2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Faculty Perceptions of Diversity Statements in STEM Faculty Job Applications

Presented at Faculty Development Division (FDD) Technical Session 2

This research paper describes a study designed to help inform STEM faculty hiring practices at institutions of higher education in the U.S., where over the past two decades, diversity statements have become more popular components of application packages for faculty jobs. The purpose is to explore the ways and extent to which diversity statements are utilized in evaluating faculty applicants. The research questions are: (1) To what extent do universities equip search committees to evaluate applicants’ diversity statements? (2) What are STEM faculty’s perspectives of diversity statements in job applications?

This paper is derived from a larger two-phase sequential mixed methods study examining the factors current faculty members and administrators consider important when hiring new STEM faculty. During the first phase, we deployed a nationwide survey to STEM faculty members and administrators who have been involved in faculty searches, with 151 of 216 respondents answering questions specific to diversity statements. About 29% of survey respondents indicated their departments required diversity statements; 59% indicated their institutions did not provide guidance for evaluating them. The second phase was a phenomenological study involving interviews of 25 survey respondents. Preliminary analyses of interview data indicated that a little more than half (52%) of participants’ departments required a diversity statement. Of the departments that required diversity statements, a little more than half used a rubric for evaluation, whether as part of a larger holistic rubric, or as a standalone rubric. For some departments that did not require diversity statements, applicants were required to discuss diversity within their other application materials.

Regarding faculty members’ perceptions of diversity statements, some felt that diversity statements were necessary to assess candidates’ beliefs and experiences. Some noted that when diversity is discussed as part of another document and is not required as a stand-alone statement, it feels like the candidate “slaps on a paragraph” about diversity. Others viewed diversity statements as a “bump” that gives candidates “bonus points.” A few faculty felt that diversity statements were “redundant,” and if applicants were passionate about diversity, they would organically discuss it in the other required documents. Many shared frustrations regarding the requirement and evaluation practices. Most participants indicated their postings provided applicants with little to no guidance on what search committees were looking for in submitted diversity statements; they felt it would be beneficial for both the search committee and the applicants to have this guidance.

Shared through a traditional lecture, results from this study may be used to help inform strategies for recruiting faculty who are committed to diversity - and ideally, equity and inclusion - and for addressing equity in faculty hiring.

Authors

Dr. Torrie Cropps http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2974-8798 University of Texas, Dallas [biography]

Dr. Torrie Cropps is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at University of Texas at Dallas. Her research there focuses broadly on strategies to promote equity for marginalized populations in engineering. Torrie earned her PhD in Agricultural Education from Purdue University and served as the Educational Outreach Coordinator for the Mentoring@Purdue program. Mentoring@Purdue (M@P) an initiative aimed at increasing the numbers of marginalized graduate students in agricultural sciences by cultivating equitable mentoring relationships among students, staff, and faculty. There she coordinated M@P's Summer Scholars Program, Peer Mentoring Program, and Invited Lecture Series. Torrie's research interests include critical qualitative research, Black women in graduate education, equity and inclusion in agriculture + STEM, and mentoring and advising in graduate education.
Dr. Yvette E. Pearson, P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8781-7085 University of Texas, Dallas [biography]

Dr. Yvette E. Pearson is Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at The University of Texas at Dallas. Her university-based and consulting efforts have led to over $40M in funding to support the success of students from minoritized and marginalized identities. A Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), her work has led to changes in policies and practices to advance equity and inclusion in ASEE, ASCE, ABET and other global organizations. As past chair of ASCE’s Formal Engineering Education Committee, Dr. Pearson and her team led the organization’s charge of educating programs on strategies for the inclusion of principles of sustainability in engineering curricula, in large part by promoting a transdisciplinary, convergent approach to attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For the past few years, she has served on the Civil Engineering Program Criteria Task Committee, where she helped develop the currently proposed CE criteria changes.

Dr. Pearson’s awards and honors include ASCE’s Professional Practice Ethics & Leadership Award, ABET’s Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity & Inclusion, the Society of Women Engineers Distinguished Engineering Educator Award, and ASCE’s President’s Medal. She is a registered Professional Engineer, an Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) and Commissioner on ABET’s Engineering Accreditation Commission. Her podcast, Engineering Change, has audiences in over 80 countries.
Jue Wu University of California, Berkeley [biography]

Jue Wu is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Administration in the College of Education at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on diversity and equity issues in STEM higher education.
Ms. Samara Rose Boyle Rice University [biography]

Samara is an undergraduate studying neuroscience at Rice University in Houston, TX. She works as a research assistant for Dr. Yvette E. Pearson in the George R. Brown School of Engineering. Her primary research focus is the advancement of diversity, equit
Dr. Canek Moises Luna Phillips http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6571-2733 Rice University [biography]

Dr. Canek Phillips is a Research Scientist at in the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University where his research interests touch broadly on efforts to promote greater equity for underrepresented groups in engineering using a dialectical materialist approach.

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