Endless Summers

On Wednesday, February 22, with the Dr. and Mrs. Cook and about 200 people looking on, the 2006 Samuel DuBois Cook Colloquium took place in the Griffith Theater. Dr. Shirley Malcolm set the tenor of the afternoon, pointing out that while advances have been made, women and minorities remain markedly underrepresented in math, the natural and physical sciences, and engineering. Pockets of social Darwinism remain within the academy, she said, that impede the incorporation of women and minorities. She was followed by a series of three panels of Duke administrators, faculty and students, plus invited guests from North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University and the Durham Public Schools, who addressed the questions of "Why so few women and minorities?," "What is the student experience?" and "What can be done?"

The discourse between the panel members and the audience traversed a broad range of topics from affirmative action to cultural differences of boys and girls. However, there were a few themes that seemed to permeate all levels of the discussion. First, the curiosity that women and minorities possess innately as children for discovery dissipates. Sometimes a single event can trigger the loss of interest, but most commonly it is a matter of small, incremental and mostly unintended interactions that detract from the appeal of science and technology. Physics professor Calvin Howell suggested that only mentoring, which should persist from childhood to the professional level, could counteract this effectively. Second, people discussed the importance of accessible role models who show by example and interest that women and minorities are valued contributors to science. Pratt School of Engineering Dean Kristina Johnson was cited as an important example. Third was that science must develop a better sense of community that sees value in broadening participation. This point revolved around the concept put forth by Professor of Neurobiology Erich Jarvis of building a community of scientists, not just making people into scientists. Fourth was balancing family life with professional life, which is a sacrifice that is becoming less and less tenable as more women enter science.

There was also discussion of the more immediate experience of being a female or minority student in science and engineering at Duke. One particularly poignant vignette involved a student who was too overcommitted by non-curricular activities that she was unable to (or perhaps reluctant to) become associated with her engineering classmates. The origin of this disaffection seems to lie in the nerdy stigma of admitting that you think science is fun. It was also noted that students should associate with a number of peers and mentors that provide differing perspectives, rather than relying on single individuals who may or may not be providing sage advice. Martina Bryant, associate dean of arts and science, suggested that students have to be prepared to deal with both good and bad advice, and that they need to know the difference between the two.

Finally, the discussion turned to the attitudes of Duke faculty to the recruitment of women and minority students, particularly graduate students. Ultimately, this mindset boils down to a conflict between the student's desire to gain access and opportunity and the faculty member's desire to accomplish his or her research agenda. Only when both of these are addressed satisfactorily does the system work best. Overall, science faculty tend to hedge their bets in the resource-limited world of academic research, choosing to recruit students viewed as "sure bets" rather than "projects." The problem of course arises from the criteria used to distinguish the two, and that there are few incentives for changing this attitude.

At the end of the afternoon the panel facilitators resolved to not let the energy of the event dissipate and present a report to one of the colloquium's chief sponsors, Provost Peter Lange. Hopefully, this will be used to further Dr. Cook's vision that diversity and excellence, particularly in the sciences, can and should coexist at Duke University.