Combating promotion and tenure bias against Black and Hispanic faculty

Black and Hispanic faculty members seeking promotion at research universities face career-damaging biases, with their scholarly production judged more harshly than that of their peers, according to an initiative co-led by the University of California, Merced that aims to uncover the roots of these biases and develop strategies for change.

Junior professors are generally evaluated and voted on for promotion and tenure by committees comprising senior colleagues. In one of the studies conducted by the research team, results suggest that faculty from underrepresented minorities received 7% more negative votes from committees than their non-minority peers. Further, minority faculty were 44% less likely to receive unanimous votes of approval. The judgment of women minority faculty was particularly harsh.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, are part of a research program co-led by the University of Houston. The program began four years ago to identify bias in academic evaluations. Current research focuses on understanding what drives the biases and developing policies to mitigate them.

The development of a Center for Equity in Faculty Advancement is being led by UC Merced psychology Professor Christiane Spitzmueller, a member of the university’s Health Sciences Research Institute and a lead investigator for the research initiative.

The initiative underscores and partially explains the lack of faculty from underrepresented minorities on U.S. campuses. Blacks and Hispanics account for only 14% of the nation’s assistant professors and 8% of its full professors, while those minorities make up 30% of the U.S. population.

This lack of representation not only hinders professional academics but impacts minority students, who look to faculty members for inspiration and mentoring. Learning from Black and Hispanic professors increases students’ likelihood of pursuing STEM careers or simply remaining on academic paths.

Faculty members’ ability to rise through the ranks and receive tenure—an earned guarantee of continued employment—is important not just for the recipients but for the universities, Spitzmueller said.

“Tenure is crucial for faculty, allowing them the freedom to explore innovative and sometimes controversial research without fear of repercussion,” Spitzmueller said. “It is vital that we rethink how tenure is awarded to ensure equity in the academic system.”

The initiative’s other lead investigators are Professor Juan Madera and Associate Provost Ericka Henderson of the University of Houston and Michelle Penn-Marshall, vice president for research and innovation at Texas Southern University. The initiative leverages the research strength of not just UC Merced, Houston and Texas Southern, but also Texas A&M University, Louisiana State University, Purdue University and Georgia Institute of Technology.

Prior studies have shown that faculty from minority backgrounds continue to face barriers in peer-review and grant-funding processes. The research initiative builds on that knowledge, highlighting how these challenges lead to biased promotion and tenure decisions that can dramatically alter a scholar’s career trajectory.

The team analyzed promotion and tenure decisions for 1,571 faculty members at five universities from 2015–2022. The data included promotion and tenure committee votes along with linguistic analysis of external review letters—an evaluation by an outside scholar of a candidate’s research, teaching and service. The letters are a key part of the evaluation process. The analysis accounted for differences in candidate assessment from campus to campus.

Analysis results challenge assumptions that the lack of minorities among full professors is caused by factors such as a toxic campus atmosphere, social isolation or a lack of professional support. The research initiative suggests the promotion and tenure decision process is in dire need of policies and training that can reduce bias and promote equity.