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 Both the total percentage of minority faculty (shown in blue) and female faculty (red) at USF has increased over the last decade.
Source: Office of Institutional Research
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Faculty Diversity, Mission Highlighted in Convocation Address
Reiterating the USF commitment to “developing persons with the brains to make a difference and the hearts to want to do so,” President Stephen A. Privett, S.J. urged faculty to open students up to different perspectives during his fall convocation address Nov. 18.
“My hope and the challenge for all of us at USF is that we successfully and effectively translate the rhetoric of our vision, mission, and values into the humanizing education that we offer our students,” Fr. Privett said. “But you faculty bear a particular responsibility and have the lion’s share of the opportunities for doing so.”
The annual convocation address is given on the occasion of awarding tenure to selected faculty. This year, tenure was given to Tom Lucas, S.J. in fine and performing arts, Yoko Arisaka in philosophy, Kevin Chun in psychology, Jeremy Howell in exercise and sports science, Tom MacDonald in environmental science, Patrick Murphy in politics, Bruce Wydick in economics, Lanna Andrews in education, Judith Harr in nursing, Todd Sayre in business, Sylvia Flatt in professional studies, and Alice Kaswan in law. The Sarlo and Ignatian faculty awards, recognizing service by faculty, were given to Donna Schaeffer, program director of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in information systems, and Fr. Lucas for his art work and creation of the university’s new visual arts program. (Read the story)
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New Faculty Wooed by Value on Teaching
Defying the infamous archetype of a professor who hates to teach, new faculty at USF say the value USF places on teaching and service drew them away from bigger, more prestigious schools.
“The appeal was this program was smaller, more grassroots, and interested in educating undergraduates,” said Tracy Benning, assistant professor in environmental science who joined USF this fall from UC Berkeley. “At Berkeley, the undergraduates fall through the cracks. Teaching, or good teaching, isn’t as valued there.”
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While discussing the state of the university, Fr. Privett reaffirmed USF’s goal of a more diversified faculty. Of 25 faculty appointments made in the last two years, he said, just under 40 percent were women or people of color. As of last fall, 19 percent of USF’s faculty identified as other than white. “We need to have a richer chorus of voices around the table,” he said.
Fiscal considerations, on the other hand, could make hiring more difficult. Although the university budget has been stabilized since a budget crises two years ago, the president cautioned that budget demands require a cost/benefit review of “every program and unit in the university” over the next five years.
Fr. Privett also encouraged faculty to consider how USF’s Jesuit Catholic tradition can be incorporated more fully across the curriculum and in campus life. “As a historically black college would emphasize the contributions of the African American community to the larger story or a woman’s college would have a clear focus on women’s issues and roles through history, so this university must come to a clearer understanding of how the Catholic tradition plays out,” he said.
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