The status of equity for black faculty and administrators in public higher education in the south

Abstract

This paper uses descriptive analyses of data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to examine the status of Blacks among faculty and administrators at public higher education institutions in the South, where “status” is defined as representation in employment relative to representation among bachelor’s degree recipients. The descriptive statistics show that, although some progress has been made in some states in some indicators during the past decade, substantial race inequities for Blacks among full-time faculty and administrators remain. The gaps in equity are greater for Black faculty than for Black administrators. Among faculty, the degree of inequity for Blacks is greater among higher than lower ranking faculty and among tenured than tenure track faculty. The degree of inequity also varies across different types of public higher education institutions.