A new generation of professors that includes more women and minority professors has entered the ranks of higher education in the United States, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education survey, and the College's faculty composition parallel this nationwide trend.
The College's 1995-1996 Affirmative Action Plan indicates that the percentage of women and minority faculty in the Arts and Sciences at Dartmouth posted a 100 percent increase in the past 20 years.
Since the College turned coeducational, the number of women and minority faculty has increased gradually. The combination of both women and minority faculty at the College increased from 18.7 percent in 1975 to 37 percent in 1995, according to the plan.
"I think Dartmouth is well in line with [the nationwide] trend," Director of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Mary Childers said. "Dartmouth has definitely been more effective in hiring and tenuring [women and minorities] that other Ivy League schools."
College President James Freedman explained the College's mission statement in the plan.
The plan cites a "commitment to enriching the Dartmouth educational experience by attracting and retaining gifted and talented students, faculty, and staff of diverse backgrounds, experiences, races, and economic circumstances."
Still work to be done
Director of the Women's Resource Center Giavanna Munafo said although advances have been made toward diversifying the faculty, problems which must be addressed remain.
One problem lies in the idea of "residual visibility," or when [women and minorities] visibility is greater than their actual presence," Munafo said.
She noted possible adverse responses to the changes, highlighting the sentiment of "oh my God, they are taking over."
She also noted that the recruitment of women faculty has slowed since the 25 percent mark was reached in 1994.
"We have to keep trying hard to recruit, we haven't been hiring and promoting [women] as wonderfully in the past few years."
But Munafo explained that "we have a higher percentage of tenured women than any other Ivy," citing the goal the College reached in 1994 when 25 percent of tenured faculty were women.
In 1994, the number of tenured female faculty was above the 22.6 percent national average and well above the other Ivies that registered in at less than 20 percent, Munafo said.
Although "it is really important to be happy and proud of that ... there is a really big gap between the numbers of non-minority women and women of color that concerns me," Munafo said.
While the numbers of non-minority women faculty have changed dramatically, those of minority men and women professors have not.
Non-minority women made up 25.5 percent of the Arts and Sciences Faculty in July 1995, increasing from 11.8 percent in July 1975, according to the plan.
Minority men held 7.4 percent of the positions in 1995 -- an increase from 5 percent in 1975 that indicates the slowest growth of the three categories, according to the plan.
Minority women comprised 4 percent in 1995 which was up from 1.9 percent in 1975.
Associate Dean of the Humanities Mary Jean Green confirmed the dichotomy between the increase in non-minority women versus minority faculty.
While "we are doing much better with women [than the other Ivy League schools]," she explained, Dartmouth is just keeping up in terms of minority professors.
But she continued, "as for minorities, I think Dartmouth is doing well, especially since it is in a rural area."
Although the national trend indicates women and minorities have improved their standing in higher academe, they still do not attain as many advanced degrees as non-minority males, according to The Chronicle.
"The number of women who got PhDs in the last 15 years has increased substantially," Childers said, while "the number of African-Americans getting PhDs has not."
But the College's number of minority faculty members has not been held back by a lack of effort to recruit minorities, said George Wolford, associate dean of the faculty of social sciences.
"We're seeing increasing percentages of women and minorities in the applicant pool," he said. "I receive a list of every minority doctoral student in the big 10."
"Every department is almost tireless in advertising in divergent outlets to make sure every qualified individual knows about the job," he added.
Student opinion
The leaders of minority organizations on campus also said the College is making progress with its efforts to recruit more women and minority faculty members, but said its task is not yet complete.
Former president of the Dartmouth Asian Organization Sarah Cho '97 said that the College is "on the right track," but "we still need to progress."
"Students are demanding it," Cho said, and "by allowing Asian-American studies classes to happen, the administration is responding to the needs of the students."
President of the Afro-American Society John Barros '96 said the College still needs to diversify its faculty in certain departments.
"If I, as a student, am not interested in African-American studies, what exposure will I get to African and African-American professors?" Barros said. "This trend needs to be something that encompasses all of the departments."
President of Milan Rachna Kaul '99 said compared to other schools, the College needs to make a greater effort to diversify its faculty.
"It's hard because we are in rural New Hampshire," Kaul said. "Even if [the College] is offering more jobs, it's not as inviting because there are a lot of professors who have problems with a lack of community up here."
Many students polled around campus admit that they had not noticed a change in percentages of minority and women faculty, but said they are in favor of recruiting them as long as they teach well.
"As far as being a student, it doesn't matter to me who's teaching as long as they know what they are talking about," Kim Rogers '98 said.
Ji Park '99 advocated moderation.
"I think it's a good thing, but it can be overdone," Park said. "If it gets to the point where some very qualified candidates are not being accepted because they are not a minority or a woman, then that's not cool."
Some students expressed dissatisfaction with the composition of professors at the College.
"I am kind of disappointed that I haven't had more female professors," Lynn Proctor '99 said.
Jo Weingarten '98 said she has had a lot of women professors, but not many minority professors.
"Maybe that has to do with what departments I take classes in," she said.
Many professors of the new generation are specializing in nontraditional areas of study and have brought new perspectives to education, according to The Chronicle.
Arturo Zamundio '98 said he saw this change at Dartmouth.
"In a way, it's good, we're not closed in just to the core curriculum, we have other choices," he said. "The mentality of the College is to be well-rounded, and part of that is to learn about other cultures."
