As a PROGRESS advisory board member funded by the NSF Grant, I had the honor of supporting approximately fifty American History Association (AHA) faculty department chairs for two consecutive years as they assembled for their annual Workshop in Chicago, IL. I was immediately encouraged by level of engagement chair members exhibited in an effort to advance gender and racial equity among faculty members in History departments throughout the US.
During my time with the chairs, I facilitated a generative conversation that invited them to conduct a formative assessment of the triumphs and hurdles experienced with campus climate recruitment and retention efforts as leaders in their respective departments. Common ground was discovered across various institutional types and geographical locations as faculty shared deep concerns about implicit and explicit biases that emerged in hiring and recruitment processes. Faculty members made practical connections with how monoracial and male dominant departments are reinforced by the Matthew and Matilda effect and how unexamined bias negatively impacts scholars of color and women in hiring and decision-making practices for tenure and promotions. The higher education backdrop compounded these issues as chairs endured a critical mass of hiring freezes and volatile political campus climates
Despite the series of challenges that were outlined, the group proactively constructed a list of “promising practices” that were successful in mitigating bias. Current practices and aspirations included: nominating a process monitor from a different department to witness the interview and decision-making steps; instilling a standardized diversity statement to raise expectation and to promote accountability; developing faculty mentoring/femtoring programs that are customized to support BIPOC and women faculty members; incentivizing faculty development related to DEI research and service initiatives; infusing an intersectional lens when hiring and supporting colleagues as well as reflecting on “need” instead of “fit’ when hiring new faculty members.
The second year I spent with the chairs was on the heels of overturning race-conscious affirmative action practices in college admissions. Given heightened tensions on campus, the chairs convened to discuss community and belonging in their departments. Chairs expressed apprehension about the current assault on academic freedom and the pernicious legislative attempts to eradicate diversity initiatives and other scholarly research (e.g. critical race theory and ethnic studies). Despite being situated in roles that promote agency, a number of chairs articulated having to negotiate hostile campus environments and feeling handcuffed by state policies influenced by politics.
There was consensus among the group that chairs need to set the tone for the department by making greater efforts to protect non-tenured faculty members and by enacting authentic leadership. It is critical for chairs to create a departmental climate for junior and minoritized faculty members that safeguard against imposter syndrome, microaggressions within the department and invisible labor that occurs as a result of informal advising and overextended service demands. Additionally, a commitment to evidence-based practice driven by a departmental culture of assessment on annual basis will enable faculty to benchmark progress and revisit areas that stunt equity and growth.
In the midst of precarity, during a time where the public’s trust in utility of higher education is diminishing, I left my time spent with the AHA chairs uplifted and inspired. I embrace the possibilities that can emerge when brilliant and dedicated colleagues leverage stop-time opportunities to envision and collectively strategize with the intention of creating an equitable campus that serves each member of the learning community.
Citations
Davis, L., & Fry, R. (2019). College faculty have become more racially and ethnically diverse, but remain far less so than students
Lu, A. “Everyone is talking about ‘belonging’: But what does it really mean?” Chronicle of Higher Education. (Feb. 13, 2023)
Strayhorn T. L. (2012). College students’ sense of belonging: A key to educational success for all students. Routledge.