New strategy for hiring minorities

The small number of minority faculty at Penn is troubling. While it is a problem nationally, there is no reason why Penn shouldn't strive to stay ahead of the curve on this issue. The best way to do this is to alter Penn's current recruitment practices.

This doesn't mean that Penn should compromise its interests by hiring minorities over better-qualified candidates simply because they are minorities. But it is possible to recognize that the low number of minority professors is worrying and to make a proactive, concerted effort to increase their numbers without lowering our standards.

This starts with recruitment. Currently, Penn mostly focuses on hiring minority faculty from top-tier institutions. This method needs to be reconsidered. Individual ability is infinitely more important than institutional notoriety, and with the higher education market flooded with qualified candidates, maintaining a policy of selecting only from our peer institutions makes no sense. There are brilliant minds performing cutting-edge research in their fields at universities all over the country. By focusing our hiring on the most elite institutions, it is easy to miss out on those candidates.

It is also important to not necessarily target established academic stars, and instead go after young, up-and-coming scholars who can establish themselves at Penn. There is nothing wrong with high-profile figures who sell books and make headlines; we are lucky to have them. But one or two such hirings will not swell the ranks of minority professors; a larger number of more low-profile academics could have a greater impact.

Increasing the number of minority faculty isn't just a luxury that Penn wants to afford certain members of the community. It is becoming more and more of a necessity. Search committees require minority input, and due to the small pool of professors we have to draw on, the same professors can easily find themselves overextended. Also, finding an academic mentor is an integral part of the undergraduate experience. While there is no reason minority undergraduates cannot find mentors of any ethnicity, sometimes students are simply more comfortable with a faculty member of their racial background.

Perhaps the most important part of increasing minority professorships is encouraging minority undergraduates to pursue careers in academia. Not having a greater minority presence could discourage some, but in the end, as this change will not happen overnight, the best way to see it through is to get involved personally.

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