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Volume CXXXIII, Number 11 |
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Faculty voices add to campus diversity debate
ALISON L. MCCONNELL
ORIENT STAFF
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| Students discuss diversity issues Thursday evening in Smith Union. The informal discussion was led by Genevieve Creedon ’05. (Nancy Van Dyke, Bowdoin Orient) |
As several departments add faculty members this year, one of the College's primary objectives is to broaden its academic horizons.
Calling it a "high priority," Dean of Academic Affairs Craig McEwen said that diversifying Bowdoin's professor base was key to the development of the College community. "We would like the faculty to be more representative of the world we live in, just as we hope the student body will be," McEwen said.
"A diverse faculty provides important and varied role models for all students, adds the richness of varied perspectives, and taps more fully the rich array of talent that exists in the academic world," he added.
Several members of the community agreed. "The changing face of Bowdoin-racially, socioeconomically, and regionally-demands diversity of faculty," senior Jennifer Montalvo said.
"Diversifying the faculty is necessary, since this is likely to diversify many aspects of campus life-course offerings, approaches to critical thinking, teaching styles, academic advising, mentorship, campus governance, co-curricular events, you name it," said Assistant Professor of Sociology Joe Bandy.
This year, 12 percent of tenured and tenure-track faculty are professors of color. That figure compares to four percent in 1980 and five percent in 1990.
Kirk Johnson, another professor in the sociology department, indicated that Bowdoin seems committed to making similar changes in the future. "The few faculty members and administrators I've worked with seem to take the College's commitment to diversity reasonably seriously," he said.
"I remember that the dean's office cancelled a search that found several strong white candidates. The reason was that we hadn't been able to find a strong enough candidate of color as well," he said.
Jennifer Scanlon, Associate Professor of Women's Studies, said that the welcoming aspect of Bowdoin's atmosphere was "one of the most significant questions we face. We need to recognize that Bowdoin's environment is not simply one of a campus with few people of color; it is also part of a larger community with few people of color."
Another challenging part of the process is getting different types of applicants interested in Bowdoin. "We are constrained by the varying disciplinary pools of candidates, which are often rather 'undiverse,'" McEwen said.
"The process for all good faculty recruitment involves aggressive efforts to make Bowdoin known to potential candidates who may not know of opportunities at small liberal arts colleges, and to make Brunswick appear less remote than it may be perceived to be by potential job applicants," he continued.
Bowdoin is not alone in its effort to bring more diverse instructors to campus. "Similar schools are engaged in the very same effort that we are for the same reasons," McEwen said.
He also made clear that faculty diversification would remain a priority despite obstacles, and several professors asserted the importance of that continuation.
"If we plan to move forward, a diverse faculty is crucial to Bowdoin," Scanlon said. "Many of us are committed to seeing a broader world reflected and acted out here on campus, in and out of the classroom."
Johnson concurred, saying that a diverse faculty was "tremendously" important. "It tells white students that there are persons of color on the same intellectual plane as every other professor and that they can learn from us, and gives students of color viable role models in academia," he said.
"There are many faculty who are actively engaged in trying to help make Bowdoin more diverse," Bandy said. "These efforts have received much support from the deans."
While the faculty angle is sometimes overlooked in student discussions about Bowdoin life, it is apparent that students are aware of the circumstances.
"Most academic areas lack diversity amongst their faculty, but the natural sciences, math, and humanities tend to be the least diverse," Montalvo said. "I think Bowdoin has been struggling with the retention rate of faculty from diverse backgrounds. I do believe that they trying to find solutions, but the College needs diversity of faculty now."
Bandy said that discussions about diversity often neglect certain forms of difference.
"A small number of faculty are deeply concerned with representation of other racial or ethnic groups, such as Asians and Latinos, and a still smaller group is concerned about representation of working class and non-heterosexual groups," Bandy said. "But the discussions among faculty have less often focused on the issues of gender, class, and sexuality."
He added that those concerns were crucial in the College's progress. "The campus is in need of a broad discussion of each of these issues as they affect curriculum and student life if we are to be representative of underrepresented populations or if we are to prepare students for the social complexities of the 21st century," he said.
The composition of Bowdoin's student body has changed relatively rapidly. Nearly one quarter (24.3 percent) of the class of 2007 comprises students of color, compared to 16.1 percent in the class of 2004. According to Montalvo, this trend makes faculty diversification and participation more important.
"It is key that faculty get involved with the student body," she said. "I think we need their input as much as they need ours. My hope is that they feel welcome at student-run discussions. Often faculty know us on a strictly academic level, and these forums would allow them to learn more about their students."
Time may be a factor. "Outside of [our] work on teaching, research, and campus governance, we have precious little time to be a part of students' lives," Bandy said. "If there is to be more faculty involvement in this aspect of diversification, then there needs to be more professional incentives for faculty to get involved, namely new requirements for reappointment, tenure, and promotions."
According to students, there will be space for that involvement. "I hope to have another discussion before the end of the term, and I will extend the invitation to faculty," Montalvo said. "My hope is that they will come."
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