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Blacks in Crimson
Ronald RoachWhile Harvard has surpassed many other institutions of its size in its demonstrated commitment to student diversity, the university is still woeful in its representation of African Americans on the faculty.
The recent avalanche of magazine stories devoted to Dr. Henry Louis Gates and Harvard's Afro-Americans studies department gives the impression that Black faculty have made gains at the nation's most prestigious institution. But despite the university's high-profile commitment to Afro-American studies, visitors to the campus would be hard pressed to find Black professors teaching in other university departments.
When it comes to diversity, Harvard can tout an exemplary record on recruiting, admitting, and graduating minority students at several of its schools -- most notably the law school and the college. But despite three decades of significant growth in minority student enrollment, minority representation on the faculties of Harvard remains among the lowest in the Ivy League.
Excluding the law school and the Afro-American studies department, Black faculty numbers are critically low. Among the arts and sciences 1,179 faculty members -- excluding faculty who hold appointments in other schools, but including those Afro-American studies -- only 15 are African American. Of the eight total male faculty with senior status, six are in the department of Afro-American studies -- as is the lone senior Black female, Dr. Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham.
In comparison, Dartmouth College, whose arts and sciences faculty is roughly a third of the size of Harvard's, has 13 Black faculty members. The total number of arts and sciences faculty at Dartmouth is 336.
The issue garnered national attention in 1992, when Derrick Bell, a once tenured Harvard Law School professor, staged a highly visible protest over the school's lack of minority women on the faculty. Bell, in refusing to return from a two-year protest leave of absence over the law school's failure to hire a woman of color, prompted the university to fire him.
The Student Commitment
Since arriving at Harvard in 1991, the university's president, Dr. Neil L. Rudenstine, has forcefully spoken out about the importance of diversity -- especially among the student body. He has written articles and a report that traces the history of diversity as a value at Harvard to the mid-19th century. This early commitment to diversity took root at Harvard, he says, when school officials recognized that as an emerging national institution the university would need to admit students with varying backgrounds from around the country rather than exclusively from wealthy families in the New England region.
The kind of diversity these postcivil war era educators were talking about, however, largely concerned an ethnic and regional mix of White males. The diversity which the university has been striving to achieve in the latter part of the 20th century has included a much richer racial and gender mix.
"I believe that student diversity contributes powerfully and directly to the quality of education in colleges and universities," Rudenstine wrote in the Harvard University Gazette in 1996.
Under his leadership, however, Harvard's African American enrollment has remained fairly consistent. In 1998, according to data filed by the university with the federal government, Harvard enrolled a total of 554 Black males, and 680 Black females. Together, these students comprised 7 percent of the university-wide student body (see BI The Numbers, for more enrollment statistics).
The Numbers from Harvard Faculty & Administrators
Medical School
ALL AFRICAN NATIVE HISPANIC ASIAN
AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
Professors 520 5 0 3 16
Assoc. Professors 989 7 1 15 41
Asst. Professors 1459 16 0 17 144
Instructors 5158 95 3 127 465
Training Status 5709 151 11 222 1645
Graduate School of Business Administration
ALL AFRICAN NATIVE HISPANIC ASIAN
AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
Professors 95 3 0 1 0
Ladder 70 1 14 1 0
Instructors 10 1 0 1 0
Research 6 0 0 0 0
Harvard Law School
ALL AFRICAN NATIVE HISPANIC ASIAN
AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
Professors 63 4 0 1 1
Ladder 9 1 0 0 0
Other 16 0 1 1 0
Central Administration
Student Services & Sr. Specialists
ALL AFRICAN NATIVE HISPANIC ASIAN
AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
Managers 498 21 11 3 0
Other Professionals 12 32 30 15 0
Arts & Sciences
ALL AFRICAN NATIVE HISPANIC ASIAN
AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
Professors 419 7 0 5 20
Asst. Prof. 189 4 0 9 15
Instructor 267 3 0 2 15
Research Faculty 304 1 0 11 99
John F. Kennedy School of Government
ALL AFRICAN NATIVE HISPANIC ASIAN
AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
Professors 35 2 0 1 0
Ladder 28 1 4 0 0
Other 29 2 0 0 0
Research 5 0 2 0 0
School of Public Health
ALL AFRICAN NATIVE HISPANIC ASIAN
AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
Professors 58 2 0 1 0
Ladder 77 2 12 2 0
Other 19 0 1 1 0
Graduate School of Education
ALL AFRICAN NATIVE HISPANIC ASIAN
AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN AMERICAN
Senior 23 2 0 1 0
Ladder 16 2 1 2 0
Other 46 6 0 2 1
Research 13 0 0 0 0
Faculty Total 98 10 1 5 1
Degrees Conferred
by Ethnicity, 1997
HEAD COUNT COLLEGE GRAD SCH BUSINESS DENTAL
Asian/Pacific Islander
Male 137 28 33 4
Female 105 15 28 4
Percent 14% 6% 7% 16%
Black/Non-Hispanic
Male 50 10 27 1
Female 64 8 21 0
Percent 7% 3% 5% 2%
Hispanic
Male 58 6 20 0
Female 51 11 9 1
Percent 7% 2% 3% 2%
International Students
Male 134 137 211 13
Female 84 60 54 2
Percent 13% 27% 29% 31%
Native American
Male 2 2 3 0
Female 8 0 4 0
Percent 1% 0% 1% 0%
White/Non-Hispanic
Male 380 88 289 17
Female 302 64 99 7
Percent 41% 21% 43% 49%
Unknown/Other
Male 169 176 74 0
Female 125 114 29 0
Percent 18% 40% 11% 0%
TOTAL 1,669 719 901 49
HEAD COUNT DESIGN DIVINITY EDUCATION GOV. LAW
Asian/Pacific Islander
Male 8 2 15 14 31
Female 6 4 41 14 30
Percent 7% 4% 8% 6% 9%
Black/Non-Hispanic
Male 0 12 21 12 18
Female 1 8 33 11 40
Percent 1% 12% 8% 5% 8%
Hispanic
Male 7 3 16 9 15
Female 1 1 37 11 17
Percent 4% 2% 8% 4% 5%
International Students
Male 46 7 13 123 109
Female 23 9 44 68 60
Percent 36% 10% 9% 41% 24%
Native American
Male 0 0 4 1 2
Female 0 0 5 2 1
Percent 0% 0% 1% 1% 0%
White/Non-Hispanic
Male 58 50 92 97 244
Female 31 62 230 87 124
Percent 46% 70% 48% 39% 53%
Unknown/Other
Male 8 2 38 17 7
Female 3 1 80 5 2
Percent 6% 2% 18% 5% 1%
TOTAL 192 161 669 471 700
HEAD COUNT MED. HEALTH EXT. TOTAL
Asian/Pacific Islander
Male 29 6 9 316
Female 20 13 5 285
Percent 24% 6% 3% 9%
Black/Non-Hispanic
Male 11 2 6 170
Female 10 9 4 209
Percent 10% 3% 2% 6%
Hispanic
Male 6 4 8 152
Female 5 6 15 165
Percent 5% 3% 6% 5%
International Students
Male 8 75 49 925
Female 3 53 48 508
Percent 5% 38% 23% 22%
Native American
Male 2 0 2 18
Female 1 1 2 24
Percent 1% 0% 1% 1%
White/Non-Hispanic
Male 52 63 118 1,548
Female 58 86 136 1,286
Percent 53% 44% 61% 44%
Unknown/Other
Male 2 12 6 511
Female 0 9 10 378
Percent 1% 6% 4% 14%
Total 207 339 418 6,495
Student Enrollment
by Ethnicity, Fall 1998
HEAD COUNT COLLEGE GRAD SCH BUSINESS DENTAL
Asian/Pacific Islander
Male 571 105 89 23
Female 594 98 66 37
Percent 17% 7% 10% 29%
Black/Non Hispanic
Male 224 46 59 3
Female 322 59 17 0
Percent 8% 4% 5% 1%
Hispanic
Male 262 46 32 4
Female 266 62 6 1
Percent 8% 4% 3% 2%
International Students
Male 268 466 314 29
Female 204 276 79 22
Percent 7% 25% 26% 24%
Native American
Male 17 4 4 0
Female 26 1 0 0
Percent 1% 0% 0% 0%
White/Non-Hispanic
Male 1,664 443 230 47
Female 1,188 352 131 39
Percent 43% 27% 24% 41%
Unknown/Other
Male 597 571 337 1
Female 501 397 153 3
Percent 16% 33% 32% 2%
Total 6,704 2,926 1,517 210
HEAD COUNT DESIGN DIVINITY EDUCATION GOV.
Asian/Pacific Islander
Male 44 15 19 15
Female 42 15 67 26
Percent 16% 6% 7% 6%
Black/Non Hispanic
Male 4 12 45 24
Female 2 21 84 17
Percent 1% 6% 11% 6%
Hispanic
Male 18 5 31 18
Female 11 6 86 14
Percent 5% 2% 10% 4%
International Students
Male 94 27 16 190
Female 69 17 71 81
Percent 31% 9% 7% 37%
Native American
Male 3 0 5 2
Female 0 0 10 1
Percent 1% 0% 1% 0%
White/Non-Hispanic
Male 116 161 141 148
Female 95 200 393 143
Percent 40% 70% 46% 40%
Unknown/Other
Male 17 15 52 31
Female 17 19 151 18
Percent 6% 7% 17% 7%
Total 532 513 1,171 728
HEAD COUNT LAW MED. HEALTH EXT. TOTAL
Asian/Pacific Islander
Male 72 94 24 23 1,094
Female 92 92 57 25 1,211
Percent 9% 25% 11% 5% 12%
Black/Non Hispanic
Male 71 34 12 20 554
Female 81 32 23 22 680
Percent 8% 9% 5% 13% 7%
Hispanic
Male 46 41 9 13 525
Female 32 21 11 15 531
Percent 4% 8% 3% 3% 6%
International Students
Male 150 25 94 52 1,725
Female 88 15 101 57 1,080
Percent 13% 5% 26% 11% 15%
Native American
Male 3 3 0 3 44
Female 7 2 4 2 53
Percent 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%
White/Non-Hispanic
Male 564 186 122 290 4,112
Female 357 188 209 360 3,655
Percent 49% 49% 44% 67% 42%
Unknown/Other
Male 177 15 31 33 1,877
Female 121 9 59 49 1,498
Percent 16% 3% 12% 9% 18%
Total 1,861 757 756 964 18,639
With respect to Black student retention, the university fares exceptionally well -- which, according to admissions officer Dave Evans, is no surprise considering the high caliber of students who win admission. More than 95 percent of all African American undergraduates get their degrees within five years, he says.
"And approximately 90 percent graduate in four years," he adds.
Yet, as impressive as these numbers are, Evans admits the commitment to diversity, even at the student level, is largely championed by a handful of influential leaders on the campus.
"There are some personalities who are committed to it," he says. "Rudenstine and others."
But he warns that all of this could easily change once these personalities retire or leave the campus for other reasons if more alumni and others are not diligent about staying the course.
"Keeping these ideas going won't happen by themselves," Evans says. "People have to realize that freedom is not free. To bring down peaches, you've got to shake the tree."
While the efforts of admissions and recruitment officials have sustained diversity among the student body, the institution's commitment doesn't stop there. Coinciding with Rudenstine's tenure at Harvard has been an additional effort to educate undergraduates on the value of diversity.
Archie C. Epps III, Harvard's dean of students since 1970, says all students receive a handbook on race relations and freshman admits are required to read essays on diversity before they enroll. Shortly after arriving at Harvard, freshmen are required to attend meetings to discuss these essays.
"One of our goals is to help students develop expertise in the complexities of race relations," Epps says.
So, what type of environment does this yield for African American and other students of color?
"Harvard works for those who make it work," says Theodore Nathaniel "Teddy" Maynard, an African American junior majoring in Afro-American studies. He came to Harvard from the prestigious Roxbury Latin School, where he was a scholarship student and one of flew African Americans. It prepared him, both academically and socially, for his Harvard experience, he says.
Maynard has found race relations at Harvard to be about the same as they are elsewhere in the country. It has also been his observation that students are generally left to create their own support systems, and must be sell-motivated to succeed because the university is not overly solicitous to the needs of any specific group.
"I was prepared and I knew how to make it work," he says. "[Harvard's] not for someone who is not accustomed to making their own community."
Tyrone Latin, a 1989 Harvard graduate who currently works as a class manager at the Harvard Foundation, says the campus environment appears to be more sensitive to the needs of students of color today than it was when he was an undergraduate. He adds that efforts by the admissions staff to involve more alumni of color in recruitment efforts are complemented by the activities of his colleagues to cultivate more African American alumni as financial contributors and volunteers to the institution.
"Harvard has struggled with this for a while and is trying to address it," he says. "There is still a long way to go."
The Faculty Commitment
On the subject of faculty diversity, Rudenstine proudly points to the Afro-American studies department, which in recent years has attracted some of the nation's leading Black scholars.
"I think it's probably the case that [Dr. Henry Louis Gates] has been the driver of so much of the recruiting activity," Rudenstine says, adding that Gates has also looked at departments beyond Afro-American studies.
"There are some people, like Evelyn Higginbotham, who could be full-time in history, if she wanted. But she's attracted to Afro-Am, and so enjoys the relationship."
In response to concerns that Harvard is sorely lagging in hiring Black and other non-White faculty, Rudenstine says the root of the dilemma lies with the low numbers of Blacks and other minorities earning Ph.D.s in science and certain social science disciplines.
"We have to keep going back to the still really unfortunate problem of the fact that only two percent of Ph.D.s in the United States -- if you exclude clinical psychology and education -- awarded annually are to African Americans, and that's just a tiny number of people," Rudenstine says.
In recent years, Harvard has participated in a Mellon Foundation program to identify and support minority students interested in pursuing Ph.D.s. Prior to coming to Harvard, Rudenstine served as executive vice president of the Mellon Foundation.
But critics, such as the editors at the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, have questioned whether Harvard's faculty recruitment strategies prevent its various schools from considering a broader pool of candidates than they currently do.
African Americans are perhaps best represented among Harvard faculty at the law school. Yet, even this diversity has come at a hefty price.
For more than 20 years, Derrick Bell railed against Harvard law school for practicing an excessively elitist faculty hiring program. In his 1994 book, Confronting Authority: Reflections of an Ardent Protester, which details the protest that led to him losing his tenured position, Bell wrote that the "standards for hiring and promoting faculty at Harvard Law School (and in fairness, at almost every major law school in the country) erect almost unassailable barriers of class and race. Bearing little correlation to effective teaching or significant scholarship, the criteria's most uniform effect is to produce a group of law professors whose backgrounds, education, interests, and writing most closely resemble those of the wealthy White men who have dominated law faculties since their beginning."
Critics of the law school's hiring practices have quieted down since Harvard hired Lani Guinier, a former University of Pennsylvania law professor and well-known civil rights advocate, to a full-time tenured position on the law school faculty early in 1998 -- more than five years after Bell's departure. Guinier, the first Black woman to achieve such a feat, gained national attention in 1993 when President Clinton withdrew her nomination for Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights after failing to defend her writings and statements.
At the time she was named to the Harvard law school faculty, however, Guinier was hardly a Harvard outsider. Her lather, the late Ewart Guinier, was once chair of the department of Afro-American studies.
Whether Harvard's other schools exercise excessively elitist faculty recruitment and hiring practices is debatable. One critical view is that Harvard schools and departments recruit too exclusively from other elite colleges and universities. An opposing perspective says that being among the best requires that Harvard schools narrow their faculty' searches to these elite institutions.
"I take the long view, not the short view. I'm not worried about the numbers. I know Harvard well enough to know that everything takes a very long time here, a very long time. Harvard has its own way of doing business," says Reverend Dr. Peter Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and minister of the university church. "So I don't think the numbers are inconsistent with the ambition.
"The ambition is always ahead of your achievement," he adds. "I think you have to simply accept the fact that diversity here is not in itself a goal. Diversity is a means to a goal at Harvard, and that goal is excellence."
Cheryl D. Fields contributed to this story.
COPYRIGHT 1999 Cox, Matthews & Associates
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group