Addressing the Pipeline Problem: Leadership Alliance Seeks to Boost Number of Black Students Pursuing a Ph.D.

The Leadership Alliance is a consortium, based at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, of major research universities and several historically black colleges and universities. The Alliance seeks to increase the number of minorities who pursue a Ph.D. degree and later take leadership positions in the academic world. The consortium is a collaboration of 33 colleges and universities that devote academic resources, faculty mentors, and money to help the Alliance reach its goals.

The Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program offers minority undergraduates interested in pursuing a Ph.D. the opportunity to work for eight to 10 weeks under the guidance of a faculty or research mentor at a participating Alliance institution. These research internships are geared toward giving these students a feel for graduate level research. The Alliance also provides fellowships for graduate students pursuing a Ph.D.

The Leadership Alliance recently passed a milestone when the 100th student who participated in the program received a Ph.D. More than 100 additional students are currently in the Alliance’s Ph.D. pipeline.

Copyright © 2008. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.