This article analyzes the subjective perception and personal experiences of minority faculty in planning schools/programs with regard to racial/ethnic discrimination—whether minority faculty feel welcome and how much such experiences affect their work. The study is based on a climate survey conducted in 2009. While a majority (about 60 percent) of the faculty felt welcome, another 40 percent expressed that they have experienced and/or observed discrimination and have been subjected to offensive conduct. What can institutions such as the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) do to improve the climate? The study identifies strategies and programs that ACSP can consider to help member institutions develop effective initiatives.
ACSP 1987-88 Committee. 1990. The recruitment and retention of faculty of women and faculty of color in planning education: Survey results. Report submitted to ACSP Executive Committee.
2.
AntonioA. L.2001. The role of interracial interaction in the development of leadership skills and cultural knowledge and understanding. Research in Higher Education42: 593–617.
3.
AntonioA. L.ChangMitchell J.HakutaKenjiKennyDavid A.LevinShanaMilemJeffrey F.2004. Effects of racial diversity on complex thinking in college students. Psychological Science15: 507–10.
GalindoY. M.WelschB.WirdaS.1987. Accepting the challenge: Gender, race, and disability in urban planning education. Unpublished report to the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Executive Board Meeting.
6.
GoldsmithW.1991. Remarks on the Niebanck Commission report on undergraduate education. Journal of Planning Education and Research11: 75–77.
7.
GottfredsonNisha C.PanterA. T.DayeCharles E.AllenWalter A.WightmanLinda F.DeoMeera E.2008. Does diversity at undergraduate institutions influence student outcomes?Journal of Diversity in Higher Education1:80–94.
8.
GrigsbyJ. E.III.1988. Minority education in planning schools. Unpublished report.
9.
HurtadoSylviaMilemJeffery F.Clayton-PedersonAlma R.AllenWalter R.1999. Enacting diverse learning environments: Improving the climate for racial/ethnic diversity in higher education. Washington, D.C.: ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education.
10.
HurtadoSylvia. 2005. Linking diversity with the educational and civic mission of higher education. Review of Higher Education30: 185–96.
11.
LadenB. V.HagedornI. S.2000. Job satisfaction among faculty of color in academia: Individual survivors or institutional transformers?New Directions for Institutional Research105: 57–66.
12.
LeeWynetta. 2002. Culture and institutional climate: Influences on diversity in higher education. Review of Higher Education25 (3): 359–68.
13.
MooneyCarolyn J.1989. Only four Black Americans said to have earned math PhDs in 1987-88. Chronicle of Higher Education, August2, p. A-11.
14.
NiebanckP. 1988. Planning education: Unleashing the future. Journal of the American Institute of Planning54: 432–43.
15.
NivetMarkTaylorV. S.ButtsG. C.StrelnickA. H.Herbert-CarterJ.Fry-JohnsonY. W.SmithQ. T.RustG.KondwaniK.2008. Diversity in academic medicine: Case for minority faculty development today. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine175: 491–98.
PriceEboni G.GozuA.KernD. E.PoweN. R.WandG. S.GoldenS.CooperL. A.2005. The role of cultural diversity climate in recruitment, promotion, and retention of faculty in academic medicine. Journal of General Internal Medicine20: 565–71.
18.
RobertsS.2008. In a generation, minorities may be the US majority. New York Times, August13, 2008.
19.
RossC.1990. Increasing minority and female representation in the profession: A call for diversity. Journal of Planning Education and Research9: 135–38.
20.
StanleyChristine A.2006a. Coloring the academic landscape: Faculty of color breaking the silence in predominantly white colleges and universities. American Educational Research Journal43(4): 701–36.
21.
StanleyChristine A.2006b. Faculty of color: Teaching in predominantly white colleges and universities. Bolton, MA: Anker.
22.
ThomasJune Manning. 1996. Educating planners: Unified diversity for social action. Journal of Planning Education and Research15: 171–82.
23.
TrowerCathy A.ChaitRichard P.2002. Faculty diversity: Too little for too long. Harvard Magazine98: 33–37.
