Are Faculty Role Models? Evidence from Major Choice in an Undergraduate Institution

Abstract The gap between men's and women's choice of college majors has not changed over the past two decades. One aspect of the debate surrounding their choice is the presence or absence of women and minority faculty role models who could attract female and minority students to a particular major. The authors provide new evidence using micro-data from student records, transcript records, and faculty records from the Colgate University classes of 1988–2000. The authors found role-model effects for women, minorities, and men. The proportion of classes taken with a faculty member “like-you” has a positive effect on the probability that a student will choose that major. These results support the idea that faculty members can exert a role-model effect on women and minority undergraduates.