Opinion: Why the ‘More Rivers to Cross’ reports still matter at Penn State

On Jan. 21, 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Penn State’s University Park campus and addressed a crowd of more than 8,000 people in Rec Hall on racial justice, inequality and the civil rights movement. He praised the progress made in the struggle for racial justice, while poignantly noting that we have a “long, long way to go before the problem is solved.” In fact, Dr. King used the word “justice or injustice” 24 different times during his speech. I wonder what Dr. King would think of Penn State and racial justice today as it waddles in the troubled waters of retrenchment, miscalculation, timidity and hypocrisy.

Almost two years ago, a group of Black professors released the second of a two-volume report entitled, “More Rivers to Cross,” detailing the experiences and views of Penn State Black faculty toward racism and institutional bias and presenting specific recommendations on “transitions toward equity.” The first report, released in 2020, revealed a 15-year failure of Penn State hiring practices, the systemic racism inherent in student evaluations of teachers, and the lack of an institutional commitment to anti-racism. Each of these evidence-based documents represents a thunderous rebuke and eye-opening account of past and present practices on Penn State campuses.

As revealed in the recent “More Rivers to Cross” report, Black professors comprise about 3% of the faculty across the Penn State campuses that serve more than 98% of all its students. This proportion has remained stagnant for more than 20 years, revealing deep vestiges of institutional racism.

Further, retention is exceedingly challenging as evident by the recent turnover in Black faculty between 2018-2023, especially in the College of Liberal Arts. The administration’s own data revealed that during the academic year of 2021-2022, 16 Black tenure-line faculty (15%) left the university, which resulted in a cumulative net gain of 0% between 2018-2022. All other nonwhite tenure-line faculty experienced a net increase over the same period. What is even more alarming is that, unlike other groups, 78% of the Black tenure-line faculty who left in 2021-2022 were assistant and associate professors. The inability to nurture and retain its most youthful and promising cadre of Black scholars does not augur well for the future. For many of us, it is not difficult to understand the disparity in faculty turnover in light of the administration’s failure to live up to its proclaimed values and its blatant reneging on “firm commitments.” She loves me, she loves me not.

Albeit the “More Rivers to Cross” reports preceded the arrival of President Neeli Bendapudi, their significance and relevance to the future of the present administration and the reputation of the institution can neither be denied, ignored nor minimized. And unlike the ill-fated Center for Racial Justice, “we shall not be moved.” The imperative to address the findings and recommendations of the “More Rivers to Cross” reports is incumbent on the current administration as much as to the previous one. Many of us take issue with any effort, covert or overt, on the part of the university to dismiss the “More Rivers to Cross” reports by subsuming them under the banner of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). It is simply not enough to bean count the myriad DEIB initiatives, reapportion assets, and then to declare victory. While this may come as a revelation to the administration, DEIB, though valuable and necessary, is not a catch-all strategy to redress anti-blackness or institutional racism. Nor is it equivalent to racial justice.

The recent controversy surrounding the Proud Boys’ visit to campus; the rescinding of the Center for Racial Justice; the unmet promises of the Select Presidential Commission on Racism, Bias and Community Safety; the absence of movement to address the “More Rivers to Cross” recommendations — all suggest we may have entered a reactionary DeSantis-like phase glorifying “American exceptionalism” at Penn State, in practice if not policy. I surely hope not.

The faculty senate leadership and body must reassert itself and not forget their supreme role in promoting a just and nourishing environment for all faculty. Leadership demands more than just a seat at the table or an ode to the “More Rivers to Cross” reports. Issues pertaining to the systemic racism of the student teaching evaluations, retention and promotion, salary parity, and the reformation of the academic culture cannot and should not be left to the administration alone to address.

Last fall, the President promised that by January 2023, there would be an accessible dashboard delineating the administration’s DEIB initiatives. Perhaps it will appear by the end of Black History Month or before the Ides of March. And by the way, I wonder how the university can in good conscience request a $115 million increase in state funding when it has failed to serve equitably all of its faculty, students and staff.

Although we have indeed made progress since Dr. King’s speech 58 years ago, underrepresentation of Black faculty on Penn State colleges and campuses is endemic but not hopeless. Progress, however, has not evolved from benevolence or dining with dignitaries but rather from speaking truth to power and active struggle. Bravo to academic units such as the Colleges of Education and Earth and Mineral Sciences that are demonstrating the power of leadership and faculty alignment.

And for those who need reminding, the “More Rivers to Cross” reports have never stopped mattering precisely because they serve as a barometer of the university’s outcomes, as opposed to any sweet talk about change.