DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT & FACULTY DEVELOPMENT IN REAUTHORIZATION OF TITLE II & III OF THE HIGHERED ACT

DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT AND FACULTY DEVELOPMENT IN PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE REAUTHORIZATION OF TITLE II AND III OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT (2003-2004)

WHEREAS, educational quality for all students is greatly enhanced by faculty and student diversity and better prepares all students to participate in the global economy; and

WHEREAS, funding for public higher education declined nationwide just at the moment that the number of graduate degrees began to rise for diverse groups, including people of color and other underrepresented groups; and

WHEREAS, the more limited resources of many public institutions restrict their ability to recruit and retain high-quality faculty and staff; and

WHEREAS, student populations in public institutions have become increasingly diverse especially in states with large concentrations of recent immigrants; and

WHEREAS, studies document the persistence of institutional barriers that undermine the recruitment of highly qualified diverse faculty even as the pool of qualified candidates has become more diverse; and

WHEREAS, such faculty development will help to recruit and retain outstanding faculty and professional staff, encouraging their continuation in public higher education; and

WHEREAS, faculty development support will enable qualified individuals from diverse groups to pursue graduate and postgraduate credentials for positions in public higher education; and

WHEREAS, the diverse students historically served by public universities represent a pool of talent that significantly enriches higher education:

RESOLVED, that the AFT support and promote funding policies and programs that promote faculty and professional staff diversity in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act; and

RESOLVED, that funds be available to states to establish or expand faculty and staff development to provide support to individuals from underrepresented groups and to faculty generally in order to fully reap the benefits of campus diversity; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support and promote adequate funding for professional development in Title II in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (2003-2004); and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support increasing graduate subsidies through the Higher Education Act to enhance the recruitment of economically, racially and ethnically diverse students into the professoriate.