Taking the Measure of Faculty Diversity
U.S. colleges and universities have indeed increased faculty diversity over the past 20 years, but most gains have been off the tenure track.
The broad societal movement to diversify the American faculty over the past quarter century has reshaped the academic profession in many ways, but more work remains to be done. While underrepresented minorities held 12.7% of faculty positions in 2013, up from 8.6% in 1993, they held only 10.2% of tenured positions. Similarly, women in 2013 held 49.2% of all faculty positions, up from 38.6% in 1993, but just 37.6% of tenured positions. This report’s authors break down the proportion of women, African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans in U.S. faculty positions by appointment type, shedding new light on recent trends.
The researchers noted the number and proportion of faculty holding various academic appointments in 1993, 2003 and 2013 based on data in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDs).