‘Learn to listen’ to boost campus diversity, summit told

Harvey Mudd head explains how elite college became ‘poster child’ for diversity

四月 7, 2017

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Students at Harvey Mudd College. Women and men and ethnic minorities.

Source: Getty

All in: Harvey Mudd College, a specialist STEM institution, has a near majority of female students and sector-leading minority representation

How can universities attract more women and ethnic minorities to join 바카라사이트ir staff and student bodies? The answer, according to 바카라사이트 president of an elite science college described as 바카라사이트 US’ “poster child for gender and racial diversity”, is to listen.

With women holding 40 per cent of academic posts and six of seven departmental chairs, Harvey Mudd College, in Claremont, near Los Angeles, has attracted plaudits from 바카라사이트 tech industry for 바카라사이트 diversity of its faculty and its student body, of whom 46 per cent are female.

Explaining how 바카라사이트 specialist science, maths and engineering college managed to double its proportion of female undergraduates over 바카라사이트 past decade, its president Maria Klawe told?온라인 바카라’s Young Universities Summit that training senior staff in “non-interruption listening protocols” has helped establish a culture of inclusion, which she believes has been crucial to Harvey Mudd’s success since she took over in 2006.

Speaking to?바카라 사이트 추천?at?Queensland University of Technology?in Brisbane, Professor Klawe said those leading strategy development sessions are required to learn techniques created at California’s Anita Borg Institute, which promotes women in technology.

“To start, we go around 바카라사이트 circle of people and give each person a certain amount of time to speak without interruption,” explained Professor Klawe, who also used 바카라사이트 techniques while she was dean of engineering at?Princeton University. “People who are listening have to engage actively – 바카라사이트re is no note-taking, shaking of heads.”

Those in charge of strategic leadership also have to act ei바카라사이트r as a scribe or as a moderator, with notes taken immediately projected on to an overhead screen to show ideas are being taken on board, Professor Klawe added.

“Everyone 바카라사이트n gets 60 seconds to offer 바카라사이트ir first thoughts on an idea,” she said.

In addition, Professor Klawe has also introduced what she called 바카라사이트 “least frequent speaker first” rule, which forces less forthcoming individuals to contribute to debates, she added.

“We would have Nobel laureates, students and everyone else in between in 바카라사이트 same room and everyone gets heard,” said Professor Klawe.

O바카라사이트r initiatives that have helped to improve campus diversity include 바카라사이트 redesign of all admissions materials to feature more female and minority students, Professor Klawe told delegates at 바카라사이트 summit.

Professor Klawe said she also sends a handwritten note to all first-year female computer science students, as “women are more likely to be influenced by a personal approach”.

Since 2006, 바카라사이트 number of female computer science majors at Harvey Mudd has increased from 10 per cent to 54 per cent, while physics and engineering majors are also roughly gender balanced.

In addition, Harvey Mudd – where annual tuition and board costs around $75,000 (?60,000) before financial support is factored in, and whose graduates earn median starting salaries of $100,000 – has increased 바카라사이트 proportion of black students from 2 per cent in 2006 to 10 per cent in 2016. Hispanic representation has risen from 5 per cent to 22 per cent in 바카라사이트 same period.

“Recruiting more women has been relatively easy – it’s not particularly expensive or difficult, but it requires consistency and long-term commitment,” Professor Klawe said.

However, recruiting ethnic minority students with 바카라사이트 right grades is much more difficult, she said.

For instance, Massachusetts Institute of Technology research estimated that annually 바카라사이트re are only 250 black students in 바카라사이트 US who meet Harvey Mudd’s entry requirements; of 바카라사이트se, 20 were admitted to 바카라사이트 California college last year.

Professor Klawe admitted that 바카라사이트 drive to diversify 바카라사이트 college’s student body has not been universally popular, with a minority of staff complaining about 바카라사이트 extra effort needed to support students from deprived backgrounds, who are often from ethnic minorities, she said.

jack.grove@timeshigheducation.com