Minority faculty under-represented

As a minority faculty member, Lauro Flores, chair of the American ethnic studies department, has heard endless complaints from minority students about the lack of diversity among professors, including those teaching diversity courses.

"The University overall has a problem with salaries," said Flores, who has been teaching at the UW for more than 25 years. "It is no secret that we are behind our peers; because of this we are losing faculty in general, not just minority faculty."

Minority professors are greatly under-represented at the UW. Compared to the 770 white female professors and 1,834 white males, there are 23 black female professors and 38 black males, according to the UW's Equal Opportunity Office.

"Faculty and staff numbers have remained flat, and that is a major challenge we are facing," said Nancy Barcelo, the UW's vice provost of the Office of Minority Affairs (OMA).

Barcelo said one of the main reasons minority faculty and staff members do not stay on campus is because of the UW's "climate."

"People don't always have the same experience here, because they feel alone," she added. "We want our faculty and staff to feel respected and like part of the community. The way to do that is to make the climate acceptable."

Flores thinks the consistent departure of key individuals within departments and administration affects the climate on campus more than lack of higher wages.

"The lack of visible minority faculty keeps new faculty members from coming to the University," he said.

He said the administration is making steps with research and funding programs in order to become a more diversified university all around.

"I-200 made it much more difficult to work on issues of minority entrance," said Flores. "It is a chain reaction, if students don't see the UW as a welcoming campus that has a significant number of students and faculty that they can relate to, it will aggravate the problem."

Gearing up for diversity

The Yakima Gear Up program, meant to prepare students for university-level work, is also a vehicle for recruiting Hispanic students to the UW.

Barcelo wants to create programs students can be linked to after Gear Up. More programs need to become curriculum-based to compliment Gear-Up, like after-school programs, she said.

"When I came here this office was isolated," Barcelo said. "In the last three years we have reorganized to push communication, but more must be done for us to become a resource to the students and the University."

Major changes need to be made in all levels of education, Flores said. Students need to be better prepared for college-level work.

"The diversity problem is not just within the University, it goes beyond them," said Flores. "The education system in the United States is in a crises -- in the high school and lower levels. Public schools are not training students well enough to achieve at the university level."

Diversity a 'University-wide effort'

Last year, UW President Mark Emmert pledged $400,000 of funding for projects to increase diversity on campus. Some went to the Diversity Research Institute, which is tentatively scheduled to open in the spring. Funds were also allocated for the creation of an associate vice provost for faculty enhancement position.

"This will bring together faculty to enhance interdisciplinary work, allowing them and their work to be valued," said Barcelo. "In the same way we serve the community through our medical center, we can serve society, which is coming to us for cures on how to serve communities with social justice and diversity issues."

Barcelo said she sees diversity as a University-wide effort. "If we can get the institute up and running then we can maintain a diverse faculty," she added. "This sets the stage for where we need to go -- diversity and excellence go hand in hand."