Colleges develop programs to recruit minority faculty
By CARISA CHAPPELL, Published March 16, 2007
NEW ORLEANS — While recruiting a diverse faculty is the goal of many community colleges, education experts say that is only half the battle. Without a welcoming culture on campus, many minority candidates are less likely to stay at the college.

Strategies to increase and retain minority faculty members were the topic of a session at the annual League for Innovation in the Community College conference last week.

Andrew Jones, vice chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) in Texas, noted that his district has a diverse student population composed of 4 percent Hispanics, 23 percent African-Americans, 8 percent Asians and 39 percent Caucasians.

DCCCD has been successful in recruiting minority candidates, and it is approaching a similar level of diversity among their employees, Jones said.

The success is in part due to developing partnerships with historically black colleges and universities and institutions with large or predominantly Hispanic, Native American and Asian American populations to develop recruitment networks, he said.

“We looked at places that might yield us diverse candidates,” Jones said. “You have to establish relationships and let people know that you’re serious in your recruitment efforts of minority candidates.”

He also suggested developing networks with community and governmental organizations as well as using professional meetings and conferences as opportunities to recruit minorities and women candidates for positions. He encouraged recruiters to follow up contacts with personal letters to encourage potential candidates to apply.

“Do faculty exchanges with Native American serving institutions, for example,” suggested Jones, who believes that faculty exchange agreements between academic institutions can enhance recruitment of minorities and women.

Jones emphasized that colleges shouldn’t focus on just recruiting from traditional sources such as other higher education institutions and teacher colleges. They should also tap nontraditional sources such as industry, the military, government agencies that are down-sizing and proprietary colleges, he said.

“There are people who have credentials but may not have the faculty experience,” Jones said.
Campus climate can be especially important when it comes to retaining a diverse staff. If there appears to be a hostile environment, candidates will not stay at the college long and will spread the word to other potential minority candidates about their experiences, Jones said.

“If you have to take the time to prepare both the candidate and the climate then you may have a problem. Most people can tell when someone is being disingenuous. Imagine going into a situation where you think that you are not wanted,” Jones said. “While others are meeting for lunch and discussing cocktail parties, you are sitting alone. Some will stay to get the experience but then move on.”

A solid mentor program for minority faculty can help foster a comfortable environment, noted Jones.

Karen Wilson, dean of teaching and learning at Delta College (Michigan) oversees the President’s Scholars Program, which is modeled after DCCCD. She said that one of the college’s major challenges is increasing diversity recruitment in her rural college, which is located just north of Detroit.

Through the program, Delta seeks new and diverse candidates from a broad range of backgrounds. Participants’ eligibility is based on a number of factors, including a bachelor’s degree in an appropriate discipline, at least nine hours of graduate work, a commitment to full-time teaching in a community college and a substantive multi-cultural experience. 

Wilson said that the new faculty members are assigned a mentor, teach 24 credit hours a year with up to six hours counting toward a master’s degree. Although the appointment can last up to three years, candidates are told there is no guarantee of employment.