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President says diversity is a worthwhile challenge

Written by James D. Spaniolo

Thursday, 11 October 2007 07:07 PM

Last week’s article “University Debates Faculty Diversity” raised some important points. The fact is, there aren’t enough minority faculty members at UTA. But saying that it’s because we’re not trying hard enough is not only unfair, it’s untrue.

Minority faculty members are underrepresented nationwide, not just at the university. About 21 percent of our faculty is minority. At almost every major Texas university, that percentage is significantly smaller than it is at UTA. It is true that we need more minority faculty members here, especially African-Americans. But so does every other college or university in the nation.

This is a priority for us, as I’ve discussed on many occasions, including my presentation at the Fall Faculty and Associates meeting a few weeks ago. And we’ve taken steps that are making a difference. Last year, we conducted several targeted tenure system searches with outstanding results, and we will continue that practice this year and beyond. Because of the fact that the candidate pool is limited in some disciplines and competition is always fierce, we’ve asked our faculty members to help us identify and recruit minority colleagues from across the country. We now have a Human Resources vice president (Jean Hood), a newly created position, who will help us on a range of diversity issues, including faculty and staff hiring. As we search for a provost, I will ensure that the person selected is committed to help us further this mission.

This takes time and a dedicated effort by each of us. There are no simple solutions, as evidenced by the slow but steady progress in higher education as a whole. But be assured that diversifying our faculty remains a priority for the university and for me.

— James D. Spaniolo is the university president

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