Best practices to increase racial diversity in business schools: What actually works according to a nationwide survey of business schools

Abstract

Many scholarly works have identified potential strategies for hiring underrepresented minority faculty members. However, no known nationwide study of business schools has explored whether these various strategies are associated with more faculty diversity. The authors explored best practices in corporations and higher education in the following areas: diversity priorities, strategic planning, outreach to underrepresented minority communities, administrative structures, and diversity training. The nationwide survey of business school deans showed that authority structures, which have proven to work in business, also are effective in academia. Similar to business results, training programs by themselves do not seem to be effective in increasing diversity.