Faculty Cluster Hiring as a Catalyst for Racial Equity in the Professoriate (Poster 24)

• In Event: Excellence in Education Research: Early Career Scholars and Their Work Poster Session

Abstract

The anti-DEI context has prompted administrative and faculty leaders to either abandon practices that promote racial equity or seek justifiable ways to maintain such practices in the professoriate. This study examines how leaders utilize faculty cluster hiring to drive more comprehensive changes toward racial equity. Cluster hiring involves a coordinated effort to recruit a group of faculty members, often across a university, college, or department, who share common research expertise to achieve organizational objectives. The application of cluster hiring specifically targeting racial equity issues to prioritize the knowledge and expertise of People of Color as essential for faculty employment remains underexplored. Cluster hiring could enable leaders to establish mechanisms that validate content and expertise in addressing equity issues.

Author

• Román Liera, Montclair State University