Diversifying the Faculty

Below are some of the initiatives and resources at the University at Buffalo to further our goal of diversifying the faculty.

On this page:

Programs

PRODiG

PRODiG ("Promoting Recruitment, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion and Growth") is a program that aims to increase the representation of historically underrepresented faculty at SUNY including underrepresented minority ("URM") faculty in general and women faculty of all races in STEM fields (“WSTEM”).  UB is an active member of the PRODiG program in an effort to enhance the recruitment, hiring, and retention of underrepresented faculty.

Visiting Future Faculty Program (VITAL)

The Visiting Future Faculty Program (VITAL) is an exciting and rewarding four-day program that brings promising doctoral scholars from all disciplines to the University at Buffalo. VITAL seeks to contribute to the growth of faculty from traditionally underrepresented populations in the United States, particularly from Indigenous, African American/Black, and Hispanic/Latinx backgrounds. VITAL scholars have the opportunity to present their work, engage with UB faculty and students, meet other scholars in the program, and experience the region’s many offerings. UB’s inaugural Visiting Future Faculty Week will take place from March 28 to April 1, 2022. Eligible students are ABD candidates in doctoral programs in any field who intend to pursue academic careers and who are available to visit UB during Visiting Future Faculty Week.

Distinguished Visiting Scholars

The Distinguished Visiting Scholars program in the College of Arts and Sciences brings a cohort of highly accomplished scholars and artists whose work elucidates social inequality and advances social justice to the university and Buffalo community. The year-long program engages the entire UB community, providing opportunities for new scholarly, artistic, curricular and pedagogical collaborations and access to scholars’ work through public presentations, performances, exhibitions, guest lectures, workshops and informal social gatherings. 

Resources

National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD)

The University at Buffalo is pleased to announce it has joined the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity. NCFDD provides professional development, training, and mentoring for faculty members, postdocs and graduate students, and the University at Buffalo supports memberships for eligible faculty members.  If you are interested, please visit our NCFDD page for more information.

Trainings for Search Committees

Diversifying Faculty Series: Why It Matters and Best Search Practices

These workshops were led by Dr. Anne Etgen, Professor Emerita in the Department of Neuroscience at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and nationally recognized expert in recruiting and retaining diverse faculty. We encourage this resource for all Department Chairs and faculty who plan to serve on search committees. Below are descriptions of the three workshops.

Session Descriptions

Best Practices for Conducting Diverse Searches to Hire Faculty & Staff

Diversity is essential to excellence in the University setting. This series of four videos illustrates why creating a plan for conducting a successful search is critical, as well as the importance of building an awareness of implicit bias and how to minimize its effects. Total running time: 20 minutes.

Recruiting a Diverse and Excellent Faculty: Best Practices for Search Committees

Excellence—embracing and exhibiting the highest level of quality in research, teaching and service—can be achieved only when diverse perspectives are engaged. This workshop, conducted by Anne M. Etgen, Professor Emerita of Neuroscience at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, illustrates why we recruit faculty for diversity and excellence, obstacles to achieving faculty diversity, how schemas affect the careers of women and underrepresented minorities, and what we can do to address these issues.  Supplemental materials are provided to assist search committees during the faculty search process. Total running time: 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Mentoring Resources

Faculty Mentoring

In recognition of the importance of mentoring to the success of faculty, the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, the Faculty Senate, two successive mentoring advisory committees, and other faculty collaborators, have joined together to create a policy and provide guidance for building an effective mentoring culture at the University at Buffalo. You will find training tools and resources designed to help departments build, implement, and manage mentoring programs either ongoing or in fledgling stages.

Strategies to Improve Faculty Retention and Mentoring

This workshop, led by Dr. Anne Etgen, Professor Emerita in the Department of Neuroscience at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and nationally recognized expert in recruiting and retaining diverse faculty,
outlines strategies that facilitate the academic success, promotion and retention of faculty. Topics discussed include strong mentoring programs, faculty cluster hiring (cohort model), activities and resources to reduce isolation, increase community building and networking, and to foster career, research, and professional advancement.  

Teaching and Mentoring Institute

Since 2017, the University at Buffalo has participated in the Southern Regional Education Board’s (SREB’s) Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, a four-day conference that is the largest gathering of minority doctoral scholars in the nation.  In addition to recruiting new faculty members, our membership provides access to a database of underrepresented doctoral scholars to help with the faculty search process. Please contact our office for more information.

Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC)

The Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) is a non-profit coalition of over 700 colleges, universities, hospitals, research labs, government agencies, and related non- and for-profit organizations, committed to diversifying the pipeline of faculty, staff, and executives in academia. Since UB is an institutional member of HERC, to access recruitment and retention resources, webinars, and other HERC community resources, visit this webpage to register for a HERConnect account.