Diverse faculty numbers nearly unchanged in past 10 years

By Natasha Lindstrom

While the university saw a sharp increase in students of color who joined its ranks this year, the number of full-time faculty members who are ethnic minorities has not increased more than a few percentage points over the last decade.

In 2007, 77.9 percent of the full-time Santa Clara faculty is white, only a few percentage points fewer than the 83 percent of white faculty in 1997, according to self-reported faculty surveys by Institutional Research. Just 2 percent of the faculty is black -- the exact percentage of black professors 10 years ago.

"All the departments on campus and all the deans are committed to developing a more diverse faculty," Provost Lucia Gilbert said. "Every department is charged with that."

The university has also seen a small decrease in Asian/Pacific Islander full-time professors, with 10 percent in 1997 but only 8.8 percent today. Hispanic faculty numbers have grown slightly, up from five percent 10 years ago to 6.7 percent today. In the last 12 years, Santa Clara has employed only one full-time American Indian/Alaskan native, the surveys say.

However, Santa Clara's diversity numbers have improved from last year, with the 2007-2008 number of nonwhite faculty 1.9 percent higher than the 2006-2007 report.

Provost Lucia Gilbert said that of the 19 new faculty members hired this past year, 10 were faculty of color, including five Asian/Pacific Islanders, two black, one Hispanic and two American Indian/Alaskan native professors, according to a separate survey done by the Provost's Office.

The lack of diversity among faculty is not unique to Santa Clara, but a phenomenon nationwide.

In attempts to improve diversity, universities have developed faculty diversity task forces, instituted diversity officers as full-time positions and created new offices devoted to faculty recruitment.

"We're up against a lot of other institutions," Gilbert said. "Everyone wants to diversify their faculty."

Gilbert explained that one way to attract faculty of color is to cultivate a diverse student body. Also, Gilbert said the university aims to encourage and support its diverse body of students in hopes that some will go on to become professors for Santa Clara or for other institutions of higher learning.

Gilbert cited Santa Clara's commitment to social justice, housing assistance for faculty and range of available resources as some reasons professors choose Santa Clara.

"We have all kinds of resources for supporting young faculty," she said. "I think once faculty get here, they stay."

Last June, former director of the Center for Multicultural Learning Jack Ling compiled a report evaluating the university's diversity efforts since January 2007.

"Santa Clara has struggled to recruit and retain faculty of color," the report said, citing black faculty as the most difficult to recruit and retain.

Gilbert agreed that black faculty have been the most difficult to recruit, but not just at Santa Clara.

"People have a lot of choices where they would go," Gilbert said. "We really have to work hard to recognize Santa Clara as a place where they would like to have their academic career."

Some professors have noticed the lack of diversity on campus.

"There is so much work to be done in the area of diversity," said communication professor Yahia Mahamdi, who is currently working with students on a documentary on diversity at Santa Clara. "Both student population as well as faculty do not reflect the diversity of the Bay Area."

Spanish professor Maria Bauluz said she interacts with faculty of many ethnicities in the modern language department, but that other departments do not seem as diverse. Bauluz stressed that a diverse faculty can affect students in the classroom.

"When you have people from other backgrounds and ethnicities, you can at least start seeing a little bit through their eyes," Bauluz said.

This fall, the provost developed a diversity council to focus on inclusive excellence.

Law professor Al Hammond, responsible for faculty retention and recruitment on the council, said he has not yet made any concrete decisions, as the council is still in its planning stages.

"We have a long way to go. We're doing what we can," said Gilbert. "We're wanting to do better."

Contact Natasha Lindstrom at (408) 554-4546 or nlindstrom@scu.edu.