William F. Tate sees his new appointment as dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and vice provost for graduate education at Washington University as indicative of the university’s commitment to diversity – and not only because he himself is African-American.
“My selection suggests a serious commitment to these issues, since this is what my research has been about for the last 20 years – trying to open up the pipeline, to continue to push and be better than we are right now,” he said.
Tate, who holds a doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Maryland, College Park and most recently chaired Washington University’s Department of Education, said he considers himself “an urbanist.”
“In the most simple terms, I try to figure out what is wrong with urban education and try to fix it,” he said.
His research and teaching have addressed disparities in fields other than education. He holds academic appointments in American Culture Studies, Urban Studies, and African and African-American Studies, as well as in the Institute for Public Health.
“I look at social determinants of science and math attainment and what happens with people, and the social determinants of health outcomes, and then try to work with different groups to intervene so that people who did not have an opportunity, because of social parameters, may have an opportunity to do better,” he said.
Many of the “social parameters” that determine opportunities and outcomes for people in the United States, as research by Tate and countless others has shown, are based in race and the legacy of racial discrimination. So much of his research has been dedicated to improving the educational and health outcomes of African Americans. That is the kind of specialist that Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton, Provost Holden Thorp and Dean Barbara A. Schaal decided they want to oversee all of their graduate programs.
“I share the chancellor’s, provost’s and dean’s desire to make sure we create opportunities for students who are African-American – or of any background, or who may not have the financial wherewithal – to participate in graduate study,” Tate said.
In fact, Tate was appointed to an expanded version of the position, which now includes all graduate students on the Danforth Campus, as well as those pursuing a PhD at the schools of medicine, business, social work, and engineering & applied science. He has personal knowledge of the graduate experience at Washington University, having earned a master’s degree in psychiatric epidemiology from the School of Medicine in 2011.
The university has more than 1,800 graduate students enrolled in more than 50 programs leading to the PhD and in 19 programs leading to master’s degrees.
About 3 percent of Washington University’s graduate students are non-international African-American, according to the university. About 6.5 percent of the graduate student body is a non-international minority (black, Hispanic, Native American or multi-racial minority).
Diversifying those ranks is on Tate’s agenda.
“I want to help the university bring the best talent we can bring to graduate education, and that includes looking for outstanding African-American students who might be interested in matriculating here,” he said.
Tate said he also embraces the symbolic value of being an African-American male who now oversees graduation education at one of the nation’s elite research institutions.
“To the extent to which I can provide an example for others to aspire to participate at a high level in the research and discovery process at a world-class university, it’s an honor,” he said.
“The feedback I have been getting from some friends and colleagues is that it sets an example that others might aspire to lead in the research and discovery process. I embrace that. I never shied away from that.”
Tate added a recruiting note, for talented students from the St. Louis area who might not have considered returning home for their graduate study.
“This is an exciting time to be involved with discovery and research as linked to the human condition,” he said. “I hope that bright and talented African-American students from the community will consider Washington University.”
He also understands the value of keeping some of these talented people in St. Louis once they complete their graduate studies, even if that is not necessarily an institutional mandate.
“It’s really the broader community’s job to figure out how to keep our people here, universities don’t do that,” he said. “Many people who come here for graduate study may get involved in industry right here, and that’s a positive thing.”
Building partnerships with area businesses does fall into his new purview, and those partnerships are likely to result in St. Louis retaining more of the graduate students that Washington University educates.
“Our graduate schools have to have partnerships – that’s a big deal. When a company decides it wants to fund the studies of graduate students, then there will be opportunities for those students to work, say, in plant science and have a greater chance of staying here,” he said.
“Part of my job is to build those partnerships, which means more of our graduate students will have an opportunity to stay. That’s why partnerships between the university and the business community are so important. That strengthens the safety net that keeps talented people in St. Louis.”
