Re-evaluate traditional Ph.D. roles and responsibilities
Finally, the Academy should consider re-evaluating the traditional roles
and responsibilities of PhD students. Academia is often perceived as a
route to an individualistic career, ultimately providing rewards of
achievement and power. However, students from BIPOC backgrounds can have
stronger community-oriented cultures and career interests than their
white peers (O’Brien et al, 2016; Smith et al. 2014; Purrityet al. 2017). In the current “publish or perish” climate of
Academia, we leave little room for scholars to cultivate a sense of
community. Creating more space in a PhD for community work, whether
through integrative projects (e.g. , sustainability work with
benefits to local communities), public outreach (e.g. , EEB
outreach programs targeting BIPOC youth), teaching, or participation in
student societies, may attract and retain more BIPOC talent (Fuestinget al. 2017; Puritty et al. 2017), while simultaneously
being a healthy change to the current expectations of a PhD (Nature
2019). These changes can have downstream impact as well: community
leadership from BIPOC PhD scholars themselves can in turn encourage the
next generation of BIPOC students to enter EEB, as same-race role models
significantly increase BIPOC students’ interest in pursuing graduate
studies in EEB (O’Brien et al. 2020).
Increased recognition of community work from funding agencies,
especially when reaching underrepresented communities, as well as
compensation from institutions and societies for such work, can
facilitate and reward BIPOC scholars who choose to give back to their
communities. Our Diversity of Nature (DoN) program (Massey et al.2020) is one example of graduate student-led community work. Here, BIPOC
graduate students lead EEB field camps and in-school workshops targeting
local BIPOC secondary students. This program is funded by various
offices within our institution, EEB societies, and a national funding
agency. Support, recognition, and funding from these larger
organizational bodies has allowed us to create a sustainable program
where BIPOC youth are encouraged to pursue EEB through racialized role
models (Syed et al. 2011; O’Brien et al. 2020) and
positive ecological experiences (Armstrong et al. 2007). At the
same time, DoN has allowed us to take part in meaningful, financially
compensated EEB community outreach, making for a more holistic and
rewarding PhD experience.