DIY/DEI: Diversifying faculty in higher education
September 27, 2023
Advocates and allies are essential to promoting a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education and beyond. For many, there is a new awareness of issues associated with DEI and a growing desire to learn and engage. To support your efforts, the NC State University Libraries and the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity have created a curated list of resources to inform your inquiry, introspection, and engagement with this topic. Engaging with these resources will provide you with an opportunity to explore DEI and develop your narrative and understanding.
This month's featured topic: Diversifying faculty in higher education
One can’t overstate the importance of diversifying faculty in higher education. A diverse faculty not only enhances the educational experience for students but also provides numerous benefits to the institution as a whole. A diverse faculty creates a more inclusive environment for students from underrepresented groups. When students see faculty members who share their background, culture, or experiences, they are more likely to feel supported and connected to the institution. This can lead to higher retention rates and a more positive campus climate.
Diversifying faculty brings a wider range of perspectives and experiences to the classroom. This enriches the educational experience for all students, as they are exposed to a variety of viewpoints and ideas. A diverse faculty also brings new research interests and areas of expertise which can lead to a more innovative and dynamic institution.
This list has been curated by Tarida Anantachai and Jai Jackson.
Past DIY/DEI resource lists can be found here. To suggest a future topic for DIY/DEI, please send your topic idea to oied-communications@ncsu.edu.
Books
Doing Diversity in Higher Education: Faculty Leaders Share Challenges and Strategies. Winnifred R. Brown-Glaude, 2008. Ebook.
The power of professors to enhance diversity has long been underestimated and their initiatives often hidden from view. Winnifred Brown-Glaude and her contributors uncover major themes and offer faculty and administrators a blueprint for conquering issues facing campuses across the country. Topics include how to dismantle hostile microclimates, sustain and enhance accomplishments, deal with incomplete institutionalization and collaborate with administrators.
Academic Pipeline Programs: Diversifying Pathways from the Bachelor's to the Professoriate. Curtis D. Byrd and Rihana S. Mason, 2021. Ebook.
Academic pipeline programs are critical to effectively support the steady increase of diverse students entering the academy. Academic Pipeline Programs describes best practices of successful academic government and privately funded pre-collegiate, collegiate, graduate and postdoctoral/faculty development pipeline programs.
Building Gender Equity in the Academy: Institutional Strategies for Change. Sandra Laursen and Ann E. Austin, 2020. Ebook.
Grounded in scholarship but written for busy institutional leaders, Building Gender Equity in the Academy is a handbook of actionable strategies for faculty and administrators working to improve the inclusion and visibility of women and others who are marginalized in the sciences and in academe more broadly.
Seeking Solutions: Maximizing American Talent by Advancing Women of Color in Academia: Summary of a Conference. Karin Matchett, 2013. Ebook.
The summary of a 2013 conference convened by the Committee on Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine of the National Research Council to discuss the current status of women of color in academia and explore the challenges and successful initiatives for creating the institutional changes required to increase representation of women of color at all levels of the academic workforce.
Faculty of Color Navigating Higher Education. Karen Harris Brown, Patricia Alvarez McHatton, and Michelle Frazier Trotman Scott, 2017. Ebook.
What are the experiences of faculty of color at traditionally white institutions (TWIs) of higher education (IHE)? In what ways do faculty of color at TWIs of IHE cope with/handle struggles/defeats and successes in the workplace? In what ways can college/university administrators and colleagues support and retain faculty of color? This book seeks to answer these questions and address issues of recruitment, retention, and support of faculty members of color.
Diversity and Motivation: Culturally Responsive Teaching in College. Margery B. Ginsberg and Raymond J. Wlodkowski, 2009. Book.
Diversity and Motivation includes resources to help educators create a supportive community of learners, facilitate equitable discussions in linguistically diverse classrooms, design engaging lessons, and assess students fairly. The ideas in this book apply across disciplines and include teaching practices that can be easily adapted to a range of postsecondary settings.
Articles
“Faculty Diversity Must Accelerate, Report Says,” Colleen Flaherty.
New study finds that the U.S. academy could reach true faculty diversity within a generation, but that colleges and universities have to think bigger—and work together.
“U.S. Academia Won’t Achieve Faculty Diversity at Current Pace,” Tom Flesichman.
At the current rate of diversification, the authors claim U.S. colleges and universities will never achieve racial parity—defined as parity in the U.S. professoriate that is proportional to that of the general population. However, they claim, the academy could achieve parity by the year 2050 by increasing faculty diversification by 0.78 percentage points over the current rate of change.
“Redoubling Our Efforts: How Institutions Can Affect Faculty Diversity,” Kimberly A. Griffin.
Concerns about a lack of progress in faculty diversity are well founded. As evidenced in this volume, the numbers of underrepresented minority faculty on college and university campuses remain small and racial and ethnic diversity of the professoriate remains significantly out of alignment with the nation’s undergraduate student body. To make substantive progress, colleges and universities must innovate, test and replicate new strategies. This includes attending to the multiple ways that academic environments limit the success of talented scholars of color.
“Universities Say They Want More Diverse Faculties. So Why Is Academia Still So White?” J. Nathan Matias, Neil Lewis Jr., and Elan Hope.
Over the past decade, colleges and universities have been discussing the need to diversify their faculty. In particular, they’ve tried to increase the share of Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous faculty members, all of whom have historically been underrepresented in the faculty ranks. But despite all of the talk about increasing diversity, it does not seem like universities have made much progress—at least when it comes to the diversity of the tenure-track and tenured faculty.
Podcasts
In the Margins Episode 4: Recruitment and Retention of Diverse Faculty (29:43).
Amidst the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent Black Lives Matter movement bringing attention to the truth about injustices and inequality, many colleges and universities are working hard to achieve faculty diversity goals. But how? In this episode your host, David Pluviose, talks about proven strategies that work and tips for side stepping the challenges that inevitably arise.
Every year the student population across college campuses grows more diverse while the faculty ranks remain overwhelmingly white. In this feature episode your host David Pluviose, joins EAB’s podcast host, Rachel Tanner, to examine the problem and offer concrete steps university leaders can take to change things for the better.
In the Margins Episode 21: Best Practices in Minority Faculty Recruitment and Retention (57:09).
Recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty has been a longstanding challenge for many higher education institutions. How do we assess hiring policies and practices? How important is implicit bias training? What can we do to prevent toxic work environments?
Dr. Subramaniam and host David Pluviose talk about the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty, inclusion strategies, anti-racism and much more. Tune in to also hear her thoughts on the crucial role that leaders play in their support for equity and diversity in higher education.
In this podcast interview, your host Dr. Jamal Watson is joined by Drs. Curtis Byrd and Rihana S. Mason to talk about innovative ways to diversify the professoriate. Tune in to discover what some of the best practices are as they look at numerous initiatives that have been rolled out over the years.
This Prof Life: You're Here, But Do You Feel Like You Belong in The Academy? (25:00).
A conversation with Dr. Aerial Ellis, who shares how important it is for people of color to feel as if they belong at an institution. In other words, a person of color has been hired or included, now what does it take to retain them?
Videos
The Future of Faculty Diversity (Part 1): Graduate Student and Faculty Recruitment (60:47).
In this webinar, panelists from across the higher education spectrum discussed the importance of faculty diversity and shared thoughts on how institutions can better recruit diverse graduate students and faculty.
The Future of Faculty Diversity (Part 2): Faculty Retention (59:57).
In this webinar, SREB-DSP alumni from across the higher education spectrum discussed the importance of faculty diversity and shared thoughts on how institutions can better retain diverse graduate students and faculty.
Shattering the Silences : The Case for Minority Faculty (86:00).
Faculty of color remain less than 9.2 percent of all full professors, and minority student enrollment is dropping. In this program, eight professors of color—African-American, Latino, Native American, and Asian-American—discuss the special pressures minority faculty face in majority-white institutions.
What You Can Do to Recruit and Retain Diverse Faculty and Staff During COVID-19 (60:16).
This webinar replay offers COVID-19-specific guidelines and strategies that are geared directly to ensuring continued improvement on diversity recruitment efforts for faculty and staff. Learn how to maintain your retention strategies that support not only your diverse faculty and staff but also support the mission and values of your institution.
LinkedIn Learning
Through free Libraries access to the NC State community, LinkedIn Learning offers the following modules on this topic: