Race and representation in the college classroom: J. Nathan Matias, Neil Lewis Jr., and Elan Hope on the barriers to retaining a more diverse tenured and tenure-track faculty at U.S. universities

People of color are underrepresented in a variety of fields and settings, including in medicine, clinical trials, and the military. This problem also exists in U.S. higher education. In this essay, scholars J. Nathan Matias, Neil Lewis Jr., and Elan Hope show how “Black, Hispanic, American Indian and multiracial faculty members are underrepresented in faculty ranks.” They explain how efforts by universities to diversify their faculty fail to address the structural inequities within higher education that prevent faculty of color from feeling supported and achieving tenure.

J. Nathan Matias, Neil Lewis Jr. and Elan Hope, "Universities Say They Want More Diverse Faculties. So Why Is Academia Still So White?" FiveThirtyEight, 7 September 2021

 

1. In their research on university efforts to diversify their faculty, the authors point out that the term “faculty” can be confusing, as it includes both tenured, tenure-track, and untenured faculty. What is tenure? What demographic groups are more likely to be tenured? Why is tenure important to faculty, according to the authors? What might be the effects of having low numbers of tenured faculty on both students and universities?
   
2. Matias, Lewis, and Hope argue that in the U.S., white tenured and tenure-track faculty “are overrepresented any way you cut it.” They use a series of graphs to show their evidence for this claim. Look at these graphs. What specific differences do you see among the demographics of the U.S. population, the U.S. undergraduate population, and the U.S. tenured and tenure-track faculty? Which patterns do you think are significant, and why?
3. The authors recognize that many universities have started programs to recruit more diverse faculty, but they contend that universities “engage in practices that ultimately push those faculty out.” According to them, what are two reasons why underrepresented minority faculty have a more difficult time attaining tenure than their white peers? What is one solution the authors offer to address these barriers?
4. According to the authors, why is it important to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who hold tenured and tenure-track faculty positions in universities? What do you think? Think about the faculty you work with in your department or program. How might a more diverse faculty at your university affect you and other students, both academically and in other ways? Respond to this question using a template from Chapter 7.

Comments

[Bailey]

In today's society it is hard to find work or not be discriminated against just because of your skin color. Any person of color has it hard anywhere, whether it be in the workplace,the educational field, and many more settings and they are told they can't do certain things because of their skin color. Being of a different shade than anyone else isn't just a struggle once in your life, it's a struggle their entire life and it start from the moment you are born. According to society you have to look a certain way and act a certain way just to be treated the same as white people and that's a shame. For an example, one could be discriminated against because their hair isn't straight or they just have the smallest amount of melanin in their skin. Overall, people of color have it quite hard.

[Nathaly Hernandez]

I believe that faculty of color at any university deserve the right to have achieved and receive tenure in their jobs. This is able to provide financial support and have them live without the issues of costs in bills and other essentials. Although this seems extremely possible, even in this day and age our society continues to determine the worth of someone based on the color of their skin. This article is able to prove that institutionalized racism is still prominently visible and has affected many people of color, especially black and Hispanic people who are the main focus in this. No matter how much effort has been placed in order to combat this sort of racism inflicted by higher authorities it is often looked over, and the effort that these people have placed in order to ensure change only go to waste as they are also left in the dust by those who are in charge. Without the proper people in charge, these predominantly white led institutions will continue to ensure that people of color remain at a lower rank in their system. Despite the amount of criticism that these higher education institutions receive due to their lack of diversity, there is no move to make a change. This sort of behavior has now become entirely normalized as the public now expect those in charge to not provide change and have this negative cycle continue. Not only does this affect the obvious faculty being discriminated against, but it also affects students and college life on campus. With the image these higher institutions are placing on themselves, it is only reflected negatively by those on their campus. Students of color would be affected by the actions these authorities have placed, which also demonstrates how little they value the students with the same skin color.

[JD]

While people of color may be underrepresented in a variety of fields and settings, one must ask WHY these people might be choosing to not go into those fields. Why is this a concern at all if people are FREE to go into any field they want in America? Who says that just because people of color go to college means that they have to turn around and become professors? Maybe they want to do something else with their lives. Teaching is not ideal for everyone, and the pay for teaching certainly does not equal the cost of securing the higher degree—trust me. I’ve been a college professor for over 20 years, and the pay is lousy! I could have taken my degree and gone into a number of other fields and made 2-3Xs more than I do teaching.
Even though J. Nathan Matias, Neil Lewis Jr., and Elan Hope express that “Black, Hispanic, American Indian and multiracial faculty members are underrepresented in faculty ranks,” this feels as if it is missing the mark…not everyone wants to go into every field. Not everyone wants to teach. Maybe the question to ask is WHY they do not want to be a college professor. Life is hard. People choose careers that appeal to them for different reasons. When did it become necessary for an educational institution to hire someone based on the color of their skin instead of the qualifications and experience of their lives and educations, anyway? This sounds racist in itself. Furthermore, the article tries to explain how efforts by universities to diversify their faculty fail to address the structural inequities within higher education that prevent faculty of color from feeling supported and achieving tenure. Does anyone really feel supported in achieving tenure in higher education facilities? No! No matter the color, sex, or creed, it is hard to get tenure, and it is cut-throat to achieve such a status. Instead of focusing on what makes us different, why not focus on how to make ALL PEOPLE feel included and supported in pursuing tenure at the faculty level—no matter if it is at Harvard or your local community college? We could sit around all day and say, “But what about me?” when in reality, we should be striving to be fair across the board, not focusing on one group over another—no matter the color.
1. Maybe people of color don’t want to go into education.
2. Who says the demographics of the nation have to be represented in faculty pools?
3. Why focus on separating us even more? Focus on making everything equal across the board instead of racially segregating and prioritizing in a new direction.

[Therese Minaya]

Similar to the statements of authors J. Nathan Matias, Neil Lewis Jr. and Elan Hope, I ,too, believe a racially diverse population of teachers in the educational workforce is important as well. Through employing more people of color at educational institutions, the never ending chain of people of color doing the heavy work and their professional jobs will cease to end. Oftentimes, when people of color are hired, they are prompted with problems regarding tenure, ultimately pushing out the colored faculty to other institutions. By continuously kicking out teachers of color from education institutions, minority populations feel unwelcome altogether. However, by increasing the presence of colored populations, universities and colleges begin establishing welcoming environments and provide safe social environments for people of color that minority groups do not encounter outside of school. Not only is retaining teachers of color important for the racial diversity at academic institutions, but it is also important for students as well. When encountering academic colleges that lack people of color, minority students often feel underrepresented, thus fear attending such colleges. However, through employing teachers of color, students of color are enabled to feel a sense of belonging at the school they attend, and thus more inclined to enjoy learning. Having a person of authority (of color) that someone as a minority can look up to is also beneficial because it enlightens students to feel represented, but specifically in higher ranking positions too. Employing those of color may help with statistics, but it also makes a great impact towards the well being of minority students as well. Hiring teachers of color is essential to abolish the chain of command led by non-colored individuals, which can lead to higher retention rates of colored professors, thus drawing in the attendance of colored students as well, which ultimately leads to a higher population of minority students and abolishes the chain of underrepresented groups in educational institutions. Breaking this chain starts with allowing people of color to finally assume the positions of higher education & authority that they equally deserve.