The Case for More Data on Faculty Diversity

(from Inside Higher Ed) UPenn professor and opinion writer Laura Perna points out that faculty at most universities in the U.S. are less diverse racially than the student body. "To improve faculty diversity, college and university leaders need data," she argued. To make progress, institutions must collect data that documents the social identities and background characteristics of faculty. "Without these data, we do not know if we are making progress in diversifying the faculty," she wrote. Measures should be ones available in national datasets and suggestions include: age, race/ethnicity, disability status, marital status, number of dependent children and country of origin as well as sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation and political affiliation.

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