The study, which focuses on Hispanics and African Americans, finds that "the rate of Ph.D. attainment [among these two groups] remains below the representation of people of color in the doctoral age population." The study further finds that only seven percent of all doctoral recipients in 2003 were Hispanic and African American. "The fact remains that doctoral programs have made significantly less progress in diversifying than have businesses and government, or for that matter other levels of the educational system," Robert Weisbuch, the foundation's president, writes in the preface of the study. "The next generation of college students will include dramatically more students of color but their teachers will remain overwhelmingly white because a white student is three times more likely as a student of color to get the doctorate," Mr. Weisbuch continues.

At SisterMentors, our work helps provide more doctorates of color so that the girls in our program -- who are part of the next generation of students Mr. Weisbuch mentions -- will have more of an opportunity to be taught and mentored by women of color professors when they get to college. Some of SisterMentors' graduates, including recent graduates, Shona Jackson and Laura Daughtery, and Koritha Mitchell, became university professors after receiving their doctorate.

The study's recommendation to use mentoring to improve diversity among Ph.D.s is at the heart of the work we do at SisterMentors. We know that mentoring doctoral students works. The success of the SisterMentors graduates who were mentored by their peers and received one-on-one mentoring and coaching from EduSeed's Executive Director, Dr. Shireen Lewis, proves the value of mentoring.

The study also recommends that doctoral education programs form alliances with students in grades K-12 so that young students learn about opportunities for degrees. At SisterMentors, we believe that doctoral students of color and Ph.D.s are excellent role models for young people of color and are a powerful source of inspiration for young students, especially those who will be the first generation in their family to go to college. SisterMentors women of color doctoral students give back by mentoring middle and high school girls, encouraging them to stay in school, do well and go on to college. Women talk to girls about their own educational experiences including their pursuit of the doctorate. Almost all the girls in our program had never heard of a doctorate before meeting our women.

But it is not just about letting the girls know about opportunities for degrees It is also about talking to girls about perseverance. Girls are awed and inspired by our women's stories about persevering in school despite the obstacles, as they, too, begin to believe that they can achieve educational success.

The study focuses on shrinking financial support for doctoral students of color because of fear of legal challenges and cites several programs that have changed their focus from funding exclusively doctoral students of color to opening up funding to all students. At SisterMentors we know that financial support for doctoral students is important because it frees up time to make substantial progress on the dissertation. Without financial support, doctoral students must work full time jobs to support themselves and their families. This makes the pursuit of the doctorate more difficult as full time work leaves very little time to work on the dissertation and contributes to the high drop out rate, as many studies have shown.

The majority of the women in SisterMentors do not receive institutional financial support. Almost all of them work full time. However, SisterMentors is proving that mentoring alone, even without institutional funding, can be enough to help doctoral students complete their dissertations and get their doctorate. We have helped 28 women of color to get doctorates since our inception in September 1997 and expect many more SisterMentors women to get doctorates in the coming years. We are privileged to have the opportunity to help women of color fulfill their dreams.