When I Grow Up: Impact and Opportunity in Diversifying Physical Therapy Faculty and Leadership
Purpose: This session will provide an overview of demographics related to diversity of the physical therapy education workforce, the impact of those demographics on outcomes, and various perspectives on efforts to foster inclusive excellence at all rankings and posts in the physical therapy academy.Methods and/or Description of Project: In the current professional climates of healthcare and education, diversity, equity, and inclusion are among the most pressing organizational goals. Health care institutions strategize about recruiting providers that reflect patient communities and often evaluate staff on cultural competence as a component of clinical competency. Many academic organizations include diversity among their core values and make strategic efforts to broaden student applicant pools and include cultural competence topics delivered in curricula. In physical therapy, the percentage of students from underrepresented minority (URM) groups has increased incrementally over time; however, not all URM groups have demonstrated equal parity. Furthermore, disparities in physical therapy faculty reflect those among the student body, and are even more stark, increasingly so among leadership and senior administration. Data show that underrepresentation is evident across disciplines in higher education. Organizational culture and norms, historical patterns of exclusivity, and limited definitions and metrics of scholarship are some of the more frequently cited factors in the pervasive and persistent lack of faculty and administrative diversity. Additionally, literature has highlighted opportunities for improvement in the congruency in missions and actions, recruitment and hiring practices, and faculty development and recognition. This session will present the literature and provide perspectives from a panel of professionals working to improve inclusion in the physical therapy academy at all levels.Results/Outcomes: Successful efforts to improve inclusion in faculty and leadership positions have been demonstrated across disciplines. Characteristics of these efforts will be presented along with examples from physical therapy programs across geographic regions, Carnegie classifications, and institution types.Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: Our Leadership Landscape: Perspectives from the Ground Level to 30,000 Feet: As we examine our leadership landscape, the lack of diversity and inclusion among our profession’s leadership is unmistakable. The literature would also suggest, for a profession which holds equity, advocacy, and consumer-centricity among its guiding principles, that the imbalanced representation in our leadership is inexcusable. If we are to advance physical therapy education to promote access and equity, we must start with our educators.References: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development and Office of the Under Secretary, Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education, Washington, D.C., 2016. Gasman, M; Abiola, U; Travers, C; Diversity and senior leadership at eliteinstitutions of higher education. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Vol 8(1), Mar, 2015 pp. 1-14. Whittaker, J.A. & Montgomery, B.L. Cultivating Institutional Transformation and Sustainable STEM Diversity in Higher Education through Integrative Faculty Development. Innov High Educ (2014) 39: 263. Moody, J. (2011).Faculty diversity: Removing the barriers. New York, NY: Routledge Press. Smith, D. G., Tovar, E., & García, H. A. (2012).Where are they? A multilens examination of the distribution of full-time faculty by institutional type, race/ethnicity, gender, and citizenship. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2012, 5-26. Wilder, C. (2013).Ebony and ivy: Race, slavery, and the troubled history of America's universities. New York, NY: Bloomsburg Press. Wolfe BL, Dilworth PP. Transitioning Normalcy: Organizational Culture, African American Administrators, and Diversity Leadership in Higher Education. Review of Educational Research. December 2015, Vol. 85, No. 4, pp. 667–697 Eddie R. Cole, Brian L. McGowan & Desiree D. Zerquera (2017) First-Year Faculty of Color: Narratives about Entering the Academy, Equity & Excellence in Education, 50:1, 1-12. Murray MM, Mereoiu M, Cassidy D, Vardell R, Niemeyer JA, Hestenes L. Not Black Like Me: The Cultural Journey of an Early Childhood Program. Early Childhood Educ J (2016) 44:429–436Course Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will: 1) Understand national trends in reported demographics of physical therapy students, faculty, and clinicians as compared to patient populations; 2) Understand processes for assessing institutional culture and climate and apply these processes to investigate opportunities and challenges in faculty recruitment and retention; 3) Explore professional development strategies to mitigate bias in faculty recruitment, retention, and promotion processes; and 4) Explore the feasibility of holistic faculty recruitment and promotion at their home institutions.Instructional Methods: Lecture Small Group Discussions Panel Discussion Q&ATentative Outline/Schedule: 5 min - Introduction of general health disparities relevant to physical therapists Kennedy 5 min - Demographic landscape of the physical therapy profession, including student body, workforce, faculty, academic leadership Kennedy 10 min - Assessing institutional culture and climate Kennedy 5 min - Small Group Discussion: How do health and educational disparities relate to workforce demographics? Varnado 20 min - Fostering inclusive recruitment and retention of URM faculty Varnado 5 min - Small Group Discussion: What opportunities and challenges do you face in inclusive recruitment at your home institution? Diaz 30 min - Panel of various stakeholders: Perspectives in recruitment and retention of URM faculty/leadership Diaz, Nordstrom, Morris, John 10 min - Q&A