Worth a read! For me, this article brings into question the metrics that we use to inform Ph.D. admissions and faculty promotion decisions.
Are we over-emphasizing how some majorities codify excellence at the expense of other essential competencies?
Examples:
GPA and test scores correlate with socioeconomic status - essays less so - but what do many schools weigh most? GPA and test scores. We should form more robust qualitative assessments of candidates.
Counting top journal papers outweigh content and impact in many tenure and hiring decisions. Quantity-based metrics favor people with more time, more resources, and more substantial support structures, which often are people from elite schools or in traditional relationships. This leaves people at the margins, such as students with four years of funding (versus five or even six) or professors who are also primary caregivers (versus those who support caregivers or lack such responsibility), in a weaker position to compete for and secure positions or lifetime contracts.
Brand of the degree-granting institution seems to confer IQ points in the view of many hiring and promotion committees - in the initial screen of applicants for positions and candidates for tenure. As a result, I've seen many people from "elite schools" hired for positions with questionable records and a "tenure bump" for people holding degrees for faculty from elite institutions/programs.
I could go on.
I often hear faculty say hiring and promotion decisions are random and make no sense. I believe randomness stems from using inappropriate metrics or relying on homophily to make hires instead of ability, ambition, or merit, which are strong predictors of success.
What does this do?
It leaves applicants from schools or groups on the periphery holding an empty bag when it is time for looking for work or tenure.
As academics, we need to step back and apply our own prescriptions and research to how we manage students and faculty. We need to actively ask what are the best metrics and goals for hiring and promotion decisions? If we ever want to build equitable communities.
If we do, we will stop living in "ivory towers" and become more connected to our students and the worlds they enter after graduation.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jason-thatcher-0329764_do-your-diversity-initiatives-promote-assimilation-activity-6909551777289826305-JC9O?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web
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