The American postsecondary education system is widely regarded for its rich teaching, research, and service traditions (Beard & Hartley, 1984; Hannan & Silver, 2000; Kezar & Sam, 2010). Yet, diversifying faculty in higher education has been particularly problematic (Kayes, 2006) since many postsecondary institutions fail to mirror the diversity of their student populations as it pertains to recruiting and retaining faculty of color (Espinosa, Turk, Taylor, & Chessman, 2019).
In the United States there are approximately 1.5 million faculty members (McFarland, et al., 2018). Yet, when the data are disaggregated the numbers reveal limited progress in diversification such that the demographic breakdown of full-time faculty of color are, 10% Asian Pacific Islanders; 6% Black/African Americans; 5% Hispanic; and 1% American Indian or Other (McFarland, et al., 2018). These data are often used as the baseline to routinely scrutinize, document, and enact programming to disrupt static stratification of faculty diversity (Moody, 2004; Smith, 2015). Diversifying the postsecondary faculty pipeline, as it is routinely referred to, suggests that specific ethnic groups remain underrepresented in academe (Alger & Carrasco, 1997).
Conversations on how to address the minimal progress associated with increasing diversity tend to focus on developing programs that grow the rate of diverse faculty. Such discourses have made it possible to develop plans that incentivize diversity hiring. For example, some universities have hiring programs where funding allocations are specifically set aside to hire diverse faculty. Outside the university, some initiatives have situated their work in training future faculty to acquire the necessary research skills to teach and produce academic scholarship. I know of aspects related to the aforementioned programs. As a Black woman who sought to become a faculty member, these pathways were made available to me. To contextualize perspectives on diversifying faculty and provide a pragmatic overview of the book, I synthesize insights regarding transition from student to scholar within the context of my own narrative, examine historic considerations of faculty of color and needs for mentoring, describe initiatives in faculty diversity programming, preview considerations presented by the authors of this edited volume, and summarize the motivations that led to the book you are now reading.
Credentialed No Career
Approximately three years ago, I earned the highest academic credential in my field. I graduated with a terminal degree, but I was troubled. The graduation ceremony was supposed to be celebratory in nature. Yet in a heart-stopping slap-in-the-face to reality sort of way, I felt conflicted. My years of work finally resulted in the recognition and endorsement of the university. Yet, ironically my preparation did not, initially, go far enough to help me secure a faculty position to launch my academic career. While I am, and forever will be, Dr. Amanda Wilkerson, at the time of my graduation I was unemployed and recovering from a sleep debt and associated emotional and physical fatigue related to the long and grueling process of writing my dissertation. To make matters worse, I was frustrated by the new set of circumstances I encountered. My best efforts to prove to myself that I was worthy of working at the fount of knowledge and the home of intellectual curiosity, the university, as an emerging urban education expert and faculty member were met with an oppressive reality. I was credentialed with no employment prospects.
Undoubtedly, instead of feeling elated, I felt overwhelmed that I had not lived up to my own career expectations and the explicit and implicit expectations of my family, friends, and colleagues. I carried the weight of the expectations from my family as a first-generation graduate student that I would miraculously figure out how to turn my college degrees into an opportunity worthy of the time, commitment, and work I had dedicated several years of my life to. The expectations from my peers and doctoral student counterparts was, as a natural born leader, I would position myself to succeed against all odds. All of the weighty expectations of my friends and families paled in comparison to the individual who had the most knowledge to help me transition from student to scholar: my dissertation chair.
I perceived my dissertation chairās expectations were not as hopeful as either my family or friends. I felt that she only expected that I would graduate. Moreover, I sensed that for my dissertation chair, getting me across the graduation stage would be the final activity of our scholarly collaboration. As is the case for all doctoral students, the nature of the short-term mentoring relationship would have long-lasting impact on my career trajectory and success beyond graduate school. However, as I embarked upon the search for an academic position, I felt the limitations of being unsupported.
I navigated my first steps beyond the dissertation, alone. Yet, through these experiences I was determined to figure out how to move closer to my intended goal of securing a faculty position. On my journey to the professoriate I knew I would have much to learn about what it meant to serve the academy as a knowledge broker. However, in my search to become a scholar I felt profoundly ignored and predictably overlooked. Essentially, graduation was a reminder that people within the academy had the power to include or separate, elevate or deprecate, and coordinate or conceal structural pathways to the professoriate. Hence, rather than allowing the modifications of support to change my focus, I used internal goals as a compass to illuminate my external actions while continuing to pursue, without giving up, steps that would lead to a career in the professoriate.
Professoriate Pathways
My aspirations to become a faculty member were based on the desire to have an impact in the field of education. Moreover, my desire to make a difference in the lives of students, families, and communities has never waned. Despite not having any immediate prospects for a career in academia, I created self-imposed routines that would help me survive this turbulent period in my life. I got up every morning and read my Bible as a form of medication and motivation. Without guidance or advice, I wrote outlines for potential research studies, refined manuscript ideas, and developed presentation proposals to submit at academic conferences. I even remained āin touchā with my academic advisors. From time to time, I emailed colleagues and close friends to solicit support, encouragement, and guidance. I tried to stay optimistic. In reality, I was lost and anxious. Yet I made every effort to find a way back to the academy. Sometimes just for the sake of keeping my sanity, and with hopes that I would get professional guidance, I would even try to keep in touch with my dissertation chair.
However, I lived a very sobering existence. I was deeply in debt and living with my parents. Moreover, it became clear that job searching would be a long and involved process. The panic, along with sorrow, I experienced during graduation crept back up at different times. One of those occasions of panic transpired after having forced myself to drive down to the local unemployment office to apply for temporary assistance. Unfortunately, Dr. Wilkerson needed public assistance. The same panic I felt at graduation suddenly hit me again, a month later as I sat in an orientation class to serve as a K-12 substitute teacher, where the main requirements were, among other things, a high school diploma. I woke up every morning to my parents, who themselves were career K-12 veteran instructors, feeling horrible because, though I had accumulated multiple degrees, I had not secured work that was on par with my professional ambition or academic training. In the solace of those moments, I found comfort in the sage scriptural reading which simply says despise no small beginnings. Those words gave me the courage to believe that where I was at, career-less, frustrated, and looking to have a chance at leading the academic life I always wanted, was not where I would always be. In my estimation, I knew how to be a college student; I was one for a decade. Yet, I had no idea how to transition into being, Dr. Wilkerson, the scholar.
Postdoctoral Mentorship
My pathway to the professoriate was not always smooth. As I continued along the way, from time to time I discovered signs that affirmed the steps that I was taking were headed in the right direction. One of which was my selection as a University of Central Florida (UCF) Holmes Schola...