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Our Best Minds and Efforts:
Graduate Education at Vanderbilt
2 Introduction
4 This task force report is occasioned by several factors. Early in his tenure, Chancellor Gordon 5 Gee made improving graduate education one of his five priorities for Vanderbilt. Soon 6 thereafter a committee worked to advise then Provost Thomas Burish about improved 7 organizational structures for the graduate school. In the fall of 2002, Provost Nick Zeppos and 8 Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Harry Jacobson examined the state of graduate education 9 and prior recommendations for change and found them incomplete. Their memorandum to 10 faculty called for a comprehensive analysis of graduate education at Vanderbilt and created a 11 task force to provide such an analysis, together with recommendations for changes in graduate 12 education, by January 15, 2003. This report is a response to the Provost and Vice Chancellor’s 13 charge. 14 15 Excellence in graduate education is both an engine of research innovation and a source of the 16 kind of reputation that propels further progress in achieving quality throughout a university. 17 Vanderbilt will not achieve its potential as a top university without success in the graduate 18 arena. The task force began its work with an awareness that the “every tub on its own bottom” 19 (ETOB) organizational philosophy that has made for ever stronger undergraduate and 20 professional schools has proven itself maladapted to support excellence in graduate education, 21 particularly in an age when excellent graduate education is not a source of net revenue for 22 schools. The task force, therefore, was attentive in its work to places in the university where 23 excellence in graduate education is already established. In addition, we identified new 24 practices and structures that would improve graduate education more generally.
25 The phrase “best minds” in the title of our report suggests that faculty and their graduate 26 students should possess some of the best minds in the university. We recognize that through 27 their teaching, research, and mentoring, the faculty bear the ultimate responsibility for 28 excellence in graduate education. Neither a school nor a university as an administrative entity 29 can produce an excellent graduate scholar. Only faculty can make this happen. To this end, 30 each section of this report contains numerous proposals for enhancing and supporting faculty 31 involvement in the training of graduate students. Each section also recommends ways that 32 faculty can be leaders in reorienting the culture of Vanderbilt toward excellence in graduate 33 education and for rewarding faculty efforts on behalf of this long-term project. Thus, given our 34 best minds and efforts, the challenge of graduate excellence is within our reach. If the goal 35 could be more cheaply or easily reached, it already would have been attained. What follows, 36 then, is a detailed analysis of the state of graduate education at Vanderbilt and 37 recommendations to realize dramatic and sustained improvement in graduate education within 38 five to ten years. 39 40 The task force consisted of the deans of the five schools graduating significant numbers of 41 Ph.D.s, other faculty suggested by the Faculty Senate, and representatives from the Provost’s 42 office. Interim Dean of the Graduate School William Smith provided invaluable assistance 43 concerning current practices and options, and Jen St. Clair provided administrative assistance. 44 The task force met weekly to consider position papers composed by members of the group. 45 Perhaps the most gratifying aspect of our work was how easily agreements about how to 46 improve graduate education were reached. Although we did not prescribe solutions to all the 47 problems facing graduate education, we did define a number of actions that will, if taken 48 swiftly and boldly, enable each of the schools to realize dramatic improvements in their PhD 49 programs. Thus, strategies of various types are recommended in this report: decentralizing 50 some things; improving evaluation, accountability, and funding; centralizing other functions. 51 All these strategies have the support of the entire task force. We present our findings grateful 52 that we were asked to plot a course for the future of graduate education and hopeful that our
68 Part One: A Vision for Graduate Education at Vanderbilt
71 Vanderbilt's strategic plan sets dramatic transformation as its goal for graduate education. 72 Vanderbilt intends to become one of the few great institutions known for its world-class faculty 73 and the preparation of their successors--the next generation of intellectual leaders. Only a few 74 institutions have a consistent history of producing the very top scholars. Vanderbilt will become 75 one of those rare few, putting itself in the same league as Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, and the 76 University of Chicago in attracting those who will become the passionate scholars society will 77 come to remember. 78 79 Differing areas of specialization and strength will distinguish Vanderbilt from other illustrious 80 institutions. Graduate students will come to Vanderbilt for their doctoral training because we 81 are seen as the leader in their particular area of interest. While individual greatness, wherever it 82 occurs, will be supported, we cannot have leading graduate programs in every area. Yet in the 83 selective areas we choose to emphasize—those areas where we already have considerable 84 strength, capacity, and mission alignment –we can be world-class, second to none. By 85 refocusing departments and leveraging the strength of selected programs, facilitated by the 86 establishment of trans-institutional programs, excellence in graduate education across the 87 institution will spread and reach all faculty. 88 89 In using the term "intellectual leader," we do not refer just to people who will become 90 recognized faculty members at our peer institutions, although that is certainly an objective. For 91 us, this concept is more inclusive. We include diverse individuals who will become discoverers 92 in science and engineering; decision-makers in government and the policy community; or 93 motivators for social change. These individuals will author the next great novel or the latest 94 revolutionary patent. They will renew our nation's schools or forge the next medical
95 breakthrough. Their work will be seen as enhancing the human condition globally, and they 96 will be known as great communicators through their teaching and writings. 97 98 Simply raising Vanderbilt graduate education to the level of excellence attained in our 99 undergraduate and professional programs is not sufficient. Our vision is one where excellence 100 in graduate education casts a wide halo, so that our professional and undergraduate programs 101 are also strengthened and elevated. There is little doubt that enhancing graduate education also 102 will strengthen the undergraduate experience at Vanderbilt. Highly qualified graduate students 103 could be involved in residential colleges or in the undergraduate research initiative. Some 104 graduate students teach; the better these graduate students are, the better they will serve to 105 meet the educational needs of our undergraduates. 106 107 There is an urgent need to undertake this effort. Few of the university's graduate programs are 108 highly ranked; fewer still are in core areas where other top universities excel. Vanderbilt's 109 position in the top 50 research universities cannot be considered secure. Thus, achieving this 110 vision for graduate education at Vanderbilt will represent dramatic transformation. 111 112 To be realistic, we must allow ourselves time, patience, and persistence while navigating the 113 road to success. Greatness cannot be achieved through quick fixes or working around the edges 114 of a problem. Strengthening our graduate programs, initially targeting for national prominence 115 a few within each school, will require cultural change. In the end, however, Vanderbilt will 116 become known as a great research university. As this report makes clear, we have the will and 117 the capacity to achieve this goal. 118 119 Creating a New Culture of Graduate Education at Vanderbilt 120 121 Vanderbilt has an outstanding faculty, and continuing to build outstanding faculty is key to 122 enhancing graduate education and Vanderbilt’s national stature. Indeed, indices for a 123 successful graduate program are faculty scholarship and creativity, as well as the critically
153 curriculum vitae (CV) that is on par with the junior faculty we are hiring, albeit at an earlier 154 developmental stage (i.e., before any post-doctoral experience). This necessitates a shift in 155 focus, away from obtaining the actual degree. The doctoral degree is simply something 156 students receive on their way, just like a master's degree. The goal is for students to develop 157 CVs that will launch their careers. 158 159 What is the process that leads to a CV that launches a career? The literature is clear on that 160 point. It is accomplished through what Harriet Zuckerman first labeled as the multiplicative 161 effect of the accumulation of [educational] advantage. This process begins when the 162 environment detects a talented individual and then responds by providing an opportunity for 163 that individual to develop, in this case via entry into graduate school. If the individual not only 164 responds to the invitation but responds well to the challenge presented, this results in the 165 individual standing out even more. This increases the probability that even more opportunities 166 are presented to the individual. Again, if the individual responds well to them, this makes the 167 person stand out even more and further opportunities come his/her way. Thus, the cycle of 168 talent development necessary for eminence is born. It operates in an iterative and 169 multiplicative fashion, having a "snowball" effect on the person's development. 170 171 Vanderbilt's challenge, therefore, is to create opportunities in its environment that attract 172 talented students and begin the talent development process. This must be followed by 173 successive instances where students are engaged to maintain them on a steep developmental 174 path. We argue that this needs to be the guiding principle for the redesign of graduate 175 education at Vanderbilt. 176 177 Encouraging Structural and Environmental Change 178 179 A corollary to reorienting graduate education around talent development is to require change in 180 the structure of graduate education itself. We tend to be far too prescriptive at Vanderbilt. This 181 tendency possibly developed in response to too many students being perceived as weaker than
182 they should be. Yet truly talented individuals whom we will be recruiting do not want to be 183 constrained and do not require rigid structure. They chafe under such conditions. Within 184 reason, truly first-rate students need to be allowed to become active in shaping their own 185 development and afforded considerable flexibility. Thus, we need to worry less about the 186 collection of prescribed courses and credit hours required for a degree than is currently the 187 norm. Formal course-work is necessary but not sufficient for producing high quality Ph.D.s 188 (and much of that should be accomplished in the first two years). Rather, we need to place our 189 emphasis on providing individualized experiences and enhancing the scholarly apprenticeship 190 experience with the major professor(s). The apprenticeship is where formative and critical one- 191 on-one interactions take place and students develop their professional identity as well as their 192 scholarly taste, standards, and self-confidence. It is through the apprenticeship that a graduate 193 student is transformed into a colleague upon completion of graduate studies. 194 Yet, while the apprenticeship (also discussed below) is critical in shaping the future intellectual 195 leader, and it tends to be a close one-on-one relationship, the emergence of true excellence 196 requires that the whole community shape and nurture the development of its very top graduate 197 students. While being too prescriptive or program specific in our approach, Vanderbilt has, at 198 the same time, often taken a hands-off approach with its graduate students in regard to 199 mentoring. Graduate students need to take courses from or share experiences with the great 200 faculty within their domain, broadly construed, even if that means going to another department 201 or college. Moreover, departments and colleges should be aware of their "diamonds in the 202 rough," and all should be active in helping those individuals of "star potential" attain their 203 promise. It takes all of Vanderbilt's rich pool of talent to provide the opportunities that create 204 the type of graduates we seek. 205 206 Moreover, there is also a need to construct an environment where fellow graduate students play 207 an active part in the socialization process of turning a beginning student into an "intellectual 208 leader" and colleague who will begin his/her career, perhaps after a post-doc, at a peer 209 institution or another appropriate setting. In schools, it is known that peers constitute a 210 powerful force in shaping achievement behaviors, and this is certain to hold for graduate school
240 compromised. Thus, to enhance graduate education at Vanderbilt, we should consider 241 expanding the size of the faculty, especially in those program areas identified for enhancement. 242 243 Strategy: Launch a study to address the policies of the University that bear on its efforts to enhance the 244 level of faculty engagement and scholarship that is at the heart of graduate education. Some of the 245 issues to be considered are: 246 A. Criteria for promotion that recognize the different kinds of contributions and 247 achievements that will be found in the faculty that constitute the broader vision of 248 Vanderbilt, including excellence in graduate as well as undergraduate education. 249 B. Criteria for membership in the graduate faculty 250 C. Administrative policies that address the requirement for protected time for faculty to 251 pursue scholarly endeavors. 252 D. Strategies for recruiting and retaining outstanding senior scholars 253 254 Strategy: Emphasize graduate supervision when assessing faculty for promotion and in annual salary 255 reviews. A broader definition of teaching that goes beyond student ratings of performance in 256 formal courses is required. Graduate supervision and mentoring should be evaluated and 257 counted as part of teaching, using quality indices that go beyond sheer number of students 258 supervised (e.g., interviewing graduate students in their final year, inspecting and holding 259 faculty accountable for graduate students' CVs). Moreover, we should recognize that, just as 260 for scholarship, there are many ways to demonstrate excellence in teaching and that to be 261 considered an excellent teacher does not necessitate being superior in every facet of teaching. 262 Some can demonstrate excellence through graduate education, while others, for example, might 263 demonstrate their excellence in their work with undergraduates. We should not have a “one 264 size fits all” model of assessment. Also, reward faculty for producing high quality doctorates 265 with strong CVs. 266 267 Strategy: Create incentives for faculty to support their graduate students through grants and fellowships 268 in fields where this is viable. Many faculty would prefer hiring a post-doctoral fellow rather than
269 support two graduate students, believing that a post-doc helps advance their own research and 270 careers more. This, at times, has a negative effect on graduate education and Vanderbilt's 271 ability to elevate its national standing. To be clear, we realize that post-docs contribute to the 272 intellectual community and are a critical element in the overall graduate experience. In many 273 labs they are in the best position to provide some of the needed mentoring and supervision of 274 graduate students. Faculty should be able to benefit from the contributions post-doctoral 275 fellows make. The concern arises when this strategy is taken to extremes and post-docs are 276 supported at the expense of graduate students. There needs to be a balance, and to achieve this 277 balance we must ensure adequate incentives for faculty to do their part in supporting graduate 278 students through grants. 279 280 Strategy: Conduct annual evaluations of graduate student progress. At least once a year graduate 281 students need to be evaluated by the whole faculty or a group broadly representative of the 282 faculty in a program (possibly using an external member), with feedback generated to the 283 students. The evaluation should go beyond course-work and time-in-program indicators and 284 include assessment of progress in research and in their development as scholars. This must be 285 done in a way that allows assessment of students' capabilities independent of their mentor. 286 Thus, annual evaluations might include presentations by the students if they are advanced in 287 their program. Yet, it is critical that the emerging CV of each graduate student, in particular, be 288 examined annually by the faculty committee to provide recommendations for further growth. 289 If serious problems are uncovered by the evaluation, then the department chair needs to be 290 notified and appropriate action taken. Concerns and means of addressing them must be 291 communicated to the student in writing. 292 293 Strategy: Create a more flexible and distinctive curriculum. Graduate students must achieve 294 competence in their discipline and be able to connect to the field. Achieving those goals has to 295 be the guide to setting requirements. Yet, we urge faculty to provide as much flexibility as 296 possible in course selection for students and to be creative in how they count hours or package 297 courses. The fewer courses students take, the more time they have to achieve in their remaining
327 students are, thereby, enabled to create their own scholarly niche or unique set of experiences 328 that follows their passions. It allows Vanderbilt not only to recognize but to honor and 329 capitalize on the truism that there are many different avenues for obtaining success. 330 331 Strategy: Provide small research grants to graduate students. Conducting quality research requires 332 money. Sometimes such funds can and do come from faculty grants. Yet, not all students have 333 access to such funds or, in some cases, their research does not fall within the parameters of an 334 available grant. Schools need to set up competitive funds to ensure that quality of graduate 335 student research is not compromised. 336 337 Strategy: Provide ample and varied opportunities for graduate students to develop their teaching and 338 presentation skills. In collaboration with the Center for Teaching, colleges/schools or 339 departments should be required to develop programs that prepare our graduate students to 340 become excellent teachers and communicators, particularly if their career objectives fall within 341 academia. 342 343 Strategy: Encourage students to apply for fellowships and other grants and support them in doing so. A 344 funded fellowship is not only prestigious but allows the student to focus more on his/her 345 scholarship. Even obtaining a simple travel grant is a CV-enhancing activity and promotes 346 student development. Yet, regardless of actual success, the experience of applying for grants is 347 itself educational. Support structures need to be developed, therefore, within each department 348 to assist students in this process and to encourage this expectation. Moreover, preparing a 349 research grant proposal may be an effective project for a graduate class, perhaps more than 350 writing a paper on some specified topic. 351 352 Strategy: Promote more conference participation among graduate students. Attending and 353 participating in conferences is especially valuable for inducting graduate students into their 354 professional career. Presenting papers or posters is especially beneficial and, thus, more 355 support for such activities must be provided. And, for beginning students, participation in key
356 conferences is critical in shaping their professional identity and enthusiasm. It makes them feel 357 part of a bigger agenda or mission. It also helps set high expectations and standards. Thus, 358 funds for travel should not be limited to students who make presentations as that precludes all 359 beginning students, some of the very people who need to learn how presentations are offered in 360 situ. Programs and schools should build such funds into their budgets. 361 362 Strategy: Accommodate the reality that a Ph.D. degree stopped being a 4-year process many years ago. 363 Schools need to provide guaranteed 5-year assistantships (if a person enters with only a 364 bachelor’s degree), with opportunities for a 6th year of support. 365 366 Strategy: Include components that support graduate education in the interdisciplinary research efforts 367 funded by the Vanderbilt Academic Venture Capital Fund. Each interdisciplinary research center 368 provides a rich intellectual community in which to immerse graduate students and educate 369 them. Centers should be accountable for capitalizing on this. Thus, funds within these centers 370 need to be dedicated in part to graduate education and specific plans developed for insuring 371 that this investment in faculty research also enhances graduate education. 372 373 Strategy: Diversify and internationalize the scope and content of graduate course-work and research 374 training opportunities. Recognizing that we live in a global society, many students need 375 exposure and in-depth experiences that include other cultures and societies. (1) Students need 376 access to funds to enable them to present at international conferences and (2) to conduct 377 research in international settings, possibly through partnerships that involve field schools in 378 some disciplines or internships in international labs in other disciplines. (3) Bringing 379 international conferences, faculty, or students to Vanderbilt is another mechanism. And, (4) to 380 diversify the graduate experience, we recommend the establishment of several honorary 381 distinguished visiting professorships to bring outstanding minority professionals to campus for 382 one semester or a year during which time they could lead seminars or involve graduate 383 students in their research. 384
413 Strategy: Target selected programs for enhancement. While we can do much to change the culture 414 of graduate education throughout Vanderbilt University, progress in elevating the stature of 415 Vanderbilt's graduate education programs also should be done through a selective process 416 within each school. That is, the goal is to raise both the mean and "lift the top" in graduate 417 education. Resources, after all, are insufficient within schools or even across schools to invest in 418 all graduate education programs simultaneously and expect a large rise in quality. In the 419 selected areas chosen for emphasis—those areas where we already have considerable strength, 420 capacity, and mission alignment, the goal is to become world-class. We must acknowledge, 421 however, that for some areas, the aim will be to refocus the department and leverage the 422 strength of selected programs in order to allow excellence in graduate education to develop. 423 Thus, for those graduate programs that are to be de-emphasized, deans need to work with their 424 affected faculty to develop strategies for ensuring access to graduate students. Emerging 425 interdisciplinary research programs may serve as a venue for such access. 426 427 Strategy: Develop compelling answers to the prospective student's question, "Why should I study at 428 Vanderbilt?" Every graduate program should be capable of answering this question in a manner 429 that reflects the reality and aspirations of the program. 430 431 Strategy: Create a communications plan that elevates the standing and visibility of graduate education at 432 Vanderbilt. Inspection of current communication efforts at Vanderbilt (e.g., the Register , Web- 433 pages) yields few examples of where graduate students and graduate education are the focus. 434 Graduate education is almost invisible. That needs to be corrected. And, we need to do a better 435 job of showcasing how research can make a difference. 436 437 Apprenticeship: Mentoring Graduate Students to Unlock their Creative Potential 438 439 Potentially the most formative experience during graduate school for a future intellectual leader 440 is the close relationship that often develops between a graduate student and a mentor (or 441 mentors) within the apprenticeship portion of graduate education. The significance of this
442 relationship is captured in the frequent reference to the mentor(s) in graduate school, typically 443 the major professor is primary, as the individual's academic or professional parent (or parents). 444 No other mentoring relationship (and eminent individuals often have several in the course of a 445 lifetime) has the potential to be as deep, as lasting, or as important as this first one. Indeed, 446 when this relationship goes awry or is absent, there are negative impacts on the student's 447 development, and eminence becomes much harder to achieve. 448 Through the apprenticeship and mentoring received in the research training environment, 449 graduate students develop their scientific tastes—a preferred methodology; a particular 450 theoretical or conceptual lens; a characteristic form of argument; one's values, standards, and 451 scholarly ethics; and other research related outcomes. Through the apprenticeship, graduate 452 students experiment with and eventually acquire their initial professional identity, which 453 matures over a lifetime. 454 455 Because the mentoring role is so important, it is useful to define concretely the functions a 456 mentor fulfills. The mentor facilitates the process of accumulating educational and career 457 advantage, serving as a role model, providing support, direction, and feedback to graduate 458 students regarding career plans, publication opportunities, and interpersonal development. To 459 be more specific, the career functions that a mentor provides, as delineated by Noe (1988) 460 include: nominating or identifying the protégé for desirable projects or assignments such as 461 writing chapters, journal articles, or conference participation and helping them learn and 462 benefit from the experience (i.e., sponsorship); providing the protégé with assignments that 463 increase visibility to decision-makers and exposing them to future opportunities; sharing ideas, 464 providing feedback, and suggesting strategies for accomplishing research objectives and 465 publication goals (i.e., coaching); reducing unnecessary risks that might threaten the protégé's 466 reputation (i.e., protection); and providing challenging research assignments and opening the 467 door to publication (i.e., challenge and setting expectations). 468 469 Yet not all functions of a mentor fall in the realm of career advancement. There are also some 470 specific psychosocial functions of a graduate mentor—to enhance the protégé's sense of
499 follow their passions and should be empowered to seek mentoring relationships that provide 500 positive benefits. Doing otherwise is counter-productive. 501 502 Strategy: Reward faculty for their mentoring of graduate students. Promotions and salary increases 503 should be partially based on a faculty member's engagement and performance in mentoring. 504 This can be judged through exit interviews, surveys, and performance of graduate students 505 (e.g., their CV at graduation and placement). We should reward as many of the specific 506 mentoring functions, delineated in the above narrative, as possible. 507 508 Strategy: Create an Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring. While Vanderbilt has awards to 509 recognize excellence in research and in teaching (usually limited to classroom teaching), there 510 are no awards that specifically recognize excellence in mentoring. The individuals thus 511 recognized should be drawn upon to develop programs of professional development to faculty 512 in the area of graduate mentoring. 513 514 Strategy: Create training programs for faculty to help them become excellent mentors. By drawing 515 upon the talents of faculty who are excellent graduate mentors, we will expand the sphere of 516 excellence in graduate mentoring through, for example, graduate mentoring circles, roundtables 517 with DGSs, and training of junior faculty. Professional development opportunities should be 518 made widely available and participation strongly encouraged. At minimum, faculty need to 519 learn what are the functions served by successful mentors and, then be given the necessary 520 supports to adopt these functions in their interactions with graduate students. 521 522 Strategy: Strongly encourage self-assessment by graduate programs, using available measures, to learn 523 how well they are fulfilling their role in mentoring graduate students. There are instruments available 524 to assess advisor-advisee or mentoring relationships that could be adapted for use (Noe, 1988; 525 Schlosser & Gelso, 2001). We recommend only that information be obtained by deans on a 526 department's or program's overall performance, not the performance of individual faculty
527 members. Whether departments/programs subsequently take the assessment down to the 528 faculty level is a matter of choice. 529 530 Strategy: Ask graduate programs to ensure that a strong apprenticeship experience is a critical 531 component of each department's graduate experience. In some programs, the apprenticeship, which 532 provides the research training environment, is too short or compromised in some other way to 533 serve its scholar-forming function. As well, relevant support structures, facilities, or equipment 534 may not be available to provide a rich research training experience and for the full benefits of 535 apprenticeship to emerge. Alternatively, graduate students may be spread too thin, with 536 competing demands that make them unable to benefit fully from the apprenticeship. 537 538 Strategy: Ask the director of graduate studies to foster quality graduate mentoring and to serve as a back- 539 up mentor in each department. DGSs need to visit with graduate students on a regular basis and 540 should function as the go-to-person if there is a serious problem with a mentor, classes, etc. 541 Department chairs or deans need to empower DGSs by giving them sufficient autonomy and 542 authority. As well, DGSs need to meet on a regular basis, within excellence circles, to share 543 ideas and concerns and to ensure the development of high quality programs. They need to be 544 the central figures in ensuring that quality mentoring occurs in their programs. Mentor award 545 winners could be useful contributors to and facilitators of such meetings. 546 547 Strategy: Focus the apprenticeship on the experiences necessary to launch a career. The mentor and 548 protégé should focus on customizing research training experiences and developing a record of 549 accomplishments, as captured in a CV, which will enable the protégé to launch a successful 550 career in the direction of his or her dreams. 551 552 Strategy: Separate the creation of a dissertation and associated advisement from the dissertation 553 evaluation. In some universities, the dissertation committee is not known until the end of the 554 program. At other universities, it is required that the committee has not worked with the 555 student at all. We believe that, while the committee working with the student to develop a
