Causes for Low Recruitment and Retention Rates

Strategies for Recruiting

Strategies for Retaining

MYTHS

1.  Women and an ethnic minority are advantaged in hiring^1,7

• Minorities and women, even those from highly selective institutions, do NOT have an advantage in the job market. ¹
•  “The qualifications of minorities alone are irrelevant in the hiring process, instead personal and political preferences, prejudices, and fears of majority faculty and inaction of administrators play a larger role in the final decisions reached.” ⁷
• There’s an informal system of preference.  65% who benefited from special hire interventions in this study were Whites⁷

2.  There’s a bidding war for faculty of color- Faculty of color reported that this was not their hiring experience⁷

3.  Small candidate pool and intense competition between top universities - Low demand/high supply argument is deceptive because even if graduation rates are considered low, the number of graduates over time should be enough to alter the low numbers of underrepresented minorities in academia^7,9

4.  Because they are in such high demands women and minority faculty accept only positions that are high paying, prestigious, and in attractive geographic locations⁷ - All faculty members, including minorities, consider multiple factors in their employment decisions.

RECRUITING PROBLEMS

1.  Inability to identify and low level of applicants of color and women¹

·         Fewer doctoral students of color may be due to lack of access to good elementary and secondary education which in turn affects access to undergrad and graduate education⁴

2.  Relocation problems and lack of job opportunities for partners/spouse¹

3.  Salary levels too low to attract applicants¹

4.  Faculty recruiters favor those with the same interests, background and political views as their own ⁴

 5.  Recruiters say that recruiting and retaining faculty of color is high on their priorities yet they don’t offer structured support for this goal. ⁹

SELECTION PROBLEMS

1.  Bases of hiring are subjective, and not meritorious so may involve biases^{1, 12}

• Traditional hiring practices of search committees interfere with diversification.^2,7
  • Subconscious assumptions by search committees that White males are better qualified²
  • May base decisions on where the candidates attended graduate school and choose only those who went to elite universities.⁷
  • May be biased towards candidates who have similar research interests, backgrounds, values, and behaviors as they do.^4,7
• Assumptions that just one minority or woman in the department is representative enough²

2.  Smaller institutions may not be able to compete with larger ones in terms of funding, so availability of assistance with moving costs, securing partner employment, and professional travel expenses my be less⁷

• Lack of funding decreases the university’s ability to compete with private sector who can afford to pay higher salaries⁷

3.  Minorities may not be a part of the typical networking system so they miss opportunities to apply for particular positions ⁷

4.  Stereotypical Placements - Department and fields with diversity indicators (e.g. ethnic studies) are most likely places for hiring of underrepresented faculty of color while science and math fields hire Asian American faculty through the use of regular searches. ⁷

BARRIERS TO RETENTION

Women

1.   Family planning obstacles.

• Tenure track years for women has disproportionate negative impact because it coincides with the heaviest responsibilities for childbearing and rearing⁶
• Women have to time pregnancies to avoid conflict with teaching¹
• Family leave policies - Most institutions do not offer paid leave for childbirth¹.
• Having children interrupts professional career development^1,6
• If faculty wants to leave academia to rear children, there are barriers to re-entry. Gaps in resumes are suspect⁶.
• Women feel more stress relative to men on various issues including: promotion, discrimination, time pressure, lack of personal time, and household responsibilities¹
• Lack of support from a male-dominated environment ¹

Ethnic Minorities

1.  Chilly climate – Experiences of exclusion, isolation, alienation, hostility, and bias ^1,2,6,9,12

• Racial and ethnic bias is predominant challenge faculty of color face in academia⁹
• Colleagues assume minority faculty have been hired without appropriate qualifications or credentials^1,9
• Minorities treated like outsiders^2,9
• Minorities feel that they were not hired for their expertise but as a means to diversify faculty ^9,12
• Having to represent their whole ethnic group⁹
• Feeling diminished because the first thing people saw was their color⁹
• Some faculty felt visible from being the only faculty of color but also invisible by not being able to fit campus norms⁹
• Other faculty undervalue and view scholarship by a minority faculty about minority issues as self-serving and narrow^1,2,6,9
• May feel scrutinized and pressured to not reinforce stereotypes and prove their competence.  ^{2, 9}
• Women and faculty of color have to overcome cultural barriers and compromise their personal values and beliefs to fit in⁶
• Hardships and victimization make women and minorities feel overworked, overwhelmed, invisible, and unwelcome⁴
• Some Asians felt that there were misperceptions about their ability to speak English⁹

2.  Service/Committee Involvement

• Burdened with more responsibilities because they feel they cannot refuse to serve on committees but this also lead to less time for research⁹
• Many tenure processes undervalue service, a disadvantage for faculty of color because:
  • Desire to be involved with and be supportive of services that promote issues of diversity⁴
  • Difficult to say no to handling minority affairs⁹
• Stress from too much service ^{9, 12}

3.  Lack of mentors and little guidance about the academic workplace/tenureship^1,4,6,9

• Feel like outsiders in their department’s informal network. ⁹
• Over half of the faculty of color interviewed were told they didn’t fit the profile of someone to be promoted, having been bypassed, or told to try for promotion somewhere else.⁹

4.  Limited opportunities in decision making⁶

• Limited opportunities to assume leadership positions^4,6
• “Token” committee assignments⁶

BEFORE THE SEARCH

1.  Institutional Goals

• Departments need to assess their particular needs with regard to diversity. Also assess the needs of the students, the broader university environment, and the community⁷
• Diversity should be a goal in the overall strategic plan of the institution⁷
• Initiatives and commitment from the highest level of leadership is an important first step⁷
• Initiate and actively encourage discussions of diversity throughout the college. Encourage critical perspectives and discussion⁷
• Diversity efforts should also be combined with attempts to increase diversity at all levels, from staff to administration⁷
• Address hostile and exclusionary institutional culture/make real changes in the system, policy, and culture³
• Get the university administration involved³
• Approval and support from administration to actively recruit¹
• Funding solely for recruiting minorities and women¹
• Training sessions for administrative office that emphasize recruitment of diversity faculty¹
• Improve climate by engaging in conversations about issues of diversity⁴
• Institutions can provide financial incentives for departments who successfully recruit⁹
• Higher faculty salaries can do more to raise the numbers of faculty of color than enlarging the pool⁹
• Develop industry/higher education partnership models (e.g. industry sponsored faculty chairs and joint-appointments) ⁹
• Develop culturally inclusive curriculum⁴
• Nurture students of color in graduate programs to attract them to academic positions⁴
• Mentoring programs—acknowledge that they’re valued and considered as potential academicians^1,4
• Visiting scholars program/lecture series¹
• Support networks for professional development—for research and publications¹
• Active recruitment year round²
• Reward senior members for identifying future candidates ²

2.      Applicant Pool

o   Maintain contact with organizations and institutions, specifically minority organizations and doctoral granting institutions⁷

o   Department chairs determine the search committee early so they can attend diversity workshops⁷

o   Write letters to targeted individuals and encourage promising grad students to pursue doctorate degrees⁷

o   Contact other universities and departments—actively recruit¹

o   Create and maintain a resource list specific to each department (e.g. a list of possible advertisement sites, minority organizations, national databases) ⁷

o   Provide graduate fellowships to enlarge pool of candidates⁹

o   Some programs provide funds to encourage minority students to consider college teaching; provide financial resources⁹

o   Hiring of diversity faculty for temporary positions that my eventually lead to permanent positions ¹

o   Hire professionals as adjunct faculty¹

o   Post-doc fellows¹

o   Consider hiring all-but-dissertation candidates ⁷

o   Grow-your-own initiatives where departments hire professionals to teach and earn doctoral degree at the same time⁹

ACTIVE SEARCH

1.       Targeted job placement ads¹

o   In the job description, place a description for experience and success in working with diverse group of students. This will broaden the type of applicants, rather than simply having candidates who specialize in race and ethnic studies. ⁸

o   Description of the actual position is important. Emphasize qualifications and capabilities without limiting access to persons whose cultures, income, and experience may be atypical. ⁷

o   Because many minorities are too often not part of the typical networking system, search committees should seek out candidates from other avenues such as business and industry, the community, government, and military⁷

o   Target schools where there are high concentrations of students and teachers of color for recruitment⁴

o   Faculty and staff need to make concerted effort to network at conferences and other professional meetings⁷

o   Use professional networks to find candidates⁴

2.      Search Committee

• Train search committees⁵
• Include minorities and women in search committees²

• Recognize myths and stereotypes²
• Evaluate search committee procedures¹

Interview

• Make candidates feel comfortable and included⁷

Post Interview

o   Follow up the interview with written communication⁷

o   Pool of funds to supplement offers for hiring¹

o   Provide salary supplements, startup, and incentive packages^1,5

o   Reduce teaching loads—often minorities have additional responsibilities  in the community ¹

o   Offer release time for research²

o   Offer additional research funds³

o   Increase travel and research funds or other incentives⁴

o   Attend to spouse/partner employment needs^{5 -} via employment assistance programs¹

Post Search

o   Reflect on what strategies were successful and what was not. If a new faculty is hired, ask for their feedback. ⁷

o   Make on systematic efforts based on data collection how the search process can improve. ⁷

o   Determine which resources were cost-effective⁷

o   Determine the positives and negatives during the search, the interview, and the hiring process. ⁷

o   Make suggestions on the most effective practices and recommit to them. ⁷

o   Develop retention plans²

o   Reduce isolation by promoting mentoring programs not just at the college level but also at the university level b/c departments may be too small^{1, 5}

o   Get community involved in commitment to diversity⁵

o   Support efforts to attend conferences to develop network with other minorities and women in the field¹

o   Train chairs and deans to be effective mentors²

CLIMATE

• Supportive environment--the single most important factor in determining success⁹
• Conduct evaluations on how the university can retain (e.g. monitor departments, hire consultants); conduct interviews for those who choose to leave¹
• Have a strong statement about commitment to diversity⁵
• Organize workshops on diversity and get senior faculty to participate by providing solid evidence rather than personal testimony at workshops⁵
• Get administrator support for workshops on diversity⁵
• Identify environments that aren’t inclusive and hold them accountable if they don’t support diversity goals⁵
• Add a diversity component to faculty and staff evaluations⁵
• Create a sense of community for staff, faculty, and students. One way to do this is by developing more active mentoring programs⁵

• All faculty in department adjust to support diversity research topics and value community service for faculty of color⁴
• Schedule diversity activities⁴
• Have a genuinely diverse faculty not just to be representative⁴
• Administration should self-reflect and self-assess ⁴

• Faculty made to feel appreciated and engaged—supportive community⁵

• Help community create local diversity programs⁵

• Give them opportunity to make a difference but do not overwhelm⁵
• Involve them in creating and shaping support programs⁵
• Give them opportunity to be heard and acted upon⁵

• Focus on individual needs⁵
• Avoid appearance of providing special treatment⁵

MENTORING

• Organized support for retention: special office/program for faculty development, funding for mentoring programs¹
• Mentoring program/partner junior faculty with senior member and research funding¹
• Teaching development support, counseling support¹
• From the very beginning provide general assistance not just for professional pursuits but also with campus resources, community resources, and housing ⁴
• Provide solid source of information for formal and informal mentoring. Mentoring from senior faculty is especially important⁴
• Committed and sustained mentorship⁵

PROMOTION & TENURE

• Fair and consistent tenure policy³
• Clear policies and procedures as to how one achieves tenures and promotion by holding workshops⁴
• Help faculty prepare for tenure and promotion processes¹
• Faculty of review committees familiarize themselves with workload of faculty of color, outside service to the community, and minority scholarship services, not just scholarly progress b/c to most faculty of color race-related service is important; this is an additional responsibility for faculty of color; reconceptualize merit⁴

ADVICE FOR INSTITUTIONS

Faculty will stay where:

• Morale is high⁵
• They feel mentored⁵
• Experience a sense of community⁵
• Have autonomy⁵
• Have intellectual challenge⁵
• Institutional support is clear⁵
• They make a decent living⁵
• The definition of scholarship is broad⁵
• They feel they have a voice and be part of the leadership⁵

• Create new and more flexible policies⁶
• Make it less difficult for women with children by changing the rigid structure of the traditional tenure-track career path⁵
• Develop policies tailored for each campus
  • Stop the tenure clock⁵
  • Modify duties⁵
  • Move to part time for a defined period⁵
  • Provide opportunities for re-entry after taking time out of academia⁵
• Hold administrators responsible for implementing policies⁵
• Provide services that support families (e.g. daycare, additional resources to assist with teaching and research for a period of time) ⁵
• Provide clear criteria of what is expected in teaching, research, and service to achieve tenure⁵
• Be able to collaboratively work and be guided and mentored by other faculty  from inside and outside the institution⁵
• Senior faculty must be willing to give guidance to junior faculty and be rewarded for doing so⁵
• Recognize faculty for any administrative responsibilities they’ve taken⁵

• Faculty of color cite the following that encourage them to stay:
  • satisfaction with teaching⁹
  • supportive administrative leadership⁹
  • a sense of accomplishment⁹
  • mentor relationships⁹
  • collegiality⁹
  • interaction with other faculty of color ⁹