Black Male Professors and Researchers Collective (BMPRC) Initiative

"The absence of Black male professionals in higher education poses a serious challenge to diversity and social justice in colleges and universities."

Claudine Turner and Liz Grauerholz, 2017

What is the Black Male Professors and Researchers Collective (BMPRC) Initiative?

The BMPRC initiative is a hub to connect Black male doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, professors, and researchers with each other. Many Black men are often one of the few Black doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors in their respective department or field. The Collective aims to minimize the isolation that can result from the Only Black Male phenomenon.

Why was the Collective Created?

In 2019, 5.6 percent of all doctoral degree were earned by Blacks. Black men made up only 35.7 percent of all Black doctorate awardees. This gender gap in African American doctoral degree awards has remained steady over the past decade. Consequently, there are few Black professors.

The BMPRC initiative aims to help address the gender gap by (1) introducing young Black men to the benefits of doctoral education and (2) encouraging them to pursue doctoral studies by connecting them with experienced Black male scholars, professors, and researchers.