By Dr. James Mackin
Over the last several decades, although the percentage of total college enrollment attributable to underrepresented minorities has been rising steadily in the United States, the percentage of underrepresented minorities among the professoriate has remained relatively stagnant. Currently, the percentage of underrepresented minority faculty at four-year colleges and universities is less than half the percentage of underrepresented minority undergraduates and about a third of the percentage of underrepresented minorities in the U.S. population. Further, the percentage of underrepresented minorities decreases as faculty move up the ranks from assistant to associate to full professor.
Studies have shown that underrepresented minority faculty have positive direct and indirect impacts on student outcomes . For example, in a survey of higher education institutions across the country conducted by the Bernard Hodes Group, 92% of minority students and 86% of non-minority students replied “yes” to the question of whether or not minority professors had a positive impact on their educational experiences. This clearly indicates that a diverse professoriate is good for all students, not just underrepresented minorities.
One of the biggest barriers to recruitment of diverse faculty that I have faced as an administrator was the proliferation of myths related to the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty. Common myths are as follows:
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- Elite private institutions that can afford to pay higher than average salaries are getting all the underrepresented faculty candidates. In fact, the data show that there is no relationship between the diversity of the faculty at an institution and the institution’s wealth. To further emphasize the point, about 50% of all African American faculty in the U.S. are employed at historically black institutions, which tend not to be the richest of institutions.
- Underrepresented faculty are not interested in us because of our geographic location. While it is true that geography does play a role in determining faculty diversity at an institution, many institutions that do not seem to have any advantages from the standpoint of geographical location are experiencing success in attracting underrepresented minority faculty to their campuses.
- No amount of focused effort will make a difference in attracting underrepresented minority faculty candidates to the campus. In fact, the data show that institutions that engage in systematic and purposeful underrepresented minority faculty recruitment efforts are successful in diversifying their faculty.
The bottom line is that the data are consistent with the notion that underrepresented minority faculty are attracted to campuses for the same reasons as majority faculty. If a campus is purposefully reaching out to prospective underrepresented faculty, chances are the campus will be successful in recruiting these prospects regardless of any perceived recruitment advantages or disadvantages the institution might have.
References
Bernard Hodes Group, PhD Project: Student Survey Report (2008), http://www.phdproject.org/en/news-events/~/media/Sites/PhDProject/news/Students_Report_6-9-08.pdf, Hodes Research.
Does Diversity Make a Difference? Three Research Studies on Diversity in College Classrooms (2000), American Council on Education and American Association of University Professors, Washington, DC.
Espinosa, Lorelle L., Jonathan M. Turk, Morgan Taylor, and Hollie M. Chessman (2019) Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
Kim, Y.M. (2011) Minorities in Higher Education Status Report, Twenty-Fourth Status Report, American Council on Education, Washington, DC.
Mackin, J.E., Wright, I. and Wislock, R. (2008) Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Faculty, Staff and Students at a Traditionally White, Rural Institution of Higher Education, 21st Annual Conference on Race and Ethnicity, Orlando, FL.
Smith, C.G., Sotello Viernes Turner, C., Osei-Kofi, N., and Richards, S. (2004) Interrupting the Usual: Successful Strategies for Recruiting Diverse Faculty, The Journal of Higher Education, Volume 75, Number 2, March/April.
University Leadership Council (2008) Breakthrough Advances in Faculty Diversity: Lessons and Innovative Practices from the Frontier, The Advisory Board Company, Washington, DC.