Last week, Assistant Anthropology Prof. Wende Marshall, an outstanding scholar and mentor, was denied tenure. This decision, made by the Promotion and Tenure Committee of the College, has upset many across the University community, inspiring students into action. They have expressed their dismay through a growing Facebook group, emails to Dean Meredith Woo and a card-signing campaign organized by Queer & Allied Activism. This impassioned response also speaks to a wider problem.
As of last fall, women make up 24 percent of tenured faculty. The numbers for racial minorities are more troubling as African-Americans comprise three percent, Asian Americans five percent and Hispanics one percent. As a University rhetorically committed to diversity, these numbers indicate an intransigence which requires a critical consideration of the tenure process. Any commitment to diversity among the faculty requires a tenure process that recognizes the particular challenges facing women and minority scholars.
As it stands, to gain tenure within the College, a faculty member must meet the criteria of excellence in scholarly work, excellence of teaching and advising, and service to the University and the discipline. For faculty of color in particular, major challenges range from unfavorable reception of their scholarship by peers to greater burdens of mentorship to students and service to University.
In his article, “Why the Shortage of Black Professors,” Alexander Astin of the University of California Los Angeles explains that faculty of color are more likely to focus their research in the areas of race and ethnicity which are not typically housed in academic departments. At the University, for example, we have the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies. Without a departmental home, scholars pursuing such studies are dependent on traditional departments which have the capacity to hire and tenure. However, these departments have historically been hostile or indifferent to their intellectual pursuits. Even in the 21st century, where the academy has increasingly embraced non-traditional and interdisciplinary forms of scholarship, studies in race and ethnicity are mischaracterized as lacking “rigor.” Such intellectual inquiry supposedly lacks a “unique” methodology and is conceived as subjective because faculty of color are members of the marginalized groups they study. These biases, less explicit today, continue to permeate institutions of higher education. The exclusion of work by faculty of color in major academic journals demonstrates this point all too clearly. When the number and frequency of articles published in reputable journals is a significant component of tenure evaluation, these systemic barriers confronting faculty of color need to be considered.
Another consideration Astin addresses is the extra demands placed on faculty of color who are overstretched due to their low numbers. All professors serve a variety of functions at the University, but with so few faculty of color, each time there needs to be a “diverse” voice on University committees, there are only so many professors to call on. Also, it is well known that minority students seek out faculty members with whom they share racial and cultural backgrounds. Often these relationships go beyond academic advice as underrepresented students are dealing with social and cultural adjustment. Moreover, undergraduate and graduate students studying areas of ethnicity and race depend on them as advisors because faculty of color are usually seen by their departments as the sole expert on all things non-Western. As a result, they have less time to devote to the criteria of “excellence in scholarly work.”
The Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement, a position temporarily held by Dr. Sharon Hostler, has recognized some of these factors as obstacles to recruiting and retaining minority faculty. In the last two Board of Visitors meetings, Dr. Hostler has highlighted mentoring programs for new faculty designed to assist with their transition. While mentoring is central in helping faculty of color navigate institutions of higher learning, it does not address systemic exclusionary practices. Moreover, questions regarding the tenure process have been left unaddressed in the discussion on how to diversify faculty. The University needs to demonstrate that the tenure process also reflects an awareness of the particular challenges facing underrepresented scholars. In order to proactively revise the ways in which our institution evaluates scholars, the tenure process has to be transparent and there needs to be space for open dialogue.
Carlos Oronce and Bernice Ramirez are co-chairs of the Minority Rights Coalition.
Read More
EDITORIAL: Upholding medical amnesty is a collective effort
By Editorial Board | 11 hours agoUniversity leadership, Greek life organizations and students themselves must recommit to the safety provided by an effective and knowledgeable use of medical amnesty.
KURTZWEIL: Dockworkers’ unions cannot avoid the threat of automation
By Paul Kurtzweil | YesterdayInstead of continuing to demand decreased automation, the union should work with the legislature in the hopes of driving investment into the reorganization of the current workforce.
RASHID: Noncitizen students are under attack, and the University must act
By Muhammad Ali Rashid | 2 days agoNow is the time to act, proving our commitment by protecting and expanding programs that keep the University open and accessible to all.
