Sumi Pendakur and I recently published an article in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society entitled, “Advocating for Diversity and Inclusion in Faculty Hiring,” in which we offer some best practices for faculty searches. Though it was written for people in the mathematical sciences, the strategies and tactics we offer can be used by any faculty search committee.

We wanted to share with you a section of the paper that didn’t make it into the final printed version, due to space constraints. We both consider this section to be an important piece of the puzzle.

I’m going to label this missing text as “Section 0” because it comes before Section 1. (This text will probably make more sense if you read it in the context of the rest of the article.)

Section 0. Why should faculty care about diversity, equity and inclusion?

Ultimately, the degree to which our institutions are successful at increasing diversity, equity and inclusion depends on how our institutions and those connected to it see these things as vital to their mission (Smith, 2009; Taylor, Milem, Coleman, 2016). The more that we can articulate our own reasons for promoting diversity, the better we can share those with others and see how they are connected with the missions of our institutions.

One of the most important steps that departments can take to support diversity in faculty hiring is actually something that takes place long before the position is approved. That step is to come to a shared understanding as a department about what is meant by words like “diversity” and “inclusion” and how those things relate to the mission of the department. If your institution has a strong vision for diversity, that is always a good place to start. Coming up with a department diversity statement can be helpful, but written documents like these are helpful only as much as they are supported and enacted by individuals in the department.

There are many specific reasons why your department or institution might value diversity in the mathematical sciences. The following economic argument is cited by publications such as “Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future”: minority groups are increasing as a percentage of the U.S. population and if these groups are not well-represented in the STEM workforce, we will suffer from a shortage of innovators who will spur economic growth.

Another argument has to do with the quality of work that we produce as a discipline. Without a broad representation of people, we cannot be sure that our work in the mathematical sciences addresses all of the important issues that need to be addressed, or that we are addressing these issues having heard all of the voices that need to be heard. More equitable participation will increase the robustness of our discipline.
Leadership is a common educational goal at many institutions, and that can often be a way to connect the mission of the institution with diversity. In today’s global society, multicultural competence and awareness of the societal impacts of one’s work is an increasingly important component of being a leader.

The student success imperative is also tied to the vision of diversity held by the institution and the search committee. Recruitment, retention, and successful graduation of an increasingly diverse (racially, sexually, and socioeconomically) student body is directly impacted by multiple factors, including quality of faculty interaction and whether students see themselves reflected in the curriculum and in the faculty body. The powerful mentoring relationships of faculty of color and students of color are well-documented in the literature and contribute to the feeling of a welcoming and inclusive learning environment. In addition, critical mass of minoritized communities in both the student and faculty bodies reduces stereotype threat, thereby enhancing academic success.

Then, there are a whole range of arguments for diversity having to do with social justice. If your institution or department has a goal of graduating ethical people who contribute to society, one can make the argument that it is important for our students to understand their mathematical work in a historical context of exclusion and underrepresentation in the mathematical sciences in the U.S. Hiring faculty who have an understanding of the historical and sociological context of patterns of exclusion in our discipline and are able to integrate that knowledge into their teaching benefits ALL students.

If your department can find consensus around a set of arguments for diversity, equity and inclusion, it will be much more likely that its actions, including teaching practices, curricula, and faculty hiring practices, will support these outcomes. It will also make it less likely that a search committee will fall into the trap of making a false dichotomy between excellence and diversity; instead search committees will see that diversity is part of what it means to reach excellence by fulfilling its goals.

References mentioned in this excerpt:

Smith, Daryl. Diversity’s Promise for Higher Education: Making it Work. John Hopkins University Press, 2009.

Taylor, Teresa E., Jeffrey F. Milem, and Arthur F. Coleman (2016). Bridging the research to practice gap: Achieving mission-driven diversity and inclusion goals. New York,
NY: College Board. Available at https://www.aacu.org/node/16225.