“Virginia Tech, like any university, has struggled with these issues. We are working hard. We have a long way to go, and this is a sign that we take this issue seriously,” McNamee says. The student body is about 30 percent minority, though progress is uneven. Blacks represent about 4 percent of enrollment at the university.
Dr. Marybeth Gasman, a University of Pennsylvania professor and chair of the historically Black institutions and scholars of color committee at the American Association of University Professors, says Virginia Tech’s move may be a first.
She says service to the campus or community often is a factor when universities make tenure and promotion decisions. But the new Virginia Tech policy appears to go beyond the norm. “It seems that the institution is making a verbal commitment to diversity efforts — but doing more than that, actually operationalizing the commitment.”
The annual faculty reports are critical for salary gains at Virginia Tech, since the university has no automatic cost-of-living increases. Academic departments recommend salary increases each summer based on the instructor reports.
— By Charles Dervarics
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
