Faculty Teaching Environments: Supporting & Retaining Diverse Faculty

Abstract

Despite an emphasis on diversifying the professoriate, higher education has failed to make significant progress in supporting and retaining diverse faculty in the academy. Literature points to issues of campus climate, discrimination, and workplace stress as common reasons for diverse faculty to leave their positions. In this session, we will present a conceptual framework grounded in empirical research that can guide our understanding of how institutions can create environments to support and retain diverse faculty as well as motivate teaching excellence. Join us for a discussion about the components of this framework, supported by qualitative and quantitative findings from studies that have used this framework as a guide. Participants will leave this session with thoughts on how these components manifest on their campuses, ideas for how to assess the teaching environments of their faculty, and suggestions from other attendees about their efforts to support and retain diverse faculty.