Compared to randomly selected white PhD graduates, former MFP Fellows
who are tenure track or tenured faculty are:
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More than 2 times more likely to receive NSF and/or NIH research
grants (controlling for other factors).

About 4 times more likely to be elected as an ASA section officer
(controlling for other factors).
• Thus, MFP does help to level some of the racial/ethnic divide, although not
in terms of publications in “top” journals.
Slide 10
MFP Women and Men
• But, MFP appears to bring more advantages to minority men
than to minority women.
• MFP does not erase the “double disadvantage” at the
intersection of race/ethnicity and gender.
Scholarly Productivity and Employment MFPs by Gender
MFP Fellows
Men
Women
Employed at a Research I University
At Least One Publication with Mentor prior to Graduation
Mean Total Number of Publications since PhD Graduationa
At Least One Article Published in Top Sociology Journals
Received NSF and/or NIH Grants
ASA Section Officer Service
a
Slide 11
Standard errors are in parentheses.
31.8%
27.3%
5.5(1.5)
4.6%
22.7%
18.2%
16.7%
9.5%
2.7(0.5)
4.8%
11.9%
11.9%
The Two Worlds
• This research seeks to better understand the experiences of minorities in
higher education. In doing so, we examine the concept of “dualisms” or
two worlds experienced by minority graduate students and early career
faculty.
• These dualisms reflect the structured inequalities of a white dominated
academy with minorities participating in the “two worlds”--one
homogeneous, and less powerful, and one heterogeneous, and more
powerful. The notion of two worlds was conceptualized by W.E.B. DuBois.
• Minority scholars can either accommodate to or attempt to overcome
these inequalities. Studying dualisms and the “two worlds” allow us to not
only examine power relations and structural inequalities, but also how
minority scholars navigate these worlds.
Slide 12
Second Study: Exploratory Qualitative Analyses
of the Two Worlds
Working paper titled Navigating “Dualisms:” The Challenge of Access to Mentoring,
Networks, and Resources in Minority Graduate Students’ PhD Career Trajectories
Based on 33 qualitative responses to these questions:
Slide 13
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Who do you consider to be your mentors? Please describe their roles in your
professional development. Are they similar to you in terms of race and gender?
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Are you involved in any networks that promote your scholarship and career
development? Is the ASA Minority Fellowship Program one of these networks? Are
these networks comprised of people who are similar to you in some way?
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In your department, how are resources such as funding, mentoring, travel
support, and opportunities to interact with faculty members, distributed? Do you
think this distribution is equitable?
Dualisms or The Two Worlds that Minorities
Need to Navigate
Dualisms identified by the survey respondents:
Instrumental versus psycho-social mentoring
– Instrumental mentoring addresses students’ skills and competencies.
– Communal or psycho-social mentoring is concerned with students’ emotional
needs and well-being.
Homophilous versus heterogeneous networks
– Homophilous networks are segregated by race/ethnicity and gender.
– Heterogeneous networks cross these lines.
Universalistic versus particularistic distribution of resources
– Merit or universal distribution of resources.
– Particularistic or biased distribution.
Slide 14
Instrumental Versus Psycho-Social Mentoring
• In this research, respondents expressed a desire for holistic forms of
mentoring, although not necessarily in the body of the same person.
“My dissertation advisor very much is the instrumental one – white male. I’m a
woman of color. My emotional or psycho-social mentor is the one that keeps me
sane and is a woman of color. She helps me navigate the space that was never
meant to be for me.”
Slide 15
Homophilous Versus Heterogeneous Networks
• They expressed a desire to continue to have both homophilous and
heterogeneous networks.
“Networks, and especially the MFP, have put me into contact with faculty of color
from other institutions and I have felt a direct impact from this both in my funding
situation and in the quality of my scholarship. It is also possible that the great
mentorship I received at Northwestern is due to the prestige of being awarded an
MFP. Often at the ASA or at other professional meetings I have been able to start a
conversation or get a faculty member to give me some of their time via their
former membership in the MFP…This helped me prepare both for National Science
Foundation dissertation grant (which I was able to get) and the RWJ which I
recently applied for. The MFP networks put me in touch with faculty members that
were willing to give me "insider information" that I might not have otherwise
gotten about these fellowships, presentations, and other opportunities.”
Universalistic Versus Particularistic Distribution
of Resources
• They saw contradictions between universalistic norms of resource
distribution and inequalities in actual distribution.
“The distribution of resources in my department is highly uneven. There is a
general disrespect for qualitative work and race work with a critical edge. This,
coupled with highly uneven levels of involvement from mentors can create some
conflicts about who gets what. I have been lucky with my mentors but several
other students of color in the department have not been successful in getting
outside finding, and they are forced to teach every semester. This has clearly
hindered their progress on publication. To change this, departments should ensure
that TA/RA assignments are distributed evenly or rotated.”
Conclusions
• For existing programs like MFP, there has been a good deal of success in
terms of moving numbers of minority PhDs into “ideal” careers, in a
framework that understands the “twoness” experienced in academic
environments—by producing both heterogeneous and homogeneous
mentoring and networks—although MFP does not level the playing field
with the random (largely white) group.
• Much still needs to be learned about the choices minority scholars make
in their careers.
• From our second study, we suggest that early-stage sociology scholars of
color appear to be aware of the existence and need to navigate the two
worlds of different types of relationships and practices (using DuBois’
conceptualization).
Slide 18
Suggestions and Next Steps
• First, we suggest that until science becomes less of a white-dominated
world, the desire of minority scholars to be part of an alternative,
racially homogeneous world continues, even if it has fewer resources.
• To this end, we suggest the formation of more discipline-wide
“intervention” programs for minority scholars including students, early
career faculty, and senior scholars of color to overcome the paucity of
minority scholars in departments and challenges to maximizing success.
• Second, we suggest that departments ensure that instrumental
mentoring by those faculty members (usually senior white males) with
the most contacts and resources are available to minority students, and
that these faculty are held accountable.
Slide 19
Suggestions and Next Steps (continued)
• Perhaps more training might be necessary so that faculty, especially
white male mentors, can feel comfortable with psycho-social mentoring.
• Reasons for differential resource distribution should be clearly stated.
Next Steps
• By triangulating two types of data, we expect to better understand why
a move simply toward more equal representation in terms of
recruitment and retention is not enough.
• As demographic changes continue to take place, it is important to
expand DuBois’ classic notion of “double consciousness” to include a
more “intersectional” consciousness by particular racial/ethnic, gender,
sexual orientation, class, and other social identities to disentangle the
relationship between opportunity, merit, support, and heterogeneity.
Slide 20
Feedback From You
• Finally, this evaluation is limited to sociology PhDs.
• We are interested in obtaining more comparisons
from other programs and other disciplines.
Thank You!
For further discussion or help, contact Roberta Spalter-Roth, PhD, at
202-383-9005 ext. 317 or by e-mail at spalter-roth@asanet.org.
Also, please plan to visit the ASA’s home page at www.asanet.org for
links to this presentation and other ASA research briefs and articles.
Slide 22