Diversity in Higher Education Administration: The Need for Student Perspectives

Presenter Information

Drew Albritton
Aaron Leedy

Faculty Sponsor

Aaron Leedy

Faculty Sponsor College

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Sponsor Department

Psychology

Location

SOARS Virtual Conference

Presentation Website

https://unfsoars.domains.unf.edu/2021/posters/diversity-in-higher-education-administration-the-need-for-student-perspectives/

Keywords

SOARS (Conference) (2021 : University of North Florida) – Archives; SOARS (Conference) (2021 : University of North Florida) – Posters; University of North Florida -- Students -- Research – Posters; University of North Florida. Office of Undergraduate Research; University of North Florida. Graduate School; College students – Research -- Florida – Jacksonville – Posters; University of North Florida – Undergraduates -- Research – Posters; University of North Florida. Department of Psychology -- Research – Posters; Honorable Mention Award

Abstract

Honorable Mention Winner

Diversity within higher education benefits students and institutions alike, creating a more relatable experience for students as well as a more beneficial work environment for faculty. While university student bodies are slowly beginning to represent the diversity in the communities which they serve, university faculty and staff have yet to catch up. This is especially the case with the administration at an institution’s highest levels. Eighty-three percent of college and university presidents are white (American Council on Education, 2017), and seventy-seven percent are male (Tarbutton, 2019). With an administration misaligned with its student body, students are at a disadvantage, as diverse populations benefit from the presence of faculty and mentors from similar backgrounds. In addition, a lack of diversity in administration can hinder attempts to provide an equitable educational setting. More research needs to be conducted to better understand how students perceive the lack of diversity of administration in higher level education and its effects on diversity within their institution. We will discuss necessary areas of research and future plans, as well as its potential benefits, and implications. Understanding student perspectives can help us better understand how a white male majority in leadership limits institutional growth, as well as how limited diversity may hurt the mission and reputation of an institution.

Comments

Audio Presentation Transcript:

Hello everyone! My name is Drew Albritton and I am working with Aaron Leedy in the Psychology department. Thank you for your interest in our poster! For our research we are interested in diversity in higher education, and more specifically the diversity amongst the highest levels of administration. Education is becoming more and more accessible to individuals from all walks of life, so there has been a recent shift in diversity. Students from Black, Hispanic, and Asian backgrounds have seen recently significantly higher increases in degrees awarded in comparison to their white counterparts. White students have had an increase in degrees awarded as well, but individuals from these more diverse backgrounds have seen a much larger shift. If you look at the top two graphs you will see that the general population is very similar to the undergraduate student population. The diversity in these students pretty closely mirrors the diversity that we see across the United States. However, faculty identifying as Black has only increased one percent from 2002-2015. In addition, in the mid-1980’s over 91 percent of college presidents were white. In the last thirty years there has been a large push for diversity, but that number has still only dropped to 83 percent. As you can see in the lower two graphs, the diversity amongst both faculty and presidents in higher education does not mimic that of the population in the country. A large portion of both faculty and presidents identify as white, with many of them also being male. In 2016, seventy percent of college presidents were male. While there has been a massive shift in diversity of students attending colleges and universities, faculty and administration has not yet caught up to this change. This creates a challenge, as the life experiences of faculty and presidents of institutions differ from their student body’s, causing a disconnect between staff and students. Non-white students are especially susceptible to the stressors of a university setting as this is often the first time in a predominantly white environment. In addition, this creates an increased strain on faculty of color due to a higher student to faculty ratio. Students will often look to faculty members and administrators that they can see themselves in. With such a small population of Black and Hispanic faculty, these faculty members are often much busier when it comes to mentoring students. Finally, the focus and priorities of white male presidents, which as previously mentioned is the majority, may not align with those of students and faculty from diverse backgrounds. Because the student body is more diverse now than ever, students may benefit from a wider array of presidents whose beliefs and priorities better match their own. Research has been conducted that shows that all diverse populations benefit from the presence of faculty and mentors from similar backgrounds. As we previously discussed, students seek out mentors that are similar to themselves, and this causes these students to have a higher success rate in higher education. Diverse students benefit from increased graduation rates when a university is more diverse. Diverse universities provide a broader range of opportunities and services for all of its students, from many different diverse backgrounds. A more diverse student body benefits all students through increased exposure to diversity. This is not exclusive to race and ethnicity, this also includes exposure to different genders, sexualities, disabilities, and so on. This information is important to recognize, as awareness to these biases and intentional efforts can help to overcome their impact. This creates a more equitable environment for everyone. With all the research that has already been done, there are still so many gaps in the knowledge we have on this topic. There are many studies on diversity of higher education, but very limited data on diversity in the administration of higher education. There is little to no research on students’ perspectives of this limited diversity. We believe it is important to understand how undergraduate students perceive the lack of diversity amongst administration in comparison to the student body. The input of students from diverse backgrounds is exceptionally important, as they are the most directly impacted by this difference in diversity and representation. We believe that future research needs to focus on three main things. First, we are interested to know what beliefs students have about administration’s biases. Do they perceive administration as being biased? If so, what do students attribute this bias to? Are these biases intentional or unintentional, and do they benefit a specific population over another? Second, what benefits do students anticipate come along with an increase in diversity? How do they think more diversity amongst administration will impact the student body and institution as a whole? Finally, we are interested in how students believe the lack of diversity within administration influences the perception of the institution. Does this type of administration affect an institution’s reputation? If so, does this influence the types of students that are drawn to the institution? Answering these questions would allow us to hone in on the impacts of limited diversity at the highest levels of administration within an institution. Further research identifying beliefs about lack of diversity can help us understand how a white male majority in leadership limits institutional growth. Universities whose presidents are intentional in their implementation of diversity initiatives make for more progress towards inclusion, which becomes most apparent when presidents come from a diverse background. Greater diversity will provide a more relatable experience for students as well as a more beneficial work environment for faculty.

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