As college students continue to press for greater diversity and inclusion on campuses across the U.S., well founded concerns about the lack of progress in faculty diversity persist. According to data presented in a status report from Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education, “about three-quarters of all full-time faculty at degree-granting postsecondary institutions are White, while those who identify as Black, Latinx, and Native American collectively represent approximately 11 percent. Comparatively, over one-third of all students enrolled in college are Black, Latinx, or Native American, and 52 percent are White.”

Building a more diverse faculty, though, is just the first step to cultivating a more equitable campus. Once faculty of color are on campus, research shows that the institutional structures us universities create an environment where faculty of color are less interested in entering the institution and/or staying in a faculty position. According to University of Maryland Associate Professor Kimberly Griffin’s article Redoubling Our Efforts: How Institutions Can Affect Faculty Diversity, “Recent discourse and research point to three specific areas that need to be addressed to catalyze progress: 1) attractiveness of faculty positions; 2) hiring, tenure, and promotion processes; and 3) departmental and campus climates for faculty of color.”

Embodying Your Curriculum is invested in and committed to transforming campus climates. EYC believes that every professor should have access to trauma-informed pedagogy to support themselves in creating a more equitable classroom and campus, specifically now as faculty are called upon to recognize and meet the profound social problems we face, which produce anxiety, stress and trauma. In our EYC Faculty Course, we take great care to unfold the personal, societal and intergenerational aspects of diversity, inclusion and equity with a trauma-informed lens. We explore social intelligence, double binds, inner authority and intergenerational imprints to confront the issues faculty of color have long faced on university campuses and to create a pathway to better understanding among white faculty and faculty of color.

Many faculty are able to secure full funding from their institutions for the EYC Faculty Course. We recognize, however, that there are so many individuals who don’t receive funding from their institutions for trauma-informed capacity building. To honor those who are striving to become more compassionate, connected professors—but are lacking in financial support from their institutions—EYC is now proud to offer partial funding through our Krista Raine Scholarship Fund.

This scholarship fund is exclusively offered to faculty who asked for funding at their institution, but were turned down. To be eligible for a scholarship, you must be a full- or part-time faculty member at a 4-year university or community college.

For more details, resources and to apply, please visit: www.embodyingyourcurriculum.com/scholarship