Colleges face a personnel challenge because faculty populations are generally much less diverse than student bodies. The share of faculty members who are not White has also grown more slowly in recent years than that of students, even as student pools are expected to grow even more diverse in many parts of the country in coming years.
Advocates for underrepresented students argue that a lack of diversity among top college employees can lead to students feeling undervalued and less welcome on campus. They call for campuses to engage more in equity and inclusion efforts.
However, campus diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are also controversial and have increasingly come under fire from free speech organizations.
