12. Establish recruitment and retention initiatives that address racial and ethnic diversity among university faculty and staff [i]

Recruitment 09.19.24

Here’s what the federal government can do:

  • Congress should request a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to study the effectiveness of recruitment and retention strategies dedicated to diversifying campus faculty and staff.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should collect, conduct, and disseminate research on best practices on the hiring and retention of underrepresented faculty and staff at private and public higher education institutions.
  • The Department of Education and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission should implement the recommendations of GAO’s March 2024 study on employment discrimination in higher education.

Here’s what state government can do:

  • State legislatures should set aspirational benchmarks to reflect the state’s demographics in postsecondary faculty and staff.
  • State legislatures should fund strategies for the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff.
  • State legislatures should require higher education institutions to establish diversity statements in their hiring practices for faculty and staff.
  • Higher education coordinating agencies and board of trustees should set aspirational goals for faculty and staff diversity across state systems of higher education.
  • Higher education coordinating agencies should facilitate the sharing of best practices across colleges and universities.
  • State higher education coordinating agencies should make information about faculty and staff diversity publicly available for prospective students.

Here’s what institutional leaders can do:

  • Higher education institutions should build and strengthen their recruitment initiatives to diversify university faculty and staff.
  • Higher education institutions should create more tenure track positions and pathways to tenure track positions, such as postdoctoral fellowships.
  • Higher education institutions should revise their policies and norms to achieve pay equity.
  • Higher education institutions should ensure that faculty are compensated and supported for their service work.

Students deserve to see themselves reflected through a diverse learning environment and to be prepared to thrive in an interconnected world. Higher education institutions should ensure that their institutional policies recruit, support, and retain underrepresented faculty.

A community of diverse faculty and staff in higher education reflects the broader tapestry of society and supports the learning of all students in higher education. Faculty and staff who are of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+, bring a wealth of strengths, perspectives, and experiences that enrich college campuses. Many students of color consider faculty of color as mentors and role models, often looking to them for guidance and support. Moreover, faculty diversity and a sense of belonging are key contributors to student success and positively support the overall graduation rate of students of color.[ii]

Despite these benefits, people of color are underrepresented in faculty and staff positions in postsecondary education. Only 12 percent of faculty and staff in higher education are Asian American, 6 percent are Black, 6 percent are Latino, and less than half a percent are Native American<[iii]

[i]Horecky Stout, Rebecca; Cross, David Cross; & Carman, Carol. “The Relationship between Faculty Diversity and Graduation Rates in Higher Education,” Intercultural Education, March 2018. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323950393_The_relationship_between_faculty_diversity_and_graduation_rates_in_higher_education.

[ii]“Fast Facts Tool Provides Quick Answers to Many Education Questions,” U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=61.

[iii]Smith, Clint. “Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income Students That They Do Not Belong,” The Atlantic, October 18, 2019. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/03/privileged-poor-navigating-elite-university-life/585100/.