A Review and Study on Graduate Training and Academic Hiring of Chemists

• Published in: Journal of chemical education Vol. 84; no. 2; pp. 277 - 284
• Main Authors: Kuck, Valerie J, Marzabadi, Cecilia H, Buckner, Janine P, Nolan, Susan A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Easton Division of Chemical Education 01-02-2007; Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society; American Chemical Society
• Subjects: Academic degrees; Career Choice; Chemistry; Chemists; College professors; Colleges & universities; Females; Graduate schools; Graduate studies; Graduate Study; Higher education; Hiring; Organic chemistry; Personnel Selection; Research facilities; Research programs; Social conditions & trends; Women; Women Faculty; Chemical Education Research; Administrative Issues; Graduate Education / Research
• ISSN: 0021-9584; 1938-1328
• DOI: 10.1021/ed084p277

For the last thirty years there has been a consistent growth in the percentage of doctorates earned by women in chemistry. However, hiring by the top research universities has not paralleled this trend. Identification of the dissertation advisors of the tenured and tenure-track faculty members in 2001 at the top-50 chemistry departments as ranked by the National Research Council (NRC-50) shows that no advisor had more than two female students that later became faculty members at a NRC-50 department. Fifty-four professors, all of whom were male, were found to have trained three or more future faculty members and forty-six percent of these advisors (25/54) did not have one former female student holding a NRC-50 faculty position. Reasons for the low representation of women on research faculties are explored and recommendations are made for actions that would improve the graduate school environment and increase the number of female faculty members.