Due to toxic elements in the culture, Dr. Rowena M. Tomaneng left her first doctoral program feeling “devastated.”
Years later, she continued to be triggered by microaggressions and scrutiny brought forth by colleagues.
“Students of color are and continue to be [traumatized] in some of our graduate programs across the country,” said Tomaneng, who is president of San José City College.
She and other higher education leaders discussed ways to address those toxic environments at the institutional level and offered strategies to recruit more faculty of color during a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Jamal Watson at the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ (AAC&Us) 2021 Virtual Meeting. The panel was sponsored by Diverse.
Faculty at minority-serving institutions are often perceived as “less than.” Damon Lewis Williams, Jr., assistant dean for diversity and inclusion at Northwestern University said that many faculty members advise their students to avoid teaching at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) because they are “too smart for that.”
“Because of these experiences that they’ve had, they are more committed to changing the culture and preparing students of color at their institutions,” he said. “I challenge my colleagues to understand why certain people teach at certain institutions.”
To change the narrative, graduate schools can play a role by mandating implicit bias training sessions for admissions, reevaluating the weight of Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and providing mentorship opportunities.
