Dickson details university's efforts to recruit diverse faculty and graduate students
Multicultural expert returned to Stanford last year to establish the Faculty Recruitment Office, help retain minority scholars
Dickson said the key to attracting and retaining minority faculty is to create a more diverse campus community.
BY RAY DELGADO
After 12 years at Stanford working on a number of diversity-related initiatives, Sally Dickson left the university in 2000 to take a job at Duke University as vice president for institutional equity. Stanford wooed her back last year as the associate vice provost for faculty development to help lead the university's efforts to diversify the faculty. Dickson established and leads the university's Faculty Recruitment Office, which was formed with the help of a $1.5 million grant from the James Irvine Foundation as part of its Campus Diversity Initiative. She also serves as associate dean of humanities and sciences with a focus on faculty recruitment and retention and graduate student diversity. Dickson recently sat down with Stanford Report writer Ray Delgado to discuss her reasons for returning to the university and the challenges of improving and maintaining diversity at the university.Q. You worked at Stanford since 1988, first in the Law School as associate dean for student affairs involved in recruitment of minority students, then specializing in multicultural development and campus relations. Then you left the university in 2000 for a three-year stint at Duke University. Why did you leave Stanford and why did you decide to come back?
A. That's a good question and one that I often asked myself. It was a difficult decision at that time. It clearly wasn't about [anyone] pushing me out. It was an opportunity that had presented itself at Duke. I had always had a curiosity about the South. As an African American, it has a special place. Well, for me, anyway. When the opportunity presented itself to go to Duke, I just felt it was something I needed to find out about. It was a good experience, but you always refer back to your home. In coming to California, I had always considered myself a New Yorker, but going to Duke I considered myself a Californian. So when I had the opportunity to come back to Stanford, I was very delighted to do so. Stanford, for many reasons, has been a home to me. It's not just that I had been here since 1988, but I was a resident fellow for nine years; I was here during the time residential education was really looking at ways in which we could engage our students and embrace our differences.
Q. What about Stanford had changed when you came back in terms of diversity? Was there a different culture that you found here?
A. The short answer to the question if there was a different culture is yes. I've had a long and wonderful history and experience here. Leaving the state and going to a completely different culture, and then coming back, I was able to see some changes. During the time I was gone, [President John Hennessy and Provost John Etchemendy] had taken a serious look at where we as a university have been regarding diversity and where we need to go, particularly with the creation of the Diversity Action Council. [The council] really looks very closely at our undergraduate and graduate student population and staff and faculty. I think that that was one of the examples of moving forward.
Q. Half of your position is funded by a three-year grant from the James Irvine Foundation's Campus Diversity Initiative. Can you describe the initiative's goals at Stanford?
A. Yes, I am affiliated with [Humanities and Sciences] and also with the Provost's Office. I think that two things happened which brought about the creation of the position. One is the Campus Diversity Initiative, and there are a number of components involved in that initiative. The one that I am involved with is the Faculty Diversity Project. Whereas we've been able to increase the diversity of our undergraduate student population, we haven't had as much success in diversifying our faculty over the same 20-year period. Also, if you look back at the data, our graduate students have gone up and down [in terms of diversity].
Equally as important is to retain our minority faculty. We only have a small number in any given group to begin with, so therefore, losing one or two Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans is a real problem, and we have to try and make sure we're holding onto them.
Q. You were hired to create and lead the new Faculty Recruitment Office. How would you describe the office's purpose and functions to the greater university community?
A. We are a resource for deans and search committees, and we assist them with finding diverse candidates for their searches. We are also a resource for job candidates who have questions about the university, how it operates, what it might be like to live in the area. We also try to connect them to potential colleagues and other minorities who can talk to them about the culture here.
Q. How would you describe the environment at Stanford for minority faculty? Does it differ in various academic schools or units?
A. As with many large research institutions, there are many cultures here. Schools have their own particular cultures. Our challenge is that we need to create an environment in which all faculty feel that they are valued as scholars. One of our challenges is that we need to create the critical mass, but oftentimes, because we don't have the critical mass, we can't attract good candidates. That's a real issue. For example, in some departments, you will have one or two faculty of color. And what I have heard from some is that they feel a sense of isolation.
Q. Enrollment of minority undergraduate students has increased rapidly from 10 percent in 1973 to approximately 48 percent now. Minority graduate student enrollment, however, only hovers around 20 percent, and minorities only make up less than 17 percent of the faculty. Why have those numbers inched up so slowly at the university compared to minority undergraduate enrollment?
A. There are a couple of different reasons, and part of my answer comes from the recruitment work I did at the Law School. First of all, you have a larger base to begin with when you're talking about the numbers for the undergraduate pool. When you're talking about the graduate students, I think that all of the affirmative action restrictions from Ward Connerly and others have had real impacts [on the pool of minority students coming out of the state school system who are interested in graduate school]. I think that with the applicants, just as with faculty, we're starting with a small pool to begin with and the competition is very intense. So we have to find ways to deal with that, and one of the things that has been very successful has been having the graduate diversity weekend programs. We have to think of ways to target the small applicant pool that we're trying to attract and get them here to Stanford where we can say, "We offer something different." It's tough, really tough. And also what really concerns me is that you see the small number of minority graduate students, and they are our future faculty pool. So it becomes a vicious cycle.
Q. The Board of Trustees' recent Minority Alumni Task Force Report highlighted many challenges that exist in recruiting minority faculty members, citing difficulties in finding qualified minority applicants in certain fields, the competitiveness in hiring top minority candidates, and not enough attention being paid to finding good minority candidates during the search process. What do you see as the challenges?
A. I'll begin with the pipeline issue. I do think that in some fields, such as the life sciences and natural sciences, we really have a pipeline issue. The numbers just aren't there. I think that we can't continue to do business the same way in terms of recruitment because of the competition. We did a lot of activity this year, and I've learned a lot. The competition is really strong. It's hard to attract someone if they are the first, or one of two [minorities in the department they are being recruited for]. If you're African American and you're looking at a university on the East Coast, there's a large African American community, and the cost of living may be cheaper in some areas. So you put all of those together and they're asking, "What will it be like in my department?" These are tough decisions when you're asking someone to come 3,000 miles away to be one of two, and you probably can't buy a house.
I think we also have to let people know that we are really committed to not only recruiting them and having them come to Stanford but also to provide an environment of scholars where they will feel welcome. For some, there are personal reasons that may involve a spouse or a partner that affect their decision. Junior faculty, associate faculty and tenured faculty all have different needs and factors that will affect their decision. There's a whole list of possible reasons.
Q. Do deans and search committees at Stanford give enough weight to looking for minority applicants? If not, what can be done to change that?
A. One of the things that the faculty recruitment office is doing is really helping search committees look for diverse faculty. We have a good database of scholars across the country in all different areas. There is more of a focused attempt to faculty recruitment, and the office is helping with that. This is the first year of the office, and the response has been really good. A lot of times what I'm finding is that people's intentions are good, but search committees are on tight deadlines. Now, there are some departments that I wish were more engaged--let's put it that way--but what we are able to do now is to provide a resource for them to spur it along. With the help of many faculty and search committees, I think people will now know that Stanford is really serious about recruiting faculty of color. Even if all of our offers aren't accepted, we want to get that message out.
Q. Female faculty members are also underrepresented at the university as a whole and in the upper administration. Is part of your job to recruit females or is it limited to people of color? What about gay and lesbian faculty?
A. The grant that we have and the work that we do is primarily for faculty of color but clearly involves diversity in general. But the focus has been on faculty of color.
Q. Another key component of your job is the retention of minority faculty. Can you shed some light on that part of your job?
A. Yes, one of the things that I've done in the last year is meet with many of our junior faculty of color to talk to them about the purpose of the office and to find out how they are doing. What are some of the concerns that they have? What's life like for a junior faculty of color? Because, like I said, the better we're able to retain faculty of color, the better we're able to recruit. If we have a lot of people leaving, people won't want to work here. So I've been meeting with the junior faculty, and if there are concerns that don't violate confidentiality, I share them with the deans. We've also hosted junior-faculty-of-color wine and cheese receptions. We had two this year where we invited faculty from across the university, not just people of color. What we're trying to do is to introduce faculty to the larger community, to create a sense of community.
Q. How would you describe the university's ability to retain minority faculty in what can be a very competitive market?
A. Is there a disproportionate number of minority faculty that are leaving the university compared to other faculty? I don't think so, but to me it doesn't matter. If you lose one, it's too many. And there's no question that it's a competitive market. Universities are doing what we're doing. They're looking out there to see who are the superstars, and they want them. So our faculty are being approached all the time. So I would say that our ability to retain is quite good, but it's got to be perfect. And of the people that do leave, what you want is for them to say, "You know what? That was a great place to work."
Q. What are some of the common complaints you hear from minority faculty? Is there a glass ceiling that limits opportunities?
A. One of the common complaints is that faculty of color are concerned about the retention and recruitment of other faculty of color. That's a real concern on everybody's part. Another concern I hear is a sense of isolation, especially in some schools where we don't have the right numbers. I have heard about this at other schools: a sense of scholarship not being valued. There's a range of concerns that I have heard.
Q. What are the difficulties you face in the School of Humanities and Sciences with recruitment of people of color?
A. Many of the offers that we've made to minority candidates are matched by other institutions. If we make an offer to someone, many times his or her institution will make a counteroffer. I think that [Humanities and Sciences Dean] Sharon Long knows that this is not easy. We are very selective, but I'm hoping our selectivity doesn't cloud our view of people who offer diversity.
Q. What are the difficulties in attracting minority students to study for higher degrees in certain fields?
A. That question I don't have full knowledge of. But this is somewhere that Stanford can make a difference. Maybe we won't benefit directly from it, but clearly the goal that I see and that several of us share is wanting to provide excellent scholars with opportunities to become faculty members. What I think we must do better is to encourage them to consider employment as a faculty member. Mentoring them and supporting them is very important, especially in the sciences. It's tough.
Q. How is Stanford a leader among peer institutions in its diversity efforts?
A. I think we've always been the leader in diversity for a number of reasons. One is our location. One of the things I saw about the South is that they are really just beginning to experience multiculturalism because it had always been black and white. We here in California have always recognized the importance of multiculturalism. I think that our philosophy at Stanford is that we can do this and that we should do this. And when you asked me at the beginning what changes we have seen at the university, I think that we're getting back to the place where we're saying, "We can do it." It's going to take a lot of hard work, it's going to take a lot of rethinking what we're doing to see if we should be moving in the same way. I think that that's what makes us different. It's not just wanting to add numbers. If you add numbers, you're changing the culture, which is important as well.
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