Minority representation at top levels lags behind.
By JJ Bowman
News Editor
The 19 members of Pepperdine’s “University Advancement Team” smile at the steps of the Thornton Administration Center in Pepperdine’s Annual Report. The advancement they trumpet focuses mainly on the new buildings erected throughout campus as well as the onset of new programs.
One advancement not discussed by the team is an increase in diversity, and one who looks at the photograph of the 10 men and 18 women who make up the committee see only white administrators. Although Vice President of Advancement and Public Affairs Brad Cheves assured that the picture does not represent the entire department, the lack of diversity presented is still an issue to students and faculty alike.
In the same annual report, all of the nine men and three women — President Dr. Andrew K. Benton, Dr. Charles Runnels, Dr. Nancy Magnusson Durham, Dr. Gary Hanson, Dr. Charles Pippin, Dr. Darryl Tippens, Cheves and the deans of each college, Dr. David Baird, Dr. Linda Livingstone, Dr. Richardson Lynn, Dr. Margaret Weber, and Dr. James Wilburn — who make up the senior university administration are white.
Furthermore, none of the 22 top administrators listed in the Seaver College academic catalog is a minority. Mid-level administrative positions such as the director of financial assistance, filled by Edna Powell, and the director of student administrative services, filled by Hung Le, have shown more diversity than at the top.
Increasing diversity at the top of the administration is an issue Equal Opportunity Officer Dr. Calvin Bowers said needs more attention.
“If (having a lack of diversity in administration) is not what we want to project, what positive actions are we taking to change it?” he asked.
Benton said the problem is broader than race.
“How can we truly be successful without a full awareness of the world in which we live?” he said in an e-mail interview. “Such an awareness includes ethnicity, faith, cultural differences and on and on. Are we as broadly invested in culture as we should be? Probably not, but each year I think we make progress.”
Pepperdine started behind the curve when dealing with diversity. Bowers, who came to the university as a graduate student in 1955, said although teachers showed a genuine interest and respect for students, the absence of diversity was obvious.
“The only place I saw blacks was in the kitchen preparing the food,” he said.
Bowers returned in 1969 after the Watts riots as dean of Ethnic Studies. During that time, all students took a general education class in ethnic perspectives and the number of minority faculty members increased, Bowers said.
However, as Pepperdine left South Central Los Angeles for the hills of Malibu, Pepperdine’s strength in increasing diversity took a hit.
“Ground that had been gained, we lost,” Bowers said.
Pepperdine faced heavy financial and organizational challenges as it moved locations in 1973, and as a result many programs could not make the jump, including much of Bowers’ work in Ethnic Studies.
“If we had done a better job of preparing (the department’s) permanency, it could have been brought to Malibu,” he said.
Administrators and students alike agree that Pepperdine still has a ways to go before creating an environment as diverse as the overall population.
Minority representation among faculty at Pepperdine has hovered between 9.5 and 11 percent over the past six years. The national average for minority faculty at degree-granting institutions is 14.4 percent, according to the U.S. Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
Benton said he doesn’t worry about pinning a percentage goal on the number of minority faculty.
“Perhaps a percentage goal is helpful in some pursuits,” he said. “But I think the best, most lasting success will be achieved when we focus more on the whole of the experience as opposed to one, albeit important, element of it.”
Instead, one way to bring in a diverse crowd to Pepperdine is to cast a broad net in the application process.
According to Chief Human Resources Officer Chip Moore, mailings are sent out twice a month throughout California to recruit a broad spectrum of talent.
Cheves said by attracting more people to apply for positions, change will be inevitable.
“My goal is to attract applicants for employment who are first and foremost committed to the mission of Pepperdine University,” he said. “It is my belief that there are many others in under-represented communities who share our commitment to the mission of Pepperdine and I will continue to reach out to broaden the pool of applicants to reflect a broader representation.”
Bowers said diversity will come with commitment from individual members of the administration.
“Time doesn’t change things, people change things,” he said.
April 03, 2003