Last week, Bonaventure hosted a discussion panel focused on starting conversation about the Confederate flag among students. While the event was mainly focused on the issue of the Confederate flag, conversation also surrounded the lack of diversity within the Bonaventure faculty.
According to Robert Amico, Ph. D., professor of psychology and chair of the Diversity Action Committee and the Counsel on Discrimination and Harassment at St. Bonaventure, the university’s faculty has a long-standing history of lacking diversity. Since the university has traditionally hired white male professors, there is a higher chance that the faculty will refer other white male professors for open positions, Amico said.
“As the chair of the Diversity Action Committee, we were addressing the question back in the early 2000’s and coming to terms with why it was the case that the faculty was so predominately white,” Amico said. “That’s when the Diversity Action Committee created a new set of rules for searching for new faculty in around 2004 and 2005 called ‘Faculty Uniform Hiring Guidelines.’”
Students said they agree with Amico and feel that a more diverse faculty would lead to a more diverse education.
“I feel like I would benefit from a professor who is Latina/Latino like me, because I feel like it gives me someone who I can relate to culture-wise and struggle-wise,” said Nairee Tavares, a sophomore strategic communication and digital media major. “Although both blacks and Hispanics are minorities, the struggles are different for us.”
Some students of color said they felt they would relate to classroom discussions more easily if there were more professors who came from similar cultural backgrounds. Other students of color said they feel professors who teach on their own cultural backgrounds are more credible than white professors teaching on another’s culture.
“When it comes to courses that relate to black history and the Spanish language, it would feel more authentic to have a professor that could relate to the material they are teaching,” Asia Williams, a sophomore psychology major, said. “It feels more genuine, and it makes me want to learn what is being taught because I know they are skilled in the topics they are teaching.”
Katie Milone, a junior education major, said she feels that having a more diverse faculty may benefit students professionally as well.
“It’s important to learn from other viewpoints in this world,” Milone said. “When I start teaching, it will be mandatory to meet the needs of children due to their ethnicity and culture, because not everyone is the same. It will help me in the long run if I’m taught by someone from a different race because it’ll help me to better understand the children I’ll be teaching one day.”
While Bonaventure has a history of failing to scout credible professors of color for open positions, Amico said things are looking up.
“This year, I’ve been in conversation with the president and the provost, and both are completely on board with making sure that the uniform hiring guidelines are followed for all new hires,” Amico said.
According to Amico, he is working with Bonaventure faculty to search for qualified applicants of color for new campus positions.
“The idea isn’t to tell anyone who they should hire, but we should try our best to create a pool of people to pick from who are diverse,” Amico said. “…Every professor comes to their discipline with a certain perspective that is colored by how they are situated within our culture and within their discipline. Students would get a much richer set of perspectives [from professors of color].”
mcgurllt14@bonaventure.edu
