Dean Nina Zipser
Office for Faculty Affairs
Academic Year 2010–2011

Faculty Demographic Trends. The size of the ladder faculty has been steady over the last four years, growing by less than 1 percent since 2008. While this fact is reflected in many of the demographic measures reported in this section, there has been one noticeable change. Since 2008, the size of the tenure-track faculty has decreased by 17 percent.

The decrease in the tenure-track faculty is due to two mechanisms that acted in concert. First, promotions into the tenured ranks outpaced retirements from the tenured ranks. Second, the total size of the ladder faculty remained flat.

In 2009, the FAS implemented a faculty retirement program. Since that time, 48 tenured faculty members have entered into retirement agreements that specify a phased retirement of up to four years. Over the next four years, there will be a 56 percent increase in the number of retirements as compared with the last four years.

Figure 1: Ladder faculty in the FAS from fall 2002 through fall 2011, by rank

Note: The fall 2008 through fall 2011 faculty counts represent a September 1 snapshot, whereas the fall 2002 through fall 2007 counts represent a July 1 snapshot as in previous annual reports. This new counting methodology was implemented in order to capture appointments starting on September 1.

As the size of the ladder faculty has remained relatively constant, so too has the number of women on the faculty. Over the last four years women have made up between 25 and 26 percent of the ladder faculty. With respect to rank, women currently represent 22 percent of tenured faculty and 36 percent of tenure-track faculty.

Figure 2: Ladder faculty in the FAS from fall 2002 through fall 2011, by gender

Note: The fall 2008 through fall 2011 faculty counts represent a September 1 snapshot, whereas the fall 2002 through fall 2007 counts represent a July 1 snapshot as in previous annual reports. This new counting methodology was implemented in order to capture appointments starting on September 1.

The ethnic composition of the ladder faculty has also remained relatively constant over the last few years. Currently, 16 percent of the ladder faculty members are minorities. With respect to rank, minorities make up 14 percent of tenured faculty and 24 percent of tenure-track faculty.

Figure 3: Ladder faculty in the FAS from fall 2002 through fall 2011, by ethnicity

In the last academic year, 39 external offers were extended for ladder faculty positions. To date, 22 offers have been accepted. Women represent seven (or 32 percent) of these acceptances and minorities represent three (or 14 percent) of these acceptances.

In 2010–2011, tenure promotion rates remained strong. Of the 17 tenure promotion cases that culminated in a decision, 12 (or 71 percent) were successful. Three (or 25 percent) of the successfully promoted faculty are women and two (or 17 percent) are minorities.

Faculty diversity of all forms remains a challenge for the FAS, and we are committed to addressing this issue. As mentioned in the annual report last year, Mahzarin Banaji has been appointed the senior adviser for faculty development, to work with the departments on identifying all of the ways in which we should be safeguarding and improving the quality of the faculty. In 2010–2011, Professor Banaji met with several department chairs and other FAS faculty to learn how new areas of research are tracked, what the existing hiring practices are, and whether departments are being held back by implicit biases. She shared with chairs the results of research on the cognitive and affective bases of decision making. This spring, Professor Banaji conducted a SEAS-wide seminar on how human minds perceive and believe and how ordinary aspects of cognition are responsible for actions that are not in our own self-interest. Additionally, she has met with representatives of College-, FAS-, and University-wide diversity initiatives.

In conjunction with the senior vice provost for faculty development and diversity, Professor Banaji has been involved in creating a database of leading research from the behavioral sciences to provide a resource for educating the faculty on what is currently known about how we evaluate talent and select it. The database is intended to expand understanding of faculty trends and decision making that can inform the work of planning, search, and promotion committees. In 2011–2012, Professor Banaji will further her collaboration with FAS department chairs, the Dean’s Office, and interested faculty.