A new racial equity tech tool from the Race and Equity Center at the University of Southern California (USC) will change the face of higher education and provide a platform for academic professionals of color to engage with potential employers and cultivate community.
Unveiled at USC’s campus this week, PRISM will go live on December 5, allowing people of color who are faculty, administrators and career-switching professionals to create profiles, search for jobs, form or join virtual groups and access professional learning sessions and resources. The tool also attempts to address often-stated claims that institutions cannot find qualified scholars or administrators of color by encouraging thousands of partnering colleges and universities to be intentional in their recruitment and hiring processes.
“This [platform] moves us beyond passive approaches to recruiting, meaning that it’s not just posting a position and whoever sees it applies,” said Dr. Shaun R. Harper, founder and executive director of the USC Race and Equity Center. “This allows you to post positions, but it also allows you to directly communicate with people who might potentially be a good match. So you’re not leaving it to chance that they may or may not see your ad. You’re going to ensure that those who you want to see it absolutely see it and that you see them.”
During Monday’s presentation, Wilmon A. Christian III, the center’s director of PRISM and the National Equity Network, echoed scholars who note that people of color are underrepresented in positions of power on campus, including in presidencies and executive roles.
This dearth of faculty and administrators of color in higher education can create an isolating experience for the few people of color already on campus, and be particularly disadvantageous to students of color who miss out on the academic benefits of having people who look like them, he said.
Through PRISM, faculty and administrators of color can connect with racially and ethnically diverse colleagues across the country who are conducting similar work or scholarship and create or join online groups on the platform.
Take for example Black women academics in political science.
