Scholars of color remain underrepresented in policymaking contexts, and the absence of their expertise in policy processes can have significant consequences for society. In this study, we examine motivations for and perceived barriers to engagement in public policymaking among faculty of color. Using an institutional logics framework and…

The future of higher education is in crisis. Between falling undergraduate enrollment, rising student debt, program elimination, and widespread faculty burnout, families across America are left wondering: Is college worth it? In "The Conversation on Higher Ed," editor Mary Churchill explores the complicated landscape of academic life in…

The United States has become increasingly diverse, but the American professoriate has not kept pace. Nationwide, nearly three quarters of all college faculty are White. That figure is even higher in rural institutions, where minority faculty comprise only 15% of the total. This is problematic because research has shown that students of all races…

The goal of the study was to explore how a diverse community college board might effectively influence the college mission by focusing on the greater impact of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as well as the environment that may result from these policy discussions. The researchers explored if and how the establishment of diverse boards…

Extant research has focused on the barriers faced by minority faculty in academia. Despite outward notions of commitment to diversity, higher education institutions remain largely exclusive to anyone who does not prescribe to the 'ideal' faculty. Recently, more attention has been given to minority faculty who possess intersectional identities,…

A growing body of evidence shows that positive student outcomes are associated with racial/ethnic diversity among university STEM instructors. However, few studies to date have been able to provide direct causal evidence identifying the specific mechanism(s) hypothesized to drive the benefits of instructor racial/ethnic diversity. Leaving these…

In this mixed-methods study, we seek to understand the impact of the California Subject Examination for Teachers (CSET) on the makeup of the teacher pipeline. We are specifically interested in exploring how teachers of color are impacted by these tests when seeking to enter the teacher workforce. Findings from the data, both qualitative and…

Though increasing numbers of racially and ethnically minoritized (REM) individuals earn PhDs and national initiatives focus on faculty diversity, challenges persist in recruiting, hiring, and retaining REM faculty. While a pervasive issue nationally, the literature predominantly focuses on faculty diversity at research-intensive institutions. This…

The purpose of the Faculty, Academic Careers and Environments (FACE) project is to understand who faculty are, what their academic careers look like, and how the environments in which they work shape their ability to thrive as instructors, researchers and public scholars in the community. This report provides an overview of a new conceptual model…

This report describes the two-year pilot study of how best to create a national study of faculty working at non-profit colleges and universities of all types across the country, given the social media and survey research environment of the 2020s. Since 2004, two major developments have significantly changed the landscape for academic employment:…

Universities are expected to strive for excellence but also for gender balance. Narrow interpretations of excellence in universities hinder women's advancement in academia. In this paper, we ask if there are ways that these policies may be reconciled. Excellence is an "empty signifier" that must be filled with meaning. We have…

Texas higher education institutions serve some of the most diverse student populations in U.S. institutions. However, graduation rates remain among the lowest in the United States, particularly for underrepresented minority students. Diverse faculty members who act as mentors have the potential to increase underrepresented minority students'…

This collective case study documents four research universities' efforts to advance faculty diversity and inclusion on their campuses. Informed by the campus racial climate framework, our research team offers identifies two broad categories of barriers, including structural barriers and active barriers. Structural barriers included institutional…

Institutions of higher education play a major role in teaching undergraduate students. Historically, most courses have been taught by tenure-track (TT) faculty who may also be responsible for research or scholarly activities. However, a recent shift from "teaching-intensive" TT faculty to "teaching-only" contingent faculty off…

Teacher shortages and lack of teacher diversity have led to growing efforts nationally to recruit teaching assistants (TAs) to be classroom teachers. Substitute teachers are not typically considered in these efforts. We pair longitudinal administrative data from a mid-sized urban district with survey follow-up to address how TAs and substitute…