ADVANCE Scholar Program: enhancing minoritized scholars’ professional visibility

• Pages: 305-327
• Published date: 15 April 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-03-2018-0059
• Date: 15 April 2019
• Author: Adrienne R. Carter-Sowell,Jyotsna Vaid,Christine A. Stanley,Becky Petitt,Jericka S. Battle
• Subject Matter: Hr & organizational behaviour

ADVANCE Scholar Program:

enhancing minoritized scholars’

professional visibility

Adrienne R. Carter-Sowell

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the Africana Studies Program,

Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

Jyotsna Vaid

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the Office for Diversity,

Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

Christine A. Stanley

Department of Educational Administration, Texas A&M University,

College Station, Texas, USA

Becky Petitt

Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, University of California San Diego,

La Jolla, California, USA, and

Jericka S. Battle

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences,

Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to describe a mentoring program developed at a large predominantly

white research university that was aimed at retaining and advancing women faculty of color. The ADVANCE

Scholar Program pairs each scholar for two years with a senior faculty member at the university who serves

as an internal advocate, and with an eminent scholar outside the university who helps the scholar gain

prominence in their discipline.

Design/methodology/approach –This paper offers a case study of the ADVANCE Scholar Program.

The authors describe the intersectional approach to organizational change in this conceptual framework and

provide a brief overview of the institution and precursors to the development of the Scholar program.

The authors describe the program itself, its rationale, structure and participants in the program.

Findings –Overall, the program generated a positive reception and outcomes, and the authors suggest that such a

program has the potential to make a positive difference in making the university a more supportive place for a

diverse professoriate and recommend it as a model for adoption at other predominantly white research universities.

Practical implications –By publishing the operations and the outcomes of this faculty mentoring program, we

expect to contribute broadly to a more supportive campus climate for a diverse professoriate. We have developed,

implemented, and continue to study this successful model to retain minoritized faculty scholars in the professoriate.

Social implications –Women faculty of color are often assigned to serve on committees to meet diversity

objectives of the institution and are sought after by students of color from across the university, but this

service is not considered. This program, the ADVANCE Scholar Program, pairs each scholar with a senior

faculty member who serves as an internal advocate, and an external eminent scholar who guides the scholar

in gaining national prominence. These efforts to retain and promote minoritized faculty scholars, altogether,

have important implications on the pervasive issues affecting many members of academic communities at the

individual, interpersonal and the institutional levels.

Originality/value –This case study provides an innovative strategy to tackle the lack of role models and

the experiences of social isolation that occurs for women faculty of color with multiply marginalized status.

Hence, women faculty of color benefit from a valuable, institutionally supported, university-wide mentoring

program designed to increase diversity of minoritized faculty in the professoriate ranks.

Keywords Mentoring, Intersectionality, Faculty of colour, Higher education –women in academia,

Multiple marginality, Professional visibility

Paper type Case study

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 38 No. 3, 2019

pp. 305-327

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-03-2018-0059

Received 1 October 2017

Revised 17 August 2018

30 November 2018

Accepted 18 December 2018

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

305

ADVANCE

Scholar

Program

Women of color comprise over a third of the US population but are under-represented in

higher education. Although the number of doctorates who are women of color has been

rising, these gains have not translated into tenured faculty positions. A 2013 survey of

STEM faculty from over 600 four-year colleges and universities in the USA noted that

women of color are predominantly concentrated in non-tenure-track positions as lecturers or

instructors, i.e. positions that carry little power or authority in academia (Hurtado, 2013).

Black and Latina women faculty are the least represented at the full professor rank, followed

by Asian women, white women, men of color, Asian men and white men, in that order

(Hurtado, 2013). This pattern shows no sign of changing. According to the National Center

for Education Statistics (2017), 82 percent of full professors at research universities are

white. Across all ranks (assistant, associate and full), 13 percent of tenure track faculty

are Asian, 4 percent are Latinx and 3 percent are African-American.

Women of color are under-represented in funding agencies as well, both as research

staff and as grant recipients. For example, among the National Science Foundation’s

temporary and permanent scientific and professional staff, women of color comprised

8.6 percent (30 individuals) in 2007 and 10.3 percent (50 individuals) in 2010 (Poston, 2013).

Principal investigators of NSF grants in 2010 included less than 5 percent women of color

researchers, as compared to 17.5 percent white women (Poston, 2013). Similarly, women

of color are largely absent in governance roles in professional societies or in other

gatekeeping positions, such as editors of academic journals. Fewer than 20 percent of

current cognitive psychology journals based in the USA have any women as editors in

chief (Vaid and Geraci, 2016) and women cognitive scientists in Canada receive smaller

discovery grant amounts as principal investigators compared to their male counterparts

(Titone et al., 2018). A racial disparity in publications, citation counts, invitations to give

keynote addresses and other forms of recognition has been noted across a range of

disciplines; for example, a study of the racial composition of primary authors

of communication studies journals from 1990 to 2016 found that non-white scholars

were under-represented in publication rates, citation rates and editorial positions

(Chakravartty et al., 2018). In the field of education, most of the named awards across four

major professional societies are named after white men, with only a handful named after

minoritized individuals (Bazner et al., 2017).

Institutional efforts to enhance faculty diversity

A lack of racial diversityin the professoriate is notnew. What is new is that there is increasing

pressure on universities to do something about it. College students are increasingly from

racially diverse backgrounds and want to see a more representative curriculum and a

professoriate that looks more like them. Partly in response to student demands, universities

are beginning to institute practices aimed at developing a more diverse pool of faculty

applicants. As documented in several universities’websites (e.g. Columbia University,

https://provost.co lumbia.edu/sites/def ault/files/content/ BestPracticesFacul tySearchHiring.

pdf), recommended practices include requiring search committee training in implicit bias,

appointing equity-minded advocatesto serve on search committees and askingapplicants for

statementsof evidence of their commitmentto diversity. However, thesuccess of such policies

depends on whether they are followed and, even with the best of intentions, actual hiring

practices often result in the status quo being reproduced (Mertz, 2011).

Even if initiatives to diversify faculty search processes succeed in bringing in qualified

scholars of color as tenure track faculty, it is important to provide an environment in which

these faculty can succeed. That is, the institution in which these faculty are hired should

provide a work environment and culture in which all faculty feel valued and supported in

terms of access to resources and networks to help them be successful and get tenure.

Thus, there is a need for institutions to provide mechanisms to retain and advance faculty of

306

EDI

38,3