Due to the growing diversity of students at Longview and the other Metropolitan Community Colleges, current faculty diversity numbers do not meet the expectations of MCC administration. MCC now has a mandate to search for diverse faculty.
Beverlye Brown, associate vice chancellor and district-wide affirmative action officer, oversees the compliance effort and equal employment opportunity under law. Brown’s office releases a report every year that describes minority and gender distribution for full-time employees of the district and colleges; it shows that MCC is striving to meet the expectations of the Missouri Division of Workforce Development (MDWD), which tracks a reasonable rate of progress towards employment diversity. MCC annually reviews the division’s Kansas City Labor Force Statistics and the composition of MCC’s workforce to get an idea of where improve is needed.
According to the student head count at Longview for 2001-2002, African Americans and Hispanics make up about 25 percent of the population, whereas other minorities make up about another 11 percent, a total of 36 percent minority students. However, minority faculty and staff at Longview make up only 9.9 percent of the workforce. The gender representation at Longview has not been a problem.
In order to bring faculty numbers to look more like student numbers, MCC has formed a committee to evaluate the problem and find ways to solve it. Dawnielle Robinson-Walker is the only African American instructor in the English department and one of the few African American faculty at Longview.
“I felt a little isolated,” she said of coming to work four years ago in such surroundings. “We are seeking to make the faculty more representative of the student environment,” she said. “We are looking for faculty members that can bring something to the table.”
According the report, MCC as a whole meets MDWD standards in administrators’ positions but falls short in science and math departments for instructors.
“I’m interested in doing this because it’s the right thing to do,” said Beth Lindquist, Longview dean of instruction. “It’s going to take to time and effort.” Lindquist, Robinson-Walker, and human resources director Carolyn Baskett have traveled to historically black colleges, such as Tennessee State and Clark University in Atlanta, and talked with the deans and the different department chairs about Longview’s interest in their graduates.
Longview is now hiring for instructors in math, science and psychology. Perfecting the diversity ratio, making sure that the students, faculty, and staff are happy and enjoy working and coming to school is what Lindquist hopes for.
“It’s going to take a lifetime,” said Lindquist.
“I believe that it is important to have a diverse workforce, especially faculty, in order to provide role models for our students,” she added. “Additionally, the world of work outside post-secondary education is diverse. Our students need to experience that reality in the classroom and outside in student organizations and other student development arenas.”
December 12, 2003
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