Effective October 1, the Title V grant moved into the third of a five-year, $2.8 million grant to enhance support services for Hispanic and low-income students. The Title V faculty committee met recently to review last year’s goals and to plan for the coming year.
Title V sponsored four workshops last year with a goal to reach 200 faculty participants. “We exceeded the goal by serving more than 200 faculty,” said M. Nicolás Cabrera, Title V program specialist. The workshops were held in conjunction with the Office of Support for Effective Teaching. The goal for this year is to hold four to six workshops and reach 300 UNM faculty.
The group reviewed the task force report on Hispanic issues. Among the issues of concern, as stated in the report, is that “Hispanic faculty under-representation is seen as the source of 1) the lack of mentoring opportunities for the large Hispanic student population at UNM, 2) a factor in ‘the graying of the current Hispanic faculty’ and 3) the source of Hispanic faculty ‘burn out’ that results from being overburdened with demands from department and campus-wide service.”
Gary Smith, director, Office of Support for Effective Teaching, said, “We’ve seen a slight increase in Hispanic faculty: .2 percent over the last four years. The net effect is minimal. We recruit, but we are not good at retention.”
Jozi De León, vice president for Equity and Inclusion and Title V co-chair, noted that the expected the expected increase of all minority faculty in the Diversity Report Card is 1 percent per year while Title V has set an increase of 10 percent.
“To meet that goal requires working through Academic Affairs, the Provost, deans and department chairs,” said Associate Professor Rebecca Blum-Martínez, Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies, College of Education, and Title V co-chair.
With Hispanics as a “merging majority,” as the task force report stated, UNM needs to develop a strategy to identify and recruit potential Hispanic faculty to campus and bring them on board as targeted hires, said Miguel Gandert, associate chair, Communication & Journalism.
The report states that between 1990 and 2004, Hispanic tenure-track faculty increased 45 percent, from 58 to 84, with the greatest growth between 1990 and 1995, with 24 new hires. And, according to a Southwest Hispanic Research Institute report, only 2 Hispanic tenure lines have been added since 1995. Most of the net growth was in Arts and Sciences, 13; and the College of Education, 8.
“We need to reward schools, colleges and departments that identify and hire minority faculty,” Blum-Martínez said.
De León said, “While we have some funding for the recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty, the amount we have is not enough to make a significant difference, however, I will be seeking more funding opportunities to increase the amount we presently have.,”
De León noted that the best practices of schools and colleges that successfully recruit and hire minority faculty need to be shared with others. Gabriel Meléndez, chair, American Studies, Gandert and Blum-Martínez recalled early support each received from SHRI and from other Hispanic faculty mentors early in their careers. “SHRI paid half my faculty line when I was hired. It funded my research,” Meléndez said.
The committee plans to bring together panels to present information about the Nuevomexicano Experience; Class, Race, Ethnic Groups and the Educational Struggle in New Mexico; Academic Educational Literacy; and Gender. They are currently identifying panelists.
“The goal of the Title V project is to continue to improve retention and graduation rates for Hispanic students,” said Jennifer Gómez-Chávez, Title V director.
UNM receives approximately $550,000 per year during the funding cycle. The grant can continue beyond 2011 if the university meets certain requirements and it is so deemed by the U.S. Department of Education.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu