Howard University Dean Discusses Campus Diversity

March 1998

Howard University Dean
Discusses Campus Diversity

Diversity among faculty and student bodies is attainable, and it is crucial to the empowerment of universities, said Dr. Orlando Taylor, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Howard University.

Taylor spent Feb. 18 at UMass Boston discussing the recruiting and training of faculty and graduate students of color. He met with various groups, including graduate program directors, department and program chairs, deans, and the Provost's Advisory Committee on Hiring, Retention and Support of Faculty of Color.

"Part of the educational experience is empowering people to tell and write their own stories," Taylor said at one session. With diversity comes mutual empowerment, he said, where students and faculty empower and learn from each other.

Taylor shared statistics illustrating the need for more minority graduate students and faculty members. For example, in 1993, only 12.2 percent of the nation's faculty members were minorities. That same year, male faculty outnumbered women by an almost two-to-one ratio."What we're talking about is an issue much larger than the University of Massachusetts Boston. It's a national issue," he said.

Calling for "creative strategies" for hiring more people of color, Taylor suggested designing guide books for search committees, looking beyond the Ivy Leagues for faculty, and embracing interdisciplinary efforts. Also, he recommended reading Achieving Faculty Diversity: Debunking the Myths, an Association of American Colleges and Universities report by Daryl Smith.

Taylor has served in his current position at Howard since 1993 and has worked in various leadership positions there since 1973. A graduate of Hampton University, he earned his M.A. from Indiana University and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

The visit was co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Graduate Studies. The planning committee members were Dean Martin Quitt, Graeme Griffith, Bernard Harleston, Morris Lounds, Rita Nethersole and Ron Polito.