Post on 28-Dec-2015
Leading Change: Recruiting, Hiring and Retaining a Diverse Professoriate
SESSION BB Sponsored by: Committee on Cultural Diversity
Recruiting, hiring, and retaining African American, Latino, Asian and Native American (AALANA) faculty at a predominantly white institution requires building a systemic commitment to change. It is an active process that requires sustained attention at multiple levels of the university, from the faculty and staff of academic units to the President and Board of Trustees. So, what role can the college play in developing sustainable programs within departments? In cultivating and maintaining faculty support? In acting affirmatively and avoiding unconscious discrimination throughout the search and hire process? In assuring accountability and assessing effectiveness of program? The panelists will share practical tips that address these issues based on their experiences and hiring practices at their respective institutions.
Presiding: Tom Otieno, Co-Chair, CCAS Committee on Cultural Diversity, Eastern Kentucky University
Panelists: Trudy Cobb Dennard, MFA, Towson University, College of Fine Arts & Communication
Sam Oleka, Ph. D., College of Arts, Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies (CASSIS), Kentucky State University
John R. D. Stalvey, Ph.D., College of Arts and Sciences, Kent State University
Hiring Affirmatively:A Dean’s Point of View
Sam Oleka, Ph.D. Professor & Dean
Kentucky State University
• Chartered 1816 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons
• Smallest of Kentucky’s State Universities– 2800 students– Approximately 150 full-time faculty– 15:1 faculty ratio
Student Faculty Composition
Students Faculty73% full time 30% African-American27% part time 55% White
5% Asian65% residents of Kentucky 10% other[1]35% non-Kentucky residents59% African American28% white13% other
[1] Kentucky State University Catalogue 2009-2010 pg.5
Putting our House in Order
• Justification for new hire• Advertising• Prepare unit for search• Set-up search committee• Establish time-table for search
– Don’t Wait too Late!!!
Searching in the Right Places
• Advertise in strategic bulletins, journals and academic publications
• Attend relevant conferences that focus on minority scholars
So You have Candidates…Now What
• Give Clear directions to the search committee– Required –vs- Preferred credentials– Diversity in the pool a must– Commitment to diversity required
You’re Hired – You’re not done!
• Probationary Period and Mentoring• New Faculty Orientation
– Credit toward tenure / Early tenure– Evaluation Standards– The importance of the Dossier
Conclusions // Suggestions
1. Leadership commitment to diversity2. Systemic commitment to diversity3. Commitment to pay for diversity4. Diversity in Advertising - don’t just stick with the
Chronicle! Attend relevant conferences.5. Don’t delay the start of your search.6. Communicate clear expectations to candidates7. Educate and mentor new hires
Strategies for Diversifying Our Applicant Pools
Trudy Cobb Dennard, Associate DeanCollege of Fine Arts & Communication
Towson Universitytcobb@towson.edu
College of Fine Arts & Communication
• Departments of– Art + Design, Art History, Art Education– Dance– Electronic Media and Film– Mass Communication & Communication Studies– Music– Theatre ArtsNearly 3500 studentsTowson University nearly 22,000 students
Results Since 2005
• 42 new hires– 1 Hispanic female– 1 African-American female– 3 Asian females– 1 Asian male2004-05 93 FT faculty2010-11110 FT faculty
Process
• Reviewed Support and Search Materials• Developed a check list of steps from search
initiation through completion (see packet)• Developed a college search workbook• Provide a workshop to all search committee
chairs
Support
• Associate Dean available for questions throughout the search
• Special Assistant to the President for Diversity and Equal Opportunity responds to questions from the college with immediacy
• Everyone responds to steps requiring approval with immediacy, as possible
• College is receptive to suggested revisions for workbook content
Acknowledgement
• Everyone working on a search committee is engaged in important service for the future of the academic community
• Thank the committee members and especially the committee chairs during the process, not just at the conclusion
T Cobb Dennard, CCAS 2010, NOLA
College of Arts & Sciences
Chance Favors the Prepared Mind, But It Doesn’t Favor Diversity
Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences
November 13, 2010
Benefits of a Diverse Faculty
Expose colleagues and students to a wider range of scholarly perspectives and to knowledge attained through different life experiences
Produce graduates who understand the value that diverse points of view bring to solving complex problems
Provide mentors for a diverse student body at both the undergraduate and graduate level
Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
From: Diversity Web, www.diversityweb.org
College of Arts & Sciences
“Effort to diversify faculty must be driven by active and visible commitment at most senior levels of university administration, including president, provost, and deans: universities that have dramatically increased their faculty diversity have done so through conscious, active planning and commitment to uncommon results.”
In: Breakthrough Advances in Faculty Diversity, a publication from the Education Advisory Board, Washington, D. C.
Strategies to Diversify the Faculty
College of Arts & Sciences
Efforts at Kent State University to Diversify the FacultyThe President and Board of Trustees have led the way:
by making explicit the Universities commitment to Inclusive Excellence.
by establishing the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) led by a Vice President in the President’s Cabinet.
The College of Arts and Sciences:
by collaborating with DEI to educate search committees.
by working with DEI to develop a pipeline of candidates for future faculty searches.
The departments:by making connections with possible applicants at professional conferences and contacting people when searches open.
College of Arts & Sciences
Efforts by Departments to Diversify the Faculty
The personal touch:
Biological Sciences
First African American faculty in the sciences at Kent State University and highest proportion of AALANA faculty in the sciences
Sociology
Highest proportion of African American faculty in social sciences at Kent State University
College of Arts & Sciences
Efforts to Diversify the Faculty
Diversity Report for faculty 2002-2009 at Kent State University:
From 2002 to 2009, AALANA faculty comprised from 6.3% to 7.3% of KSU full time faculty, whereas nationally AALANA faculty rose from 9.0% to 9.6% form 2003 to 2007
During that period an average of 9.9% of the new hires at KSU each year were AALANA faculty
The average faculty retention rate was 92% AALANA faculty and 95% for white faculty
College of Arts & Sciences
Efforts to Diversify the Faculty
Diversity Report for New Faculty Hires AY 2009-2010 at Kent State University:
AALANA populations comprise approximately 38.7% of the US population in 2009
Only 15.9 % of the applicant pool at KSU for AY 2009 – 2010 self identified as AALANA
The percentage of new faculty positions filled by AALANA candidates was only 6.2%
College of Arts & Sciences
Efforts by the College to Diversify the Faculty
Partnering with the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Develop a University wide data base of prospective AALANA candidates currently in doctoral or postdoctoral training
Make discussion about ways to encourage diverse candidate pools a part of a search committee’s charge
Pilot a project to address the influence of unexamined biases on a search committee
Develop a webinar to address unexamined biases
College of Arts & Sciences