CSULB's Lack of Faculty Ethnic Diversity

A symposium on faculty ethnic diversity was conducted on Monday in an effort to address how few minority professors are present on campus.

Keynote speaker Daryl Smith and Chicano/Latino studies professor Jose Moreno revealed the results of a collaborative study they did regarding this rising issue.

"We need to bring this to the attention of people in power so they can address this issue," said Priscilla Luviano, a senior Chicano/Latino studies major to The Daily Forty-Niner.

The findings revealed that although there is a slight rise in minority professors, the increase is minuscule in comparison to their Anglo counterparts.

While the student minority population is rising, the teachers are not reflecting that growth. "Latino faculty grew two percentage points, from 6 percent in 1997 to 8 percent in 2007, representing growth from 1,096 to 1,887 respectively. Comparatively, the Latino student population grew by 6 percent between 1997 and 2007, from 22 to 28 percent, or from 65,079 in 1997 to 99,499 in 2007," stated The Daily Forty-Niner.

Some faculty members at the meeting blamed a high turnover rate as reasons to why minority professors cease to work at CSULB. Other reasons included low pay, dysfunction between professors and high cost of living in the area.

For more information regarding this symposium please visit Duke Rescola's two part article for The Daily Forty-Niner.

Image Courtesy of The Daily Forty-Niner