Diversity statements: How faculty applicants address diversity.

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine application materials for assistant professor positions in 3 academic disciplines. Applicants were asked to write a diversity statement describing how they would advance diversity through their research, teaching, and service. The sample included application materials submitted by 191 candidates for tenure-track faculty positions at a public research university in computer science, political science, and psychology. Application letters and diversity statements were coded for 9 diversity dimensions. For example, My research in the Latino community . . ., and I volunteer at a middle school to encourage more girls to pursue computer science . . ., would be coded as reflecting the diversity dimensions of ethnicity/race and gender, respectively. Applicant self-disclosures of diversity were uncommon, occurring in fewer than 1 quarter of the letters. Nonspecific forms of diversity were most frequently mentioned in application materials, followed by references to ethnicity/race, disability, age, and gender. Comparisons between the searches revealed that psychologist applicants had significantly higher density of references to diversity in their letters than the 2 other disciplines, and also were most likely to cite specific, rather than nonspecific, dimensions of diversity. These results add to our understanding of how faculty applicants approach the diversity statement component of applications and reveal potential differences between disciplines in the diversity construct. The results are discussed in terms of suggestions to faculty applicants and directions for further research.

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