A Snapshot of Faculty Diversity at Top Public Research Universities

A New America analysis has found that just 10 percent of faculty at the nation’s leading public research universities are Black or Latino, and that the professors on these campuses are far less diverse than their student bodies, which also remain overwhelmingly white.

To better understand the state of faculty diversity at public research universities, New America recently developed data visualizations that pinpoint how these institutions compare to one another when considering their Black and Latino student and faculty populations.

We chose to compare student diversity to faculty diversity because students from underrepresented minority groups who have instructors of the same racial or ethnic background tend to look up to these faculty as role models, and existing research finds that these students report making greater efforts in school. Having a more diverse faculty ultimately leads to greater retention and completion rates among underrepresented minority students, and seeing professors that look like them can also inspire Black and Latino students to consider careers in academia. This is especially important at the leading public research institutions, where students from diverse backgrounds have more opportunities to be socialized into the academic research culture. Furthermore, increased racial diversity within faculty ranks also allows for a greater diversity in course offerings and curriculum, and this exposure benefits students of all backgrounds.

For our analysis, we examined faculty and student diversity at 106 public universities that the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifies as R1 schools. These doctoral universities, which are located in 44 states, serve as access points for students looking to attend universities with high levels of research. According to our analysis, 66 of these institutions admit at least two-thirds of applicants and 87 admit a majority of applicants. These institutions also serve many students from diverse backgrounds, with 17 ranking among the top 50 most diverse universities in the nation and 31 ranking among the top 100.

According to our analysis, about 4 percent of faculty members and 8 percent of students are Black at the average public R1 university. Of course, racial demographics vary within each institution and some schools have wider gaps between their Black student and faculty populations than others. Georgia State University in Atlanta, for example, has the greatest representation of both Black students (44 percent) and Black faculty (14 percent). While the proportion of faculty who are Black at Georgia State is more than three times the sample average, it still lags far behind the institution’s Black student population. Other schools, such as Utah State University in the predominantly white city of Logan, are lacking in their representation of both Black professors and students, with less than 1 percent of each.

What we found most notable are public research universities whose student and faculty ranks are not reflective of the diversity of the cities and states in which they reside. For example, although one in four residents in Dallas are Black, the University of Texas at Dallas has both Black student (6 percent) and faculty (2 percent) populations that are both under-representative of the community and below the sample averages. Clemson University also is a predominantly white institution in the state of South Carolina, where approximately 27 percent of the population is Black. At Clemson, only about 6 percent of students and 4 percent of faculty are Black. Such low levels of diversity may indicate that Clemson and many of its peer institutions are more focused on recruiting students who will help them raise their rank and revenue – namely, out-of state students who tend to be white and wealthy – than serving members of their local community.

Similar patterns emerge when considering the representation of Latino students and faculty at public doctoral universities. At the average institution in this study, approximately 6 percent of faculty and 18 percent of students are Latino. Some universities in states with larger Latino populations, such as the University of Texas at El Paso and Florida International University, serve substantially higher rates of Latino students (91 percent and 73 percent respectively) and employ a larger share of Latino professors (41 percent and 23 percent respectively). On the opposite end of the spectrum, North Dakota State University in the heavily white city of Fargo, has a much lower concentration of Latino students (3 percent) and faculty (1 percent).

Some public doctoral universities also have relatively small shares of Latino students and professors when compared to the Latino population in the cities and states in which they are located. Rutgers University’s flagship campus, for example, falls below the sample averages for their Latino student (15 percent) and faculty (6 percent) populations despite the fact that nearly half (46 percent) of New Brunswick’s population is Latino.

Some universities, such as Georgia State and the University of Texas at El Paso, have larger representation gaps between their student and faculty populations because they serve a substantial share of students from historically marginalized racial groups. Naturally, they have more work to do to foster a faculty workforce that better resembles those students they teach. Less diverse universities will need to focus not only on bringing in more students and professors from underrepresented racial minority groups, but uplifting their voices and lived experiences to foster a more inclusive environment as well.

Boosting faculty diversity on university campuses is an important part of the larger mission of enhancing racial justice and equity within higher education. These data on student and faculty diversity can provide Black and Latino students with insight on where they may find a sense of community, and show which public research universities are falling short.

Public research universities, like most other colleges, can undoubtedly do more to work towards a future where the professors better resemble the students that they teach and mentor. To dismantle the white supremacy that exists within systems of higher education and continue towards a more racially just future, this work is essential.