Results of the FY 2017 Compact Process for CLA

In the spring I provided an update on the fiscal year 2017 Compact process, which was preceded by an overview of the fiscal year 2016 Compact process. If terms like "reallocation pools" do not immediately stir your heart, you may want to refer to one or both of the previous posts as background.

Now, with the third time a charm, here are the results of this year's process.

Enhanced support for improving diversity in graduate student recruitment

The college provided additional support to assist departments in graduate student recruitment in 2015-16. First, starting fall 2016, recipients of university DOVE fellowships receive a supplemental Beverly and Richard Fink First Year Fellowship to bring the stipend to the level of the CLA Graduate Fellowship. Second, the college provides four years of guaranteed summer support at $4000 per year (2 years for MFA) through the Beverly and Richard Fink Summer Fellowship. We thank the Fink family for their generous support of our Roadmap goal of increasing diversity and inclusion in the college and fostering research and creative excellence. Third, with additional one-time funds from the Provost’s office, we were able to provide DOVE recipients with a research, creative activity, and travel award fund. These efforts helped boost our acceptance rate among DOVE recipients to 73%. The average the preceding six years was 54%. CLA also provides a $4000 first-year fellowship to students nominated for a DOVE fellowship but who were not awarded one. The increase in our CLA base stipend to $17,500 likely also improved our acceptance rate. Thanks to Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs Alex Rothman for his leadership on these initiatives.