Chapter 15: Disrupting Discourse Within Higher Education Hiring Practices: Using Critical Race Theory to De-Amplify Semantic Harm

On higher education campuses across the country, diversity and inclusion efforts are ubiquitous. It appears administrators are very willing to “talk the talk” when it comes to understanding how important a diverse campus is—both in terms of access for People of Color and the educational benefits that accrue to everyone on campus when diverse experiences, backgrounds, and thoughts are represented (Ahmed, 2006; Locks, Hurtado, Bowman, & Oseguera, 2008; Smith & Schonfeld, 2000). These commitments have translated into discussions not only about diversifying student enrollments but also increasing diversity as a result of faculty and staff hiring practices.

To demonstrate institutional commitments to diverse hiring, administrators often encourage “women and minorities” to apply in job postings and exhibit their financial commitment by paying an additional fee to ensure job postings are listed on “diverse hiring websites.” Search committees add a “social justice question” to their interview schedules, point out diversity-related events during campus tours, and make sure to emphasize just how much of a priority diversity is to the campus within candidate prospectuses. However, despite these actions signaling a common commitment to diverse hiring, the outcomes of these hiring processes more often than not end up failing to reach the goal of inclusivity and representation (Jackson, 2004; Lee, 2010). For example, as of 2015 and 2017 respectively, only 18% of full-time, tenured professor roles and 17% of college president positions were held by People of Color (American Council on Education, 2017; National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). Why, with all of the attention to making clear our intention to increase diversity through hiring, are faculty and upper-level staff positions still filled primarily by White folk? Examining the ways in which higher education administrators talk about hiring, and more specifically the ways in which we recuse ourselves from ongoing disparities within institutional hiring is at the heart of this chapter.