In this chapter the authors propose a model of faculty hiring drawing upon job-market signaling from economics (Spence, 1973; 2002), management, sociology, higher education, and present exemplary practices. After outlining how signaling theory can be used to explain the obstacles institutions of higher education face in their efforts to hire diverse faculty, the authors use signaling theory to frame their review of the literature related to best practices for recruiting and hiring diverse faculty. The authors conclude by arguing that the slow progress on the part of higher education to diversify their faculty may be attributed to the inability of organizations to modify their hiring practices in light of the signals that can interfere with the recruitment process and provide a list of implications for future research and practice aimed at increasing faculty diversity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Aguirre, A. (2000). Academic storytelling: A critical race theory story of affirmative action. Sociological Perspectives, 43(2), 319–339.
Aleman, A. M. (1995). Actuando. In R. Padilla & R. Chavez (Eds.), The leaning ivory tower: Latino professors in American universities (pp. 67–76). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Alger, J. B. (1998). Minority faculty and measuring merit: Start by playing fair. Academe, 84, 74.
Alger, R. J. (1999, Spring). When color-blind is color-bland: Ensuring diversity in higher education. Stanford Law & Policy Review, 10, 191.
Almanac. (2005, August 26). The nation: Faculty and staff. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 52(1).
American Council on Education (ACE). (2005). Minorities in higher education twenty-first annual status report (2003–2004). Washington, D.C.
Antonio, A. L. (2003, Nov/Dec). Diverse student bodies, diverse faculties. Academe, 89(6), 14–17.
Ards, Sheila, Michael Brintnall, and Maurice Woodard. (1997). ‘The Road to Tenure and Beyond for African American Political Scientists.’ Journal of Negro Education 66(2), 159–171.
Baez, B. (2000). Race-related service and faculty of color: Conceptualizing critical agency in academe. Higher Education, 39, 363–391.
Becker, H. S., & Carper, J. W. (1956). The development of identification with an occupation. The American Journal of Sociology, 61(4), 289–298.
Bennefield, R. M. (1999, October 28). Tales from the boondocks – recruiting minority professors. Black Issues in Higher Education, 16(18), 26.
Bensimon, E. M., & Marshall, C. (2000). Policy analysis for postsecondary education: Feminist and critical perspectives. In J. Glazer-Raymo, B. K. Townsend, & B. Ropers-Huliman (Eds.), Women in American higher education: A feminist perspective (2nd ed.) (pp. 133–147). Needham Heights, MA: Pearson.
Beutel, A. M., & Nelson, D. J. (2006). The gender and race-ethnicity of faculty in top social science research departments. Social Science Journal, 43, 111–125.
Blackburn, R. T., & Lawrence, J. H. (1995). Faculty at work: Motivation, expectation, and satisfaction. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Blackwell, J. E. (1996). Faculty issues: Impact on minorities. In C. Turner, M. Garcia, A. Nora, & L. Rendon (Eds.), Racial and ethnic diversity in higher education (pp. 315–326). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Boice, R. (1992). The new faculty member: Supporting and fostering professional development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bramen, C. T. (2000). Minority hiring in the age of downsizing. In S. G. Lim, M. Herrera-Sobek, & G. Padilla (Eds.), Power, race, and gender in academe (pp. 112–131). New York: Modern Language Association.
Bronstein, P., Rothblum, E. D., & Solomon, S. E. (1993). Ivy halls and glass walls: Barriers to academic careers for women and ethnic minorities. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 53, 17–31.
Carter, D. J., & O’Brien, E. M. (1993). Employment and hiring patterns for faculty of color. Research Briefs: Division of Policy Analysis and Research American Council on Education, 4(6), 1–16.
Collins, M. (1990). Enrollment, recruitment, and retention of minority faculty and staff in institutions of higher education. Action in Teacher Education, 12(3), 57–62.
Collins R. W., & Johnson, J. A. (1990). One institutions success in increasing the number of minority faculty: A provost’s perspective. Peabody Journal of Education, 66(1), 71–76.
Cross, T. (1994). Black faculty at Harvard: Does the pipeline defense hold water? Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 4, 42–46.
Curtis, J. (2005). Trends in faculty status, 1975–2003. Washington DC: American Association of University Professors. Retrieved May 26, 2005, from http://www/aaup.org/research/FacstatTrends.htm
Danowitz Sagaria, M. A. (2002). An exploratory model of filtering in administrative searches: Toward counter-hegemonic discourses. Journal of Higher Education, 73, 677–710.
Danowitz Sagaria, M. A., & Agans, L. (2006). Gender equality in U.S. higher education: Inter/national framing and institutional realities. In K. Yokoyama (Ed.), Gender and higher education: Australia, Japan, the UK and USA. (pp. 47–68) Hiroshima, Japan: Higher Education Institute Press.
Danowitz Sagaria, M. A., & Van Horn, P. (2007). Academic excellence and gender equality at the Ohio State University. In M. A. Danowitz Sagaria (Ed.), Women, universities and change: Gender equality in the European Union and the United States (pp. 179–197). New York: Palgrave.
Daresh, J., & Playko, M. (1995, October). Alternative career formation perspectives: Lessons for educational leadership from law, medicine, and training for the priesthood. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the University Council for Educational Administration, Salt Lake City, UT. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED387090)
De la Luz Reyes, M., & Halcon, J. J. (1988). Racism in academia: The old wolf revisited. Harvard Education Review, 58, 299–314.
De la Luz Reyes, M., & Halcon, J. J. (1991). Practices of the academy: Barriers to access for Chicano academics. In P. B. Altbach & K. Lomotey (Eds.), The racial crisis in American higher education (pp. 167–186). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Delgado, R., Stefancic, J., & Lindsley, J. N. (2000). Symposium: Race and the law at the turn of the century: California’s racial history and constitutional rationales for race-conscious decision making in higher education. UCLA Law Review, 47, 1521.
Duncan, B. L. (1976). Minority students. In J. Katz & R. T. Harnett (Eds.), Scholars in the making: The development of graduate and professional students (pp. 227–242). Cambridge: Ballinger Publishing Co.
Dunnette, M. D., & Hough, L. M. (1991). Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
El-Khawas, E. (1990). Campus trends survey. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
Ellis, E. M. (1997). Race, gender, and the graduate student experience: Recent research. Retrieved May 15, 2005, from http://www.diversityweb.org
Gappa, J. (2002). Academic careers for the 21st century: More options for new faculty. In J. Smart (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of theory and research, XVII (pp. 425–475). Agathon Press. New York.
Garza, H. (1988). The ‘barrioization’ of Hispanic faculty. Educational Record, 69, 122–124.
Gay, G. (2004). Navigating marginality en route to the professoriate: Graduate students of color learning and living in academia. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 17(2), 265–288.
Granados, R., & Lopez, J. M. (1999). Student-run support organizations for underrepresented graduate students: Goals, creation, implementation, and assessment. Peabody Journal of Education, 74(2), 135–149.
Gratz v. Bollinger. (2003). 539 U.S. 244.
Gregory, S. T. (1998). Faculty diversity: Effective strategies for the recruitment and retention of faculty of color. In J. Jennings (Ed.), Diversity, pedagogy and higher education: Challenges, lessons and accomplishments (pp. 5–7). Boston: Trotter Review.
Grutter v. Bollinger. (2003). 539 U.S. 306.
Hagedorn, L. S., & Laden, B. V. (2000). Job satisfaction among faculty of color in academe: Individual survivors or institutional transformers? New Directions for Institutional Research, 27, 57–66.
Harvey, W., & Scott-Jones, D. (1985). We can’t find any: The elusiveness of black faculty members in American higher education. Issues in Education, 3, 68–76.
Herrera, R. R. (2003). Notes from a Latino graduate student at a predominantly white university. In J. Castellanos & L. Jones (Eds.), The majority in the minority (pp. 111–125). Sterling: Stylus Publishing.
Hoffer, T. B., Welch, V., Jr., Williams, K., Hess, M., Webber, K., Lisek, B., Loew, D., & Guzman-Barron, I. (2004). Doctorate recipients from United States Universities: Summary report 2003. Chicago: National Opinion Research Center.
Hoffer, T. B., Welch, V., Jr., Williams, K., Hess, M., Webber, K., Lisek, B., et al. (2005). Doctorate Recipients from United States Universities: Summary Report 2004. Chicago: National Opinion Research Center.
Holzer, H. J. (1996). What employers want. New York: Russelll Sage Foundation.
Hune, S. (1998). Asian Pacific American women in higher education: Claiming visibility and voice. Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Hurtado, S., Milem J., Clayton-Pederson, A., & Allen, W. (1999). Enacting diverse learning environments: Improving the climate for racial/ethnic diversity in higher education (ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report Volume 26, No. 8). Washington, D.C.: The George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
Jackson, P. B., Thoits, P., & Taylor, H. (1995). Composition of the workplace and psychological well-being: The effects of tokenism on America’s Black elite. Social Forces, 74(2), 543–557.
James, J., & Farmer, R. (Eds.). (1993). Spirit, space, & survival: African American women in (White) academe. New York: Routledge.
Jordan, D. (2005). Sisters in Science: Conversations with Black Women Scientists on Race, Gender, and Their Passion for Science. Purdue University Press.
Kanter, R. M. (1977). Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic Books.
Kenen, P. B., & Kenen, R. H. (1978). Who thinks who’s in charge here: Faculty perceptions of influence and power in the university. Sociology of Education, 51, 113–123.
Keohane, N., Roth, S., Dupre, J., Brown, A., Buhrke, R., Dickson, S., et al. (2003). Report of the Steering Committee for the Women’s Initiative at Duke University. Retrieved August, 2006, from http://www.duke.edu/womens_initiative/ report_report.htm
Kerckhoff, A. C. (1976). The status attainment process: Socialization or allocation? Social Forces, 53, 368–381.
Kirst, M. W., & Venezia, A. (2004). From high school to college: Improving opportunities for success in postsecondary education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Konrad, A. M., & Pfeffer, J. (1991). Understanding the hiring of women ands minorities in educational institutions. Sociology of Education, 64, 141–157.
Kulis, S., Chong, H., & Shaw, H. (1999). Discriminatory organizational contexts and Black scientists on postsecondary faculties. Research in Higher Education, 40(2), 115–148.
Kulis, S., Shaw, H., & Chong, Y. (2000). External labor markets and the distribution of black scientists and engineers in academia. Journal of Higher Education, 71(2), 187–222.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1997). For colored girls who have considered suicide when the academy’s not enough: Reflections of an African American woman scholar. In A. Neumann & P. Peterson (Eds.), Learning from our lives: Women, research, and autobiography in education (pp. 52–70). New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.
Lawler, A. (2006, April 21). Progress on hiring women science faculty members stalls at MIT. Science, 312, 347–348.
Light, P. (1994). Diversity in the faculty—“not like us”: Removing the barriers to minority recruitment. Journal of Policy Analysis & Management, 13(1), 164–179.
Long, B. T. (2003). Diversity by any other name: Are there viable alternatives to affirmative action in higher education? Western Journal of Black Studies, 27(1), 30–35.
Mahtani, M. (2004). Mapping race and gender in the academy: The experiences of women of colour faculty and graduate students in Britain, the US, and Canada. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 28(1), 91–99.
McKay, P., & Avery, D. (2006). What has race got to do with it? Unraveling the role of racioethnicity in job seekers’ reactions to site visits. Personnel Psychology, 59, 395–429.
Mickelson, R. A., & Oliver, M. L. (1991). Making the short list: Black candidates and the faculty recruitment process. In P. G. Altbach & K. Lomotey (Eds.), The racial crisis in American higher education (pp. 149–166). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Moody, J. (2000). Tenure and diversity: Some different voices. Academe, 86(3), 30–33.
Myers, S. L., Jr., & Turner, C. S. V. (1995). Minority faculty development project (Prepublication Report). Minneapolis: Midwestern Higher Education Commission.
Myers, S. L., & Turner, C. S. (2001). Affirmative action retrenchment and labor market outcomes for African-American faculty. In B. Lindsay & M. J. Justiz (Eds.), The quest for equity in higher education (pp. 63–94). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Nelson, S., & Pillett, G. (Producers). (1997). Shattering the silence: Minority professors break into the ivory tower. Public Broadcasting Service (http://www.pbs.org/ shattering/).
Ng, E. S.W., & Burke, R. J. (2005). Person-organization fit and the war for talent: Does diversity management make a difference? International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16, 1195–1210.
Office of Human Resources. (1994). Guide to effective faculty searches. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University.
Ortiz, F. (1998). Career patterns of people of color in academia. In L. A. Valverde & L. A. Castenell (Eds.), The multicultural campus: Strategies for transforming higher education (pp. 121–135). Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press.
Parker, K. (2003). Achieving diversity in graduate education: Impact of the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program. Negro Educational Review, 54 (1–2), 47–51.
Phillips, R. (2002). Recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty. Planning for Higher Education, 30(4), 32–39.
Rains, F. (1999). Dancing on the sharp edge of the sword: Women faculty of color in white academe. In L. Christian-Smith & K. Kellor (Eds.), Everyday knowledge and uncommon truths: Women of the academy (pp. 147–173). Oxford: Westview Press.
Reskin, B., McBrier, D., & Kmec, J. (1999). The determinants and consequences of workplace sex and race composition. American Review of Sociology, 25, 335–361.
Robinson, C. (1996, April). One solution to minority graduate students’ discontent at Peabody College. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (pp. 1–24). New York (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 396 642).
Russell, P. G. (2003, November). Creating Greater Diversity in the Halls of Ivy. Paper presented at the University of Colorado Diversity Summit, Denver, CO.
Rynes, S. (1991). Recruitment, job choice, and post-hire consequences: A call for new research directions. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 399–444). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Rynes, S., & Barber, A. (1990). Applicant attraction strategies: An organizational perspective. Academy of Management Review, 15(2), 286–310.
Rynes, S. L., Bretz, R. D., & Gerhart, B. (1991). The importance of recruitment in job choice: A different way of looking. Personnel Psychology, 44, 487–521.
Smith, D. G., Turner, C. S., Osei-Kofi, N., & Richards, S. (2004). Interrupting the usual: Successful strategies for hiring diverse faculty. Journal of Higher Education, 75(2), 133–160.
Smith, D. G., Wolf, L. E., & Busenberg, B. E. (1996). Achieving faculty diversity: Debunking the myths. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges & Universities.
Spence, M. (1973). Job market signaling. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355–374.
Spence, M. (2002, June). Signaling in retrospect and the informational structure of markets. American Economic Review, 92(3), 434–459.
Springer, A. (2002). How to diversify faculty: The current legal landscape. Washington, DC: American Association of University Professors.
Thomas, K. M., & Wise, P. G. (1999). Organizational attractiveness and individual differences: Are diverse applicants attracted by different factors? Journal of Business & Psychology, 13, 375–390.
Tierney, W. G., & Rhoads, R. A. (1993). Enhancing promotion, tenure and beyond: Faculty socialization as a cultural process (ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report 1993, No. 6). Washington, DC: The George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development.
Tillman, L. (2002). Culturally sensitive research approaches: An African-American perspective. Educational Researcher, 31(9), 3–12.
Trower, C. A., & Chait, R. P. (2002, March–April). Faculty diversity: Too little for too long. Harvard Magazine, 104(4), 33–37.
Turban, D. B., Forret, M. L., & Hendrickson, C. L. (1998). Applicant attraction to firms: Influences of organization reputation, job and organizational attributes, and recruiter behaviors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 52, 24–44.
Turner, C. S. V. (2002a). Diversifying the faculty: A guidebook for search committees (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Turner, C. S. V. (2002b). Women of color in academe: Living with multiple marginality. In J. Fairweather (Ed.), Journal of Higher Education, 73(1), 74–93.
Turner, C. S. V. (forthcoming). Toward public education as a public good: Reflections from the field.
Turner, C. S. V. (in press). Diversifying the faculty: Search committees going beyond business as usual. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Turner, C. S. V., & Myers, S. L., Jr. (2000). Faculty of color in academe: Bittersweet success. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Turner, C. S. (2000, September–October). New faces, new knowledge. Academe, 86(5), 34–37.
U.S. Department of Education. (1999). National study of postsecondary faculty: 1999 (NSOPF: 99). National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: Author.
Vasquez, M. J. T. (1997). Confronting barriers to participation of Mexican American women in higher education. In A. Darder, R. D. Torres, & H. Gutierrez (Eds.), Latinos and education: A reader (pp. 454–467). New York: Routledge.
Watson, L. W., Terrell, M. C., Wright, D. J., Bonner, F. A. I., Cuyjet, M. J., Gold, J. A., et al. (2002). How minority students experience college: Implications for planning and policies. Sterling: Stylus Publishing.
Weidman, J. C., Twale, D. J., & Stein, E. L. (2001). Socialization of graduate and professional students in higher education: A perilous passage? (ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report Vol. 28, No.3). Washington, D.C.: The George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
Williams, B. N., & Williams, S. M. (2006). Perceptions of African American male junior faculty on promotion and tenure: Implications for community building and social capital. Teachers College Record, 108(2), 287–315.
Wilson, R. (1987). Recruitment and retention of minority faculty and staff. AAHE Bulletin, 41(38), 11–14.
Wilson, R. (1995). Hiring of black scholars stalls at some major universities. Chronicle of Higher Education, A16.
Wong, K., & Turner, C. S. V. (2005, October). Promising Practices & Challenges Diversifying Faculty: Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty? Presented at the American Council on Education Educating All of One Nation Conference, Phoenix, Arizona.
Youn, T. I., & Gamson, Z. F. (1994). Organizational responses to the labor market: A study of faculty searches in comprehensive colleges and universities. Higher Education, 28, 189–205.
Zamboanga, B. L., & Bingman, L. G. (2001). The diversity challenge: Recruiting prospective faculty of color. Black Issues in Higher Education, 18(11), 160.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tuitt, F.A., Sagaria, M.A.D., Turner, C.S.V. (2007). Signals and Strategies in Hiring Faculty of Color. In: Smart, J.C. (eds) Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, vol 22. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5666-6_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5666-6_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5665-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5666-6
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)