University slow to expand faculty diversity

This university has fallen behind other Maryland universities in hiring women and minority faculty, an analysis of system and university data shows.

System officials have long said increasing the ranks of women and minority faculty should be a top priority for Maryland universities, and the university's strategic plan, which charts the university's course for the next decade, emphasizes that goal. But the data shows the university has consistently lagged behind others in the system for the past six years, increasing its proportions of minorities and women facuty at a slower rate than other system schools.

Despite the data, University System of Maryland Chancellor Brit Kirwan said the university is making "great" progress, chalking up the disparity to routine retirements and lack of recruiting opportunities.

"Obviously we have more work to do in this area, but it's an instance in which we can take some pride in the progress we've made," he said.

The proportion of minority faculty at other system universities grew by 5 percentage points on average in the past six years, but at this university, it grew only 1 percentage point. In the same time period, the percentage of women faculty increased an average of five points elsewhere in the system, but this university's increase was four percentage points.

A September 2007 survey in the Chronicle of Higher Education ranked the university behind all but one of its peer institutions in employing minority faculty members.

Ellin Scholnick, the associate provost for faculty affairs, cited another explanation. Research universities have trouble recruiting women faculty members because of an overall lack of women in the sciences, she said. Except for University of Maryland, Baltimore County and University of Maryland, Baltimore, none of the other system universities are research-based.

"If you look at the school of medicine, it's going to look different from the school of social work," she said. "You're going to get differences that reflect differences in the disciplines."

Raises in universities' budgets and presidents' salaries are based on overall performance, meaning that if a university hasn't made progress in hiring diverse faculty or in other areas like graduation rates, their raises wouldn't be as large as they could be, Kirwan said. However, Kirwan said this university wasn't in any danger because its progress was deemed satisfactory.

The numbers on diversity show the number of black faculty members fell while Asians made up much of the increase in minority faculty members. Ron Walters, a professor and expert on racial issues, was particularly concerned with the percentage of black faculty members at the university.

"I understand that the University of Maryland is trying to become another Harvard, but every university does too," he said. "If you want to live in the real world, you have to make that diversity a reality."

He said that part of the problem could be that the university's higher standards for hiring have left out many minorities who have not had as much access to education as their white counterparts. Historically black colleges in the system could be attracting talented minority professors away from this university, he added.

Kirwan said that an eventual goal would be for all the universities in Maryland to reflect the general population, both in faculty and graduate and undergraduate populations.

"It's going to take a lot of advances in education in all levels," he said. "There's a lot that goes into achieving that ideal state. As a nation we're nowhere near to where we ought to be."

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