Columbia University
PAE-7: Measuring Campus Diversity Culture

Each year, the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Planning conducts an assessment of ten-year trend lines for each school showing the percentage of female and underrepresented minority undergraduate students, graduate students, tenure-track faculty, and tenured faculty. In 2010 and 2011, as part of a University-wide initiative to enhance faculty and pipeline diversity, the Provost of the University and the Vice Provost for Academic Planning met with each School Dean and asked them to establish specific diversity goals, a three-year strategy to achieve its goals, and methods to assess and communicate progress. To assist the Deans with their planning, the Office for Academic Planning provided them with availability analyses from Affirmative Action Plans, their ten-year student and faculty diversity assessments, and guidance on formulating priorities in light of academic and financial considerations and pipeline realities. School goals and strategies, developed in collaboration with faculty members at each School, vary depending on hiring needs, pipeline variability, and similar considerations. The Schools’ plans address key points of the faculty career cycle, with specific strategies for achieving the diversity goal. Schools submitted their plans to the Provost and the implementation process is underway.

Columbia University has committed to investing $30 million to enhance the diversity of its faculty through the recruitment of outstanding female and underrepresented minority scholars. The plan, announced in April 2012 by President Lee C. Bollinger and Provost John H. Coatsworth, focuses on recruiting new faculty members and postdoctoral candidates to more closely reflect the composition of the national pool of qualified candidates. Employing this collaborative framework, half of the commitment will come from Columbia’s central budget, while the remainder will be matched by individual schools participating in the effort. http://news.columbia.edu/home/2722 Based on the assessments of each School, the following program elements are being implemented to support Schools in achieving the diversity goals laid out in their three-year plans: ● Faculty and postdoctoral recruitments from underrepresented groups to build a more diverse faculty, whose composition reflects the pool of exceptional, qualified applicants nationally in all fields. ● Small-grants program for junior faculty who contribute to the diversity goals of the university. ● Support for recruitments of PhD students from underrepresented groups. ● Cost-sharing on select grant applications for undergraduates from underrepresented groups transitioning to PhD programs in the STEM fields. Additional information: http://academicplanning.columbia.edu/ and http://news.columbia.edu/home/2722