Dive Brief:
- Campus leaders have several options when it comes to responding to calls for greater faculty diversity, which were widespread in this fall’s protests, and the pressure is on to get results.
- University Business reports that higher education institutions must cultivate leadership from within, supporting rising minority leaders in the faculty who are on their way to administration, and diversify Ph.D. programs while encouraging students from underrepresented groups to stay in academia.
- The Consortium for Faculty Diversity and the Ph.D. Project are two organizations cultivating top minority talent, and schools that are already doing better than average on faculty diversity stress the need to take the problem of diversity seriously and invest adequate resources to address it.
Dive Insight:
Student protests that began during the fall semester have forced change on campuses across the country, including new leadership after high-level resignations and new names for college buildings. Several institutions have appointed chief diversity officers to create a more intentional focus on issues affecting the racial climate on campus. Crisis management inspired a rush of promises in response to student outrage. But students seem primed to insist on follow-through.
Now that many campuses are out of the fire, leaders may be ready for thoughtful, long-term planning, as crises are not the most opportune time to think about systemic change. This process should be inclusive and acknowledge the need for lasting changes, not quick fixes. Something to keep in mind: Today’s freshmen are more open to student-led protests than any other cohort in the last 50 years.