Can HBCUs Compete for Black Faculty? - Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Black Issues in Higher Education, Nov 23, 2000 by Cheryl D. Fields

Black colleges are searching for ways to draw top talent

There was a time when newly minted Black doctorate recipients had few choices but to pursue careers at historically Black colleges and universities. Times have changed, however. Over the last three decades, Black faculty have become dispersed among traditionally White and historically Black institutions.

As the demand for Black faculty members continues to outpace Black Ph.D. production, some HBCUs are searching for ways to ensure that they are able to compete for top talent. Howard University's graduate school recently convened a faculty development leadership summit of HBCU presidents, graduate students and faculty retention experts to discuss how HBCUs can retain its edge in a marketplace that is increasingly competitive.

"We hope to design a national strategy that will ensure that the nation's historically Black colleges and universities will retain the quality and the diversity of their faculties," says Dr. Orlando L. Taylor, dean of the Howard University Graduate School. He and Howard President H. Patrick Swygert hosted the presidential leadership summit here.

In 1993, roughly 25,658 African Americans were employed as full-time faculty members at the nation's colleges and universities. Today, Black institutions remain the leading employers of Black scholars, but some HBCUs are having a hard time filling their open faculty positions with African Americans.

In 1995, the nation's 26,835 Black faculty constituted roughly 58 percent of all full-time faculty at four-year HBCUs and 72 percent of full-time faculty at two-year HBCUs.

In the past, people whose highest degree was a master's could secure faculty jobs at two-and four-year institutions. As more institutions have come to require the doctorate of people who are looking to join their faculty, and since the nation's production of Black Ph.D.s has lagged behind demand, HBCUs now find themselves in a difficult position.

TROUBLE ALONG THE PIPELINE

Among the issues discussed by the presidents and provosts of 13 HBCUs represented at the summit were strategies for expanding Black representation in the faculty pipeline; devising new ways to avoid faculty burn-out among junior faculty; and identifying the financial resources that will enable HBCUs to offer more attractive compensation packages.

The summit participants also discussed ways in which they might work cooperatively to expand the pool of potential faculty.

"We should be able to cooperate with each other to create more doctoral degree programs, Swygert says. "What we really need is to get more and more of our talented, engaged and involve young people in graduate education, pursuing the Ph.D. And once we have them there, we need to really work hard to articulate persuasive reasons that will assist them in deciding to pursue higher education as a profession."

For years, Black Issues and other publications have reported on the shortage of faculty of color on our nation's campuses. Not only is the percentage of Black faculty low to begin with, but according to sources like the Higher Education Research Institute (see "Faculty Survey Indicates Overall Satisfaction, Room for Improvement"), their representation appears to be sinking. This, even at a time when the actual numbers of Black students earning doctorates has increased steadily since 1987.

Though African Americans constitute roughly 13 percent of the national population and 11 percent of the postsecondary student population, they constitute only 5 percent of full-time faculty.

The reasons for the shortage are numerous. Not enough Black students are entering higher education in the first place and the percentage of those who persist to the doctorate is small.

In 1997, 8.4 percent of all students enrolled in graduate programs were non-Hispanic Blacks. That same year, 1,335 African Americans were awarded doctorates, representing roughly 5 percent of the 27,668 who received the Ph.D. that year. Though it is unclear what percentage of those went on to careers in higher education, the 1997 Survey of Earned Doctorates shows that among U.S. citizens and those holding permanent U.S. visas who said they had firm employment commitments, only about 49 percent said they planned to work in academia. About one in four planned to pursue careers in industry or in their own business, and about 7.3 percent intended to work in government. Another 18.9 percent checked "other."

"While it is tree that most faculty have Ph.D.s, it is not tree that most doctorate holders want, seek or obtain faculty positions," says Dr. Jules LaPidus, scholar emeritus at the Council of Graduate Schools. "This is very field dependent, but it has been true for at least 25 years that in all fields the percentage of Ph.D. holders seeking faculty positions has been declining."

The fact that higher education increasingly finds itself in competition with the private sector for its best doctoral graduates is a problem that may not be as pronounced for HBCUs who are looking to hire Black faculty. African Americans who receive doctorates, are more likely to choose colleges and universities for their initial places of employment than their peers from other racial groups, according to the United Negro College Fund's Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute.