Diversifying the professoriate: Designing systems to interrupt inequality

Abstract

Despite the clear benefits of faculty diversity, few institutions have faculty bodies that mirror the diversity of their student bodies let alone their local communities. Led by facilitators with backgrounds in educational research, and student and faculty diversity programs, this session will put research and theory into practice by interrogating the structures that perpetuate the status quo and imagine systems to create more equitable representation in the professoriate. Findings from the Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity module from the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement will be presented and used as a launching point for discussion. Participants will examine the barriers to faculty diversity at different types of institutions, faculty positions (tenure track or adjunct), and career stages; leverage existing knowledge about successful interventions to approach the issue from a system level; and develop a model of key elements needed to create system-level change to support diverse faculty.