Achieving Faculty Diversity: Straight Talk from the Frontline About What Works
Myra Gordon, Ph.D. Associate Provost Kansas State University
All rights to this presentation are reserved. For further information, contact Dr. Myra Gordon at mygordon@ksu.edu or 785-532-6276.
Trends in Faculty Make-Up (Percentages)
19721 M F 88.6 21.4 19891 71.7 28.3 19972 65.09 34.91 19993 62.5 37.5
W
B As NA
95.0
1.3 1.3 0.7
90.9
2.1 2.1 0.8
84.44
4.91 4.91 0.37
85.6
5.1 5.1 0.4
H
1
0.4
1.2
2.6
2.9
All institutions (Milem & Astin, 1993), entire population of college and university teaching faculty 2 Full-time faculty in degree-granting, post-secondary institutions, ranked as lecturers, instructors, assistant professors, associate professors, and professors. Category of “other faculty” was omitted. (Chronicle of Higher Education, 2000) 3 Full-Time Faculty in Higher Education by Race, Ethnicity and Gender (Minorities in Higher Education, 2003)
The Traditional Culture of Faculty Hiring on Predominately White University Campuses
Faculty rule Privileged activity Closed activity Little accountability Narrow faculty allegiances Faculty unaware of their biases Faculty searching for “God on a Good Day”
Preparation for the Pilot Project on Revised Faculty Hiring Procedures
Reviewed all institutional data on diversity issues Observed how faculty searches were run Reviewed existing hiring policies, procedures, and paperwork Reviewed the literature for best practices
Compared best practices to existing practices Re-wrote the procedures Revised the paperwork Created the concept of hiring as a partnership vs. a privilege Designed and implemented a retreat for department heads Created the Dean’s Office Review Team Wrote a charging script for search
committees
What Works In Faculty Diversification
Having committed, involved, and savvy leadership at the dean’s level works Introducing accountability at the dean’s level works Thoughtfully structuring search committees works Carefully writing position descriptions works
Really and continually searching for diverse applicants works Fair evaluation of candidates works Running a first class campus visit works Using profiles of excellence rather than rankings works
Benefits Associated with Having More Diverse Faculty
Building new relationships Getting positive spokespersons out there Opportunities to increase the cultural competence of extant faculty Addressing bias and stereotypical thinking
Expansions to curriculum More active methods in pedagogy New directions in research Better ability to plan for the future More role-models for all students