In an effort to recruit and retain underrepresented faculty members at UCSD, Acting Chancellor Marsha Chandler has announced her plan to form a joint Academic Senate-Administration Task Force on Underrepresented Faculty.

“”In this decade of rapid growth, it is especially important that we maintain UCSD’s tradition of recruiting the highest quality faculty,”” Chandler stated in a press release. “”My intention is to gather a thoughtful, primarily qualitative review of the policies, practices, outcomes, strengths and weaknesses of our faculty diversification efforts.””

The task force, which is expected to convene in February and finish its work by spring 2004, will work alongside Chandler, Acting Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs David Miller, Vice Chancellor of the School of Medicine Edward Holmes and Vice Chancellor of Marine Science Charles F. Kennel. It plans to investigate the faculty recruitment process, effective methods for faculty retention, how quickly tenure is reached and whether or not there is a pattern of overburdening certain faculty members.

“”There is a concern that of the ethnic minority members represented on the faculty, many are called on to represent various committees in addition to fulfilling their primary obligations and are feeling overburdened,”” said Interim Associate Chancellor Ann Briggs Addo, who, previous to her appointment, worked as chief of staff in the Office of Resource Management and Planning.

If the task force finds statistics or information that is not to its satisfaction, it will seek to propose and execute ways in which those problems can be rectified.

According to Addo, there will most likely be at least 10 people on the task force, constituting a broad representation of faculty and administration. The Academic Senate’s Committee on Committees is in the process of receiving campus input and preparing nominations as to who will serve.

The activities of the task force will mirror an earlier analysis entitled the Gender Equity Study, which compared and contrasted certain trends, patterns and other relevant statistics of male and female faculty members at UCSD.

According to Addo, students and organizations alike have been vocal about the shortage of underrepresented faculty members on the UCSD campus.

“”Students of color have come into the office and expressed their concerns that there is real shortage of minority professors,”” Addo said.

In the January edition of his monthly online newsletter, Chair of the UCSD Diversity Council Russell Doolittle expressed the importance of having a diverse university community. “”Universities should be more than centers of technological research and development,”” Doolittle stated. “”They are not mere conduits for the nation’s work force. They must also serve as the conscience of our society … We will not endure as a civilization if certain segments of the populace are excluded from the full benefits of our educational system.””

Although many have voiced their support of the task force as a step in the right direction, some are skeptical about its ultimate efficacy and the end results to be produced.

“”I was on the board of the Diversity Council in the first two years of its existence, and hardly any changes in policy were implemented,”” said Patrick Velasquez, director of Office of Academic Support and Instructional Serivces and member of the Latino/Chicano Concilio. “”The people in charge need to be informed about the situations, and it is ultimately up to them whether or not recommendations are followed.””

The two most important issues the task force needs to look at, according to Velasquez, include trends in hiring practices and criteria for the awarding of tenure to professors, examining whether or not biased patterns exist. He also believes the task force must implement certain measures to alleviate the pronounced racial disparities.

“”A mentoring system needs to be instituted in which the progress of assistant professors can be tracked and senior faculty members are available to help newcomers, thus aiding talented faculty members to obtain the tenure they deserve,”” Velasquez said. “”We lost three excellent Chicano faculty members in the last four to five years. They were good academicians and great student mentors, and yet they were denied tenure.””