Diversity Stalled: Explorations into the Stagnant Numbers of African American Engineering Faculty

多样化的工程大学教师和劳动力是必要的，以实现和维护一个繁荣，安全，并关注所有个人的技术和社会福祉的国家。因此，这项研究调查了多样化工程学院和劳动力面临的挑战之一，探索了为什么非裔美国人仍然是工程学院职位中代表性最低的种族群体之一的原因，在过去五年中保持稳定在2.5%，尽管干预计划旨在扩大少数民族在工程中的参与。这项为期三年的研究探讨了（1）非洲裔美国工程博士生/候选人/博士后追求工程教师职业生涯和（2）现任和前任非洲裔美国工程教师面临的障碍和机遇。拟议的研究探讨了影响非裔美国人在工程博士学位的生产的因素，以及那些影响工程终身教职的途径的因素。这项研究包括通过调查和采访非裔美国人在工程，从博士候选人和博士后学生通过全职教授，包括前非裔美国人工程教师的子集，目前的工程教师气候的评估。本研究分析了教师工程气候，包括实施全国调查的黑人博士工程专业学生，黑人工程教师，前黑人工程教师的一个子集。PI还将采访每个小组的一个子集。本研究的方法和分析结构是由种族/性别刻板印象和社会认知职业理论的文献指导。这项工作的智力价值应该导致更好地了解非裔美国人工程博士的职业轨迹，以及影响他们职业决策的技术，社会和文化影响。虽然这项研究的重点是非洲裔美国教师，整体教师的多样性创造了一个更有效的学习环境。种族多样性更大的学校往往有更好的保留，满意度和智力发展。这项研究的更广泛的影响有可能改变如何指导和准备工程教师职位的颜色工程候选人的模型。

A diverse engineering university faculty and workforce are necessary to achieve and maintain a country that is prosperous, secure, and attentive to the technological and social well-being of all individuals. Thus, this research study investigates one of the challenges to a diverse engineering faculty and workforce by exploring the causes behind why African Americans remain one of the most underrepresented racial groups in engineering faculty positions, remaining steady at 2.5% for the past five years, despite intervention programs that aim to broaden the participation of minorities in engineering. This three-year study explores the barriers and opportunities facing a cohort of (1) African American engineering PhD students/candidates/postdocs pursuing engineering faculty careers and (2) current and former African American engineering faculty members. The proposed study examines factors that impact the production of African American PhDs in engineering, as well as those factors that affect the pathway to tenured faculty positions in engineering. This research includes an assessment of the current engineering faculty climate through surveying and interviewing African Americans in engineering, from PhD candidates and postdoctoral students through full professors, including a subset of former African American engineering faculty. This study analyzes the faculty-engineering climate by including the implementation of a national survey for Black PhD engineering students, Black engineering faculty, and a subset of former Black engineering faculty. The PIs will also interview a subset of each of these groups. The methodological and analytical structure of this study is guided by the literature on racial/gender stereotypes and Social Cognitive Career Theory. The intellectual merit of this work should lead to a better understanding of the career trajectories African American PhDs in engineering and the technical, societal, and cultural influences that impact their career decision making. Although this study focuses on African American faculty, overall faculty diversity creates a more effective learning environment. Schools with greater racial diversity tend to have better retention, satisfaction, and intellectual development. The broader impact of this study has the potential to change the model of how engineering candidates of color are mentored and primed for engineering faculty positions.