Microaggressions directed at faculty of color are but a few of the negative experiences that Latinx, Black, Native American, and Asian American professors encounter in predominantly White academic departments. Logistical inequities (e.g., teaching all the diversity courses for a unit, serving on numerous diversity and search committees); procedural unfairness (e.g., meeting with a Dean regarding teaching complaints filed by majority students); departmental deficiencies (e.g., no mentors in the department), and tokenization (e.g., touted as the department’s sensitivity to diversity) are additional issues that faculty of color face in White academic workplaces.  At the heart of the issue is the failure of academic departments to recognize the difference between diversity (recruiting people of color) and inclusion (attentiveness to the climate of the unit). Most efforts at diversifying the faculty are directed at recruitment with little effort devoted to scrutinizing the climate of the academic workplace. It becomes a challenge to retain faculty of color when the climate for diversity inside the department is riddled with racial hostility, insensitivities, microaggressions, inequities, and unfairness. Most of these climate issues are not being perpetuated on purpose, but rather are promoted subconsciously and inadvertently.  Nevertheless, there is a need for academic departments to become aware of the experiences of faculty of color, address the issues of the climate for diversity, build capacity with current faculty regarding issues of diversity and inclusion, and create a plan specifically for the retention of diverse faculty hired into the department.

Faculty of color contribute tremendously to academia via the gifts and talents they bring to the higher education context. They mentor students of color as well as majority students, contribute to research and scholarship from a multiplicity of viewpoints and experiences, develop new courses that incorporate diversity, undertake community service internal and external to the university, and offer creative solutions to university issues grounded in diverse worldviews. However, a department, division, or university will not benefit from the efforts of faculty of color unless there is an effort made to retain them. It begins with addressing the climate for diversity in the unit.

If you are interested in introducing to your department, office, or institution, awareness of the climate for diversity in a department that negatively impacts diverse faculty and the solutions to countering those effects, contact us to see about scheduling a workshop designed to educate about those topics at jgt@thelindgroup.com or visit www.thelindgroup.com. This workshop is appropriate for academic professional development retreats, recruitment efforts, workplace climate committees, and DEI Planning Councils.