Barriers and Benefits: Student–Faculty Interaction Shaped by Institutional Racism

Abstract

Using structural equation modeling, this study identifies the direct and indirect relationships among campus diversity climate, faculty attitudes, student–faculty interaction, and cognitive skills development, examining how the relationships differ by students’ race/ethnicity. With data from the University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES) and a sample of 28,688 junior and senior students across 10 campuses, findings showed that Students of Color found faculty to be less accessible, the diversity climate less respectful, and faculty’s treatment of students less equitable than their White peers perceived them to be. These disparities hindered more frequent interactions between Students of Color and faculty, ultimately resulting in less gains in cognitive development for this population. Findings from the study suggest that faculty play a key role in cognitive skills development for Students of Color.