SIUE attempts to boost minority faculty, staff

Katie Bannett
For the Alestle

SIUE's percentage of minority faculty is under scrutiny after the Illinois Committee on Black Concerns in Higher Education reported unsatisfactory numbers in the state's 12 public universities.

The committee's "report card" showed there are only two state institutions where 15 percent of the faculty is African-American. The two schools are Chicago State University and nearby Governor's State University.

The committee of educators is calling for more diversity among administrative and faculty members.

Assistant Provost for Cultural and Social Diversity Rudy Wilson said those two schools have a 15 percent African-American faculty because they're so close to Chicago.

"Chicago is 85 percent African-American," Wilson said. "These are predominantly minority colleges."

Wilson said SIUE meets the criteria for national standards in terms of its faculty. "The national norm for minority students in predominantly white institutions is between 12 and 14 percent and our minority faculty is between 12 and 14 percent," he said. SIUE has 39 African-American teachers.

Wilson said SIUE needs more minorities on its staff. "The more people you have who are diverse, the better understanding our students will have in the world they're trying to enter to work," he said.

According to SIUE's 2000 Fact Book, the 1999 faculty was 5.7 percent black, non-Hispanic; 5.4 percent Asian; 1.3 percent Hispanic; and 86.7 percent white, non-Hispanic. The 1999 student body was 10.9 percent black, non-Hispanic; 0.5 percent American Indian/Alaskan Native; 1.6 percent Asian; 1.3 percent Hispanic; and 82.7 percent white, non-Hispanic.

The Illinois Committee on Black Concerns in Higher Education has issued recommendations on ways universities can boost their minority faculty figures.

Wilson said SIUE had a major recruiting drive last year that resulted in hiring three African-American faculty members and one African-American professional staff member.

He said SIUE is having trouble finding new faculty members because of the lack of minority students graduating with a degree in education.

"We're competing with the private sector and we can't win because we can't compete with the salaries," Wilson said. "When you start talking about the small percentage of African-American faculty with graduate degrees and so on, not many are going into education because it involves teaching, grading papers, dealing with student conflict, working for eight hours and taking it home with you. Why would graduate students go into teaching when they can make $90,000 going into the industry?"

To help recruit more minority faculty members, SIUE works with two programs that mentor potential faculty members. The Illinois Minority Graduate Incentive Program and the Illinois Consortium for Education Opportunity Program give scholarships and grants to minorities continuing in higher education from the master's degree to the doctorate level. IMGIP and ICEOP encourage students to teach in Illinois by paying their loans after they have taught in the state for two years.

"We have a couple of faculty members here at SIUE who are part of that program," Wilson said. He will be speaking at the IMGIP/ICEOP Joint Fellows Conference Friday at the Sheraton Northshore Hotel in Northbrook. The theme of the conference is "Diversity and Collaboration: Staffing the Future."

SIUE is searching for a dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a dean of the School of Education. According to Wilson, each search committee chair has received a copy of a book titled "Successful Staffing in a Diverse Workplace" by Maureen C. Orey. The book is designed to assist managers, supervisors and human resource professionals in preparing for, selecting and retaining a more diverse workforce. Wilson said he hopes the search committee will achieve this objective.

According to the Illinois Committee's report card, an increase of black faculty would help recruit and maintain black students. Wilson said he was not sure that statement is true because historically black universities have white faculty members.

"I think that students are looking for a faculty that's sensitive and aware of them," Wilson said. "They don't want to be seen as token students but rather as a part of the total picture of the college campus."

He said SIUE is slowly gaining more minority faculty members.

"The great thing about our campus is that it's dynamic, not static," Wilson said. "It's constantly changing and evolving to reflect the 21st century's diverse climate."