Also read: learning events, Ask the White Guy, education, The PhD Project, DiversityInc Foundation, Rutgers Future Scholars Program

For Dr. Shalei Simms, the nation's 1,000th business-school professor from a traditionally underrepresented group, earning her Ph.D. didn't come easily. Between raising twins, commuting interstate and failing her second round of comprehensive exams, she was ready to call it quits. But after a heart-to-heart with her adviser and attending a conference held by The PhD Project, Simms gained confidence and courage and, after seven years, earned her doctoral degree in management from Rutgers University.

"I can't thank my PhD Project family enough for helping me through this pursuit," says Simms.

Why is this 1,000th Ph.D. so significant? Because 15 years ago—when The PhD Project was created by the KPMG Foundation to address the dearth of Blacks, Latinos and American Indians in management positions—there were a mere 294 doctorally qualified business Ph.D.'s in these racial/ethnic groups out of more than 26,000 nationally. By attacking this shortage at the academic level, the organization has since helped build a pipeline of business professors to encourage the next generation of management professionals, of which the majority will be Black, Latino or other races/ethnicities. By 2050, for example, Latinos alone will account for 30 percent of the work force nationally.

"We are so proud of Dr. Simms' personal accomplishments in completing the challenging journey to become a professor," says Bernard J. Milano, president of the KPMG Foundation and creator of The PhD Project. "With this milestone and the generous support of our sponsors, we are changing the face of business education forever."

Leveraging Academia

"It's very thrilling to have Dr. Simms, the 1,000th graduate … come from Rutgers – Newark, the most diverse university in America," says Rutgers - Newark Chancellor Steven J. Diner. Five of Rutgers University's current faculty members have been products of The PhD Project initiative.

Today, as a business professor at Ramapo College of New Jersey, Simms says she plans to continue to support the organization's mission and be of service to others like herself.

How will this Black, female business professor make her mark? "When you see people of culturally diverse backgrounds, of different ethnicities who have been successful in business school, that's inspirational to our students," says Ramapo College's President Peter Mercer. "We still get a lot of first-time college students here, so it's important for them to have what I call 'real' role models … It's also really important for students to see that women, particularly women of color, are right at the heart of business planning."

For many students pursuing a Ph.D. in business, the organization is often the difference between giving up and going on. "There's no project I am aware of that even comes close to addressing the level of effectiveness as The PhD Project," says Mercer. The Project encourages students from underrepresented groups to persevere by joining peer associations, sharing research papers and learning about opportunities.

"When we started, some 1.1 percent of business-school faculty [members] were minority, and now we're closing in on 'Doctor 4 percent,'" says Milano. Enrollment in doctoral business programs among Blacks, Latinos and American Indians are also on the rise, with more than 400 doctoral students from The PhD Project currently pursuing degrees.

What's more, although about one-third of people with a Ph.D. in business typically go on to work for private industry, a larger share of The PhD Project members are staying in academia. "Our data shows 99 percent of our [Ph.D. recipients] are doing what we had hoped they would do: Be role models and mentors on business-school faculty," says Milano.

Business professors such as Simms also better prepare all students for today's multicultural workplace. According to Milano, one professor can impact the lives of several thousand students over the course of his or her career.

"If you get your education among people with many, many different backgrounds, then you have the opportunity to not only understand how you would develop a business plan, how you would market a product, how you would manage labor, but how other people from different cultures would," says Diner.

How does The PhD Project encourage and support members?

National Conference: Each year, qualified candidates are invited to this two-day event in Chicago where they hear from deans, professors and current doctoral students to help them learn about what's involved and to decide if a business doctorate is right for them.

"Getting a Ph.D. means taking comprehensive exams, coming up with a dissertation, getting an adviser. But if you don't come from that background [of academia], you don't even know the rudimentary assumptions about what's needed in getting a Ph.D.," says Diner.

Doctoral Student Associations: These professional peer networks, divided by disciplines such as accounting, finance, IT, management and marketing, help members create lasting relationships with others who are facing similar challenges. As a result of such collaborative efforts, "We have a 92 percent retention rate," says Milano. Typically, the business-school retention rate is about 70 percent.

Indeed, The PhD Project is changing the business-education landscape. "The future of this country depends on young women and men of all races, ethnicities and backgrounds looking at higher education as potentially for them," says Mercer. "As a knowledge-based economy, we can't hope to be competitive worldwide unless we let everyone know that college is for them."

DiversityInc is a corporate sponsor of The PhD Project, along with universities and several diversity-management leaders on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity^® list, including lead sponsor KPMG (No. 21), Merck & Co. (No. 8), JPMorgan Chase (No. 15) and Rockwell Collins (one of DiversityInc's 25 Noteworthy Companies).