Archon Paul B. Mohr, Sr., Phi Boule, Directs Scholars Program to Help Minorities

Alabama leads a coalition of 16 Southern states in helping minority doctoral candidates get through graduate school.

Funded by the state Legislature and administered by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, the Alabama Doctoral Scholars Program has helped 45 minority scholars graduate with doctoral degrees from Alabama schools, more than any other state participating in the program.

In 1993, the Southern Regional Education Board brought its 16 member states together to form a program to increase the number of minority faculty members on predominantly white campuses.

Nationally, about 5 percent of university faculty is black and 2 percent is Hispanic, the SREB said, which doesn't reflect the demographic realities in the nation.

"I think it provides a significant impact. It adds to the goals of diversity," said Paul Mohr, director of special programs with ACHE.

With an annual state budget of $400,000, the program provides the minority scholars with a $15,000 annual stipend for three years and two additional years of support at the school level.

But it's more than just money, Mohr said.

The scholars program includes mentoring and social interaction with other scholars to help them through the difficult trials of earning a doctorate.

But all this effort goes for naught if the graduating scholar decides to leave the state.

"We cannot force these individuals, even once they receive their doctorates, to stay in the state," said Margaret Gunter, the director of communications for ACHE. "But fortunately many have found that the teaching environment is something they enjoy in the state of Alabama."

Doctorates have been earned in a variety of fields, from literature to biomedical engineering.

Hope White teaches English and directs the composition program at Auburn University Montgomery. After she graduated in 2004 with a Ph.D. in English, she was invited to interviews at four universities, including AUM.

"The faculty seemed very collegial," White said. "I liked what I saw, and I was offered the position, so I took it."

The graduates who leave the state are often in the sciences and can parlay their degrees into high-paying private sector jobs. Many graduates feel an obligation to stay in Alabama though ACHE cannot compel them to stay.

Frank Rogers received his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the University of Alabama and accepted a position at the University of West Alabama.

"Once you finish the program they really want you stay in the state," Rogers said. "I felt obligated to do it because they helped me out so much. It's just good will."

Source: David Irvin Montgomery Advertiser