Dive Brief:
- A new study from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources reveals that racial minorities have made considerable gains in achieving salary parity with white counterparts in higher education, but that the number of appointed administrators is outpaced by the number of minority college graduates, and overwhelmingly so by national demographic trends.
- Just over 14% of college administrators self-report as racial minorities, a figure that is nearly doubled by the number of minority college graduates in the last 15 years, and nearly tripled by the total minority population in the United States.
- The greatest gains in campus leadership held by minorities are found in student affairs, general counsel and human resources.
Dive Insight:
As the minority population continues to grow in the country, campuses will likely face increasing scrutiny to ensure that administration diversity matches the growth of student bodies. A more aggressive approach to minority recruitment and talent cultivation is needed, which in some ways could potentially create a talent drain for specific institution types, including community colleges and historically black colleges.
These recruitment efforts may also have to be developed in consideration with additional cultural sensitivity modules for students and faculty, assessments of pay equity among gender and racial lines, and consultation with alumni who may have strong feelings about public diversity initiatives on campus.
