The Roles of Faculty Hiring and Retention in Shaping Diversity and Representation in US Higher Education Institutions: A Retrospective and Prospective Analysis from 2001 to 2035

Abstract

U.S. higher education institutions are adjusting their faculty hiring to respond to the demands of an increasingly diverse racial and ethnic student population. However, it is not always clear whether specific faculty policies are intended to address the matter of diversity or representation—two similar but qualitatively different concepts. Essentially, the policy choices that institutions make result in different implementation approaches and long-term outcomes. Using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from 2001 to 2021, this study measures and compares the changes in faculty diversity and student-faculty representation in U.S. higher education institutions over the past two decades. It then develops several simulated scenarios to project the future racial and ethnic landscape of American campuses, depending on the different policy choices that institutions make through their hiring and retention policies. Our recommendation calls for balanced efforts in the retention and hiring of minoritized and underrepresented faculty, adapted to the individual circumstances of institutions.