White faces in black places: HBCUs and the white faculty experience

Abstract

Many institutions of higher education have focused on increasing the diversity of their student populations. However, many times the faculty population does not represent the diverse student body (Bower, 2002; Jayakumar et al., 2009). With an ever-increasing focus on racial diversity, the face of faculty in higher education needs to be addressed. Most tenured faculty at Historically White Institutions (HWIs) continue to be White males and these populations are not fully integrated (Gasman, 2009). It is important for students to have faculty that can relate to them culturally and serve as role models for the students (Gater, 2005). A diverse faculty also provides different and innovative perspectives for research and methodologies. Additionally, having a variety of experiences from a diverse faculty can engage students of all populations (Gater, 2005) and use a wide range of pedagogical methods (Fries-Britt et al., 2011).