Group investigates Penn State’s academic culture, racism — and comes to some ‘painful’ conclusions
Gary King, a Penn State professor, couldn’t read all his Black colleagues’ comments on racism in one sitting. He’d read a portion, before his heart grew heavy and his mind became overwhelmed — and he’d take a break.
Then he’d come back and repeat the process. Until he was finished.
King — and five other co-authors with doctorates — recently published a 108-page report that surveyed African American faculty members at University Park and the commonwealth campuses, recording their concerns and analyzing their responses. The goal was to identify Penn State’s shortcomings while also measuring the institutional racism and interpersonal racism that Black faculty here experienced.
Even King, a longtime professor of biobehavioral health, was stunned at how pervasive the racism was. And he couldn’t stand to read the dozens of pages of anonymous comments in one sitting.
Someone wrote n----- in the dirt on my car and other hate speech.
I was stopped while walking. I was surrounded by campus police. I have been followed around campus by police.
Told by students that I must be a genius because how else could I do what I do and be Black.
I have been greeted at Penn State Donor Relations events with “What are you doing here?” and “How did you get in here?”
“It was very painful, not only for me but for other co-authors to read that,” King said. “But we want the world to know that this exists. And we’re not saying this only exists at Penn State — but we’re only at Penn State. We’re not at other universities, and we know that all universities do not necessarily have this problem.”
King’s report — titled, “More Rivers to Cross: Black Faculty and Academic Racism at Penn State University (Part 2)“ — comes a year after the first report, which sparked change within the university by centering on its lack of recruitment and retainment of Black faculty members. This second report reiterated that point while focusing on a culture that allows racism to permeate through the university.
According to a survey of 134 Black faculty members — which eschewed the co-authors, administrators and research-only faculty — more than half (53.1%) said that they experienced racism from administrators or supervisors at least “sometimes.” More than two-thirds (67.7%) said they experienced racism from students in the last three years at least “sometimes.” And 70.2% felt, at least “sometimes,” that the academic culture at Penn State would not become an equitable environment in the next decade.
“It was very difficult to read and to say, wow, these things are still happening. These things are still going on,” King said. “Because this is something that should not be happening.”
The problems
In the comments and anecdotes from Penn State’s African American faculty, the report’s co-authors found pain, anger and frustration at virtually every level of academic life — whether it came from administrators, colleagues or students.
One respondent reported reading racial slurs on the forms students fill out to rate teachers, called the Student Rating of Teaching Effectiveness (SRTEs). Another reported being harassed by a white student all semester and, when finally reported, concerns were dismissed as they were attributed to “philosophical differences.” Another said a white colleague voiced that they were simply “tokens.”
Those perceptions and realities were reflected in data that painted a view of distrust and disappointment toward the university. Among the survey’s findings:
- 8 in 10 Black professors reported experiencing racism at Penn State, with slightly more at the commonwealth campuses than at University Park. Almost half (48.5%) encountered racism within the first year of their appointment, and one-third experienced racism within 1-3 years.
- Nearly 3 in 4 respondents (73.1%) who experienced racism chose not to report it. Several said they opted for that course because they felt nothing would be done about it.
- More than 1 in 3 (36.4%) respondents said they at least “sometimes” regretted the decision to join Penn State. At the commonwealth campuses, 13.8% “often” regretted it while 6.3% at University Park “often” felt the same way.
King hoped people might look at those numbers, read the comments and spend some time with the report to understand just how far Penn State must go to foster an environment where all truly feel welcome.
Because, right now he said, all Black professors do not.
The culture of silence to racism is pervasive, and you become the monster by standing up for your rights.
When I have reported wrongdoing, my concerns have been dismissed. I have been excluded from diversity initiatives.
Because nothing was done, I am being retaliated against, and the discrimination continues.
“We think this is a very vital contribution to the university, as well as the general public,” King said, referring to the report, “to present to them challenges that the university has not fully, or appropriately or strongly, addressed with regard to African American professors — and then their representation at UP and also at the commonwealth campuses.”
Nationally, African Americans account for about 6% of college faculty. At University Park, that number currently stands at 3.11%, after little change over the last 20 years.
Unfortunately, King said, there isn’t just a singular issue to address.
University, faculty respond
Beth Seymour, president of Penn State’s faculty senate, said her heart broke for her African American colleagues.
The associate teaching professor at Penn State-Altoona doesn’t doubt the candor of their comments. And she doesn’t doubt more could be done.
“I think we are at a hair-on-fire moment about racism, equity and inclusion at this university and in this country,” Seymour said. “So I really think we need to do everything we can and take some hard looks and reevaluate what we’re doing so we can create an environment that is inclusive and promotes belonging.”
Seymour emailed King’s report to every faculty senator, in addition to posting it on the faculty senate website. In response to last year’s report, the faculty senate also charged several committees to look at issues such as the SRTEs, which the faculty senate initially acknowledged as biased back in 2017.
A joint task force is also in the midst of being formed on curricular changes for racial and social justice.
King complimented Seymour and the faculty senate’s work, noting they’ve played an important role in the current progress. In the fall, the faculty senate helped tweak — with the approval of University President Eric Barron — new overall hiring practices and job search procedures for administrative positions, both of which now demand consideration for minorities. (In one case, advisory committees now require, whenever possible, women and members of minority groups.)
But King wasn’t as complimentary toward the university administration. He labeled at least one of their commissions a “failure” while emphasizing that many of their goals are too vague or generic to carry a substantial impact. Penn State may desire more Black faculty, for instance, but it does not have any accompanying timetables or concrete goals.
In a detailed response, the university wrote that tangible progress is being made. Penn State pointed to a number of examples — such as increased diversity in the student body, efforts underway to identify salary inequity and SRTE bias, and new support for minority faculty members with career advancement resources.
“Obviously, it is with considerable distress and disappointment that we read about the racist experiences described by faculty who completed the More Rivers to Cross survey,” the university wrote in a statement. “No one in our community should have to endure such treatment. The university encourages reporting so that it can investigate and take action as appropriate against such discrimination and biases, which have absolutely no place at Penn State.”
The report’s co-authors took exception with that last line, noting in a statement of their own that the report itself is about Black faculty reporting discrimination at Penn State. Most respondents felt the system for reporting was “broken” and needed to be fixed.
No resolution and no action against anybody.
Nothing happened.
Why try if no action is going to occur?
“With such a tepid response from the administration, it is no wonder that our results indicated that most Black faculty do not believe that the academic culture at Penn State will change in the next 10 years to represent an equitable environment for teaching, research and service,” the co-authors wrote.
Moving forward
Something all parties could agree to — the co-authors, faculty senate and university — was that more needs to be done.
“We will not rest until every student, staff and faculty member feels represented, welcomed and supported,” the university wrote. “The president, provost, deans, chancellors and administrators across the institution are fully committed to this goal.”
The main question is simply how to get there.
Seymour acknowledged it was a “tough job.” With bias intertwined within society, structures across the university must be rethought, she said. And the co-authors seemed to agree, proposing several recommendations they believed the university should follow. Among them:
- A “Fifty by Five Plan” with recruitment: The report’s co-authors noted that, while Penn State is in favor of increasing the number of Black faculty, there are currently no dedicated plans or timetables. So the co-authors propose the university fund 50 tenure-track hiring lines for Black faculty — 10 each year, starting in December 2022 and extending until December 2026.
- Immediate discontinuation of the SRTEs: Instead, replace it with a non-punitive system designed by a diverse committee across University Park and the commonwealth campuses.
- Creation and/or funding several centers: Penn State could create a universitywide research center dedicated to interdisciplinary study of anti-racism, critical race theory, Black history, culture and racial/social justice. It should also restructure the Affirmative Action Office and sufficiently fund it to better address Black faculty’s reporting concerns — and it could create an independent Office of Anti-racism to combat academic racism.
There must be more action behind the university’s words, King said. Barron may issue supportive statements after issues like George Floyd, a Black man who died begging for air under the restraint of police, but those words dissipate after 24 hours.
King isn’t sure what happens next for Penn State. But he’s spent the last two decades here, and he isn’t planning on going anywhere. No matter what.
“Like a tree that’s planted by the water, I shall not be moved,” King said, quoting a popular hymn of the Civil Rights movement. “And that’s the way we feel about being here at Penn State. I shall not be moved; you’re not going to run me away. And we can make Penn State better. And we have made Penn State better. But we’re not going to let racism run us away from here.
“If anything, we’re going to try to chase it away as much as possible.”
