One Foot Out the Door: Interrogating the "Risky Hire" Narrative in STEM Faculty Careers

• In Event: Faculty Careers in STEM

Abstract

Many faculty search committees believe that the gender and racial demography of their disciplines afford highly qualified, historically marginalized candidates more power in the academic job market. As such, these candidates are often passed over for fear of being a “risky hire,” implying that they will be more difficult to attract and retain. To date, few studies have tested this pervasive assumption, especially in STEM disciplines where pipeline concerns run rampant. Using publicly available data and multi-level modeling, we test this narrative within a diverse, multi-year cohort of highly qualified candidates across three STEM disciplines.

Authors

• Damani Khary White-Lewis, University of Maryland - College Park

• KerryAnn O'Meara, University of Maryland - College Park

• Dawn Culpepper, University of Maryland - College Park

• Lindsey Lee Templeton, University of Maryland - College Park

• Julia Anderson, University of Maryland - College Park