Fast Facts: Race/ethnicity of college faculty (61)

Race/ethnicity of college faculty

Question:
Do you have any information on the race/ethnicity of college and university faculty?

Response:

Postsecondary faculty include professors, associate professors, assistant professors, instructors, lecturers, assisting professors, adjunct professors, and interim professors. Between fall 2011 and fall 2022, the total annual number of faculty at degree-granting postsecondary institutions ranged from 1.5 to 1.6 million.¹ There were 1.5 million faculty in both 2011 and 2022, with a peak at 1.6 million in 2015.

Considering full-time faculty only,² in fall 2022,

72 percent of faculty were White, specifically 35 percent White female and 37 percent White male;
13 percent of faculty were Asian, specifically 6 percent Asian female and 7 percent Asian male;
7 percent of faculty were Black, specifically 4 percent Black female and 3 percent Black male;
6 percent of faculty were Hispanic, specifically 3 percent each Hispanic female and Hispanic male;
1 percent were of Two or more races;
less than one-half of 1 percent were American Indian/Alaska Native; and
less than one-half of 1 percent were Pacific Islander.

The racial/ethnic and sex distribution of full-time faculty varied by academic rank at degree-granting postsecondary institutions in fall 2022. For example, White males and Asian males made up higher percentages of faculty in the professor ranks than they did in the nonprofessor ranks.³ Specifically, 39 percent of professor-rank faculty were White males and 8 percent were Asian males. Meanwhile, 33 percent of nonprofessor-rank faculty were White males and 5 percent were Asian males. Other demographic groups made up similar or lower percentages of faculty in the professor ranks compared with the nonprofessor ranks.⁴ For example, Hispanic females made up 3 percent of faculty in professor ranks and 4 percent in nonprofessor ranks.

¹ For general technical notes related to data analysis, data interpretation, rounding, and other considerations, please refer to the Condition of Education Reader’s Guide.
² Percentages are based on full-time faculty whose race/ethnicity was known (90 percent of total). Race/ethnicity was not collected for faculty who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
³ Professor-rank faculty include professors, associate professors, and assistant professors. Nonprofessor-rank faculty include instructors, lecturers, and those who were primarily research or public service faculty, as well as faculty without ranks.
⁴ Asian females and Black males also made up higher percentages of faculty in the professor ranks than they did in the nonprofessor ranks. However, the differences in these percentages were less than one-half of 1 percentage point.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Characteristics of Postsecondary Faculty. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/csc.

Numbers in figure titles reflect original numeration from source Condition of Education indicators.

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