There has been very little change in the proportion of underrepresented minority faculty on college campuses, said Clayton-Peterson.
The data indicates that a substantial number of minority faculty were hired, but not retained. During the five years, underrepresented minority faculty made up 12 percent of all new hires, but made only incremental gains in the overall population of collegiate faculty.
Clayton-Peterson suggests that these slight gains shouldn’t be perceived as “substantial” progress. She notes in the study that such high turnover rates clearly limit progress toward diversification. Using a mathematical equation, Clayton-Peterson scrutinized the overall turnover quotient (TQ) for underrepresented minorities among the sample campuses.
Eleven campuses had TQ’s of zero — where all minority hires contributed to diversifying the faculty. Thirteen campuses had TQ’s of between zero and 100, and three had TQ above 100 –where minority hires did not replace that minority faculty who left.
Clayton-Peterson suggested that college and universities implement support mechanisms to retain faculty.
“Colleges and universities should host focus groups that feature faculty of color. They should finding out what are their likes and dislikes. What do they need and what do they lack,” said Clayton-Peterson.
--Michelle J. Nealy
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