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Bait and Switch: Representation, Climate, and Tensions of Diversity Work in Graduate Education
- The Review of Higher Education
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 42, Supplement 2019
- pp. 255-286
- 10.1353/rhe.2019.0052
- Article
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Abstract:
We present findings from a case study of a psychology department that has graduated a significantly higher share of underrepresented doctoral students than national averages for its discipline. Using the campus racial climate framework, we found that organizational/structural diversity initiatives (recruitment and admissions practices), presented a positive image of the department's commitment to diversity to prospective students that diverged considerably from the climate and mentoring relationships students experienced once they matriculated. We compared this to a "bait and switch" phenomenon and considered the consequences for students' success and wellbeing, as well as the ability to sustain diverse student enrollment.