Shivohn Garcia

The Experiences of Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers Students at Purdue: A Case Study of a Diversity Initiative

Since 1992, Purdue University has enrolled the second highest number of Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers (IRT) alumni in the country, outranking Harvard University and the University of Chicago and second only to the University of Michigan. The IRT, based on the campus of Andover Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, seeks to increase the number of graduate students from groups underrepresented in the academy. Each year, IRT guides students through the graduate school application process, runs a summer workshop, and offers mentorship to students from diverse backgrounds. IRT is therefore an important source in the recruitment of academically talented underrepresented graduate students to Purdue. According to Purdues strategic plan, the recruitment and retention of academically talented students is paramount in order to increase diversity. In this respect IRT and Purdue share a similar goal. Although Purdue has a long standing relationship with IRT and is working closely with the Institute to attract outstanding colege students from diverse backgrounds, much remains to be done to mentor, support, and retain IRT students at Purdue. As a former IRT faculty member and alumni, many students have expressed feelings of isolation, lack of institutional support once enrolled in graduate school and other transitional issues that affect academic success and erformance. I am proposing a concentrated study of IRT alumni which will offer insights into institutional issues and supports/structures that impact success and degree completion. For example, does mentorship affect degree completion or attrition rates and are degree completion rates higher for IRT students compared t nonIRT students? While the Graduate School cannot address all the educational inequities that lead to such low representation of students fromgroups underrepresented in academia, the research project I propose can be used as a case study to address the needs and experiences of students at Purdue from undrrepresented backgrounds. My research project directly addresses the Graduate School goal of increasing diversity among students and in turn benefits al graduate programs. It is my hope that this report will offer insight into the specific experiences of students enrolled as well as reasons for atrition in order to create solutions that will increase diversity, assesses learning outcomes and insure student success. I plan to interview students currently enrolled at Purdue as well as those who have left. Information gleaned from this project will inevitability improve the recruitment of this demographic.