When faculty perceive their colleagues to be more student-centered they are more likely to employ pedagogy that is similarly active and represents a variety of views. They’re also more likely to attend faculty development opportunities to incorporate these characteristics into their classrooms and their research. Students are much more likely to be retained and graduate in environments where there is constructive faculty-student engagement, collaborative learning and opportunities for active learning. Challenges to recruiting faculty of color . Nationally and at CWU, too often myths serve as a rationale for not hiring minority faculty. Search committees may feel CWU cannot offer competitive salaries for “the few candidates of color out there.” Some believe that people of color won’t want to come live in Ellensburg, a predominantly white community in a rural setting. Others may think that even if minority faculty come here they will leave soon after. Remarkably, some believe that the strategic effort to recruit faculty of color is not a goal that is compatible with “hiring the best person for the job.” All of these claims are either untrue or exaggerated. Many well prepared and highly qualified faculty of color are not actively recruited. The American Association of Colleges and Universities reports that only 11 percent of minority faculty candidates are actively recruited by universities, and that they are interested in working in a wide range of institutional settings. Further, research indicates employment decisions often are motivated—just as they are for traditional candidates—by personal preferences and not financial considerations. It’s not surprising that white scholars still have a consistent advantage in securing faculty positions. There are challenges to recruiting and retaining faculty of color, but it is not impossible. CWU must move beyond talking about how hard it is to find diverse candidates and approach recruiting diverse faculty with innovation, rigor and creativity. This requires us to be committed to building partnerships, and to recruit the best and brightest in the same way competitive athletics and businesses do. Successful strategies must move beyond traditionally composed announcements and posted in the usual places. Targeted advertising supported by active recruiting will be necessary to generate diverse candidate pools. Employees have to leverage relationships and build connections with minority scholars. Hiring committees must be diverse and well informed, and we must address the implicit bias in candidate evaluation that too often rejects capable candidates. Search committees must resist giving preference to individuals with backgrounds and characteristics like committee members, however unintentionally. Committees need to be ready to share how diverse candidates may find communities that will fit their lifestyle within our campus and general communities. Retention of faculty of color is another key element in creating a student-centered university that supports increasing retention and graduation for all students, especially for students of color. Faculty of color face workplace demands and complexities that white faculty do not. Faculty surveys of workplace satisfaction show people of color are less satisfied than their white counterparts, especially if there are few faculty of color on campus. Research has shown that this is true regardless of academic rank. Faculty often feel tokenized, stigmatized or left out. Many faculty of color leave their institutions because they are unable to connect to a community or/and connect to a mentor to help them navigate the institutional culture and the demands of their department. Faculty of color who are not socially integrated may feel isolated and disconnected from
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