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Speaking of Difference: Ohio University Administrators and Faculty Members Conceptualize Faculty Diversity

Hamel, Annette N.
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6346-9736
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1528295119497784

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Communication Studies (Communication).
This dissertation examines the differences of discourses-in-use regarding the topic of faculty diversity among faculty and administrators at Ohio University. I conducted a study of the rhetoric of faculty diversity at OU, exploring administrative statements about faculty diversity, such as the OUFSHI (Ohio University Faculty Staff Hiring Initiative) on the President’s webpage, and the webpages of the Office for Institutional Equity, the Office for Diversity and Inclusion, and Human Resources. In examining these public statements of OU administration regarding faculty diversity and hiring practices, I sought to discover how administration was framing the concept of diversity, and the type of mandates in place for faculty search committees to use in screening applicants and choosing interviewees. I found that OU administration primarily conceptualized diversity as women and people of color, and these were the underrepresented groups that search committees were encouraged to target in their recruiting and hiring practices. In addition to examining the online resources, I conducted interviews with three administrators, one each from Diversity and Inclusion, Institutional Equity, and Human Resources. To examine the discourses of faculty, I conducted 25 interviews with OU faculty members, asking them to describe their ideas of how OU administration understood faculty diversity, and how they themselves understood it and engage in discourse about it. The resulting data revealed that a number of OU faculty were either unaware of how administration framed the idea of faculty diversity, or they were aware but had concerns about administration’s commitment to creating a truly diverse culture at OU. Faculty expressed concerns that targeted hiring practices might not result in the hiring of the most qualified candidate, and that other contributors to diversity, besides race and sex, were being overlooked. The results of my data collection and analysis are presented as responses to my three research questions: What are OU’s administrative discourses about faculty diversity, and how are these evident in OU’s administrative statements about faculty diversity? How do faculty members describe their experiences with faculty diversity, and what discourses of diversity are evident in faculty members’ descriptions of their own experience? What is the relationship between faculty experience and administrative discourse? The results were divided into four main themes: Concerns about disability, Concerns about applicant qualifications, Concerns about White males, and Concerns about OU culture being supportive of diversity. Ultimately I argued that the administrators’ and faculty members’ discourses of diversity were fundamentally different, and that improved communication and feedback between these two constituent groups will be essential in creating a positive campus climate around the subject of faculty diversity.
Laura Black, Dr (Advisor)
234 p.
Communication
faculty diversity; academic diversity; university diversity; teacher diversity; diversity; inclusion; college; higher education

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hamel, A. N. (2018). Speaking of Difference: Ohio University Administrators and Faculty Members Conceptualize Faculty Diversity [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1528295119497784

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hamel, Annette. Speaking of Difference: Ohio University Administrators and Faculty Members Conceptualize Faculty Diversity. 2018. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1528295119497784.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hamel, Annette. "Speaking of Difference: Ohio University Administrators and Faculty Members Conceptualize Faculty Diversity." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1528295119497784

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1528295119497784
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.