> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
Facts & Figures
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

Racial Disparities in Higher Education: an Overview

By  Beckie Supiano
November 10, 2015

Racism on American campuses is a matter of national concern again this week following protests at the University of Missouri at Columbia that led on Monday to the resignations of both the campus’s chancellor and the system’s president.

Protesters unhappy with the administration’s response to several incidents in which African-American students were the targets of racial slurs formed a group called Concerned Student 1950, a reference to the year the university admitted its first black student.

The protests, which included a graduate student on a hunger strike and gained traction after the university’s football team joined in, called for the resignation of the system’s president, Timothy M. Wolfe, who announced on Monday that he was stepping down. Several hours later, the chancellor of the Columbia campus, R. Bowen Loftin, resigned as well.

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

Racism on American campuses is a matter of national concern again this week following protests at the University of Missouri at Columbia that led on Monday to the resignations of both the campus’s chancellor and the system’s president.

Protesters unhappy with the administration’s response to several incidents in which African-American students were the targets of racial slurs formed a group called Concerned Student 1950, a reference to the year the university admitted its first black student.

The protests, which included a graduate student on a hunger strike and gained traction after the university’s football team joined in, called for the resignation of the system’s president, Timothy M. Wolfe, who announced on Monday that he was stepping down. Several hours later, the chancellor of the Columbia campus, R. Bowen Loftin, resigned as well.

While the situation in Missouri is dramatic, and the protests there particularly successful, racial tensions have flared up on several campuses in the past year.

Those events draw attention to continuing racial disparities in higher education, where African-Americans make up a small portion of professors, presidents, and selective-college enrollments. Let’s take a look at some relevant data:

ADVERTISEMENT

Disparities in Where Students Enroll

College enrollment is racially polarized. White students are overrepresented in selective colleges — which have more resources to educate and support them — while African-American students are overrepresented in less-selective institutions. The table below comes from a 2013 study by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, which also found that this polarization has grown more pronounced since the mid-1990s.

Disparities Between Players and Coaches

In at least one corner of higher education African-American students are not underrepresented: the rosters of competitive football teams. A majority of football players in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of competition, are African-American.

But leaders of the subdivision’s colleges and conferences are “overwhelmingly white and male,” according to a report by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, at the University of Central Florida. For instance, 87 percent of head football coaches of the subdivision’s teams are white.

ADVERTISEMENT

Disparities Among Faculty Members

The ranks of full-time faculty members remain heavily white, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Seventy-eight percent of full-time faculty members — and 84 percent of full professors — were white in 2013.

Disparities Among Presidents

Whites are even more overrepresented among college leaders, according to data from the American Council on Education. Eighty-seven percent of presidents, and 88 percent of those recently hired, are white.

Beckie Supiano writes about college affordability, the job market for new graduates, and professional schools, among other things. Follow her on Twitter @becksup, or drop her a line at beckie.supiano@chronicle.com.

ADVERTISEMENT

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Leadership & Governance
Beckie Supiano
Beckie Supiano writes about teaching, learning, and the human interactions that shape them. Follow her on Twitter @becksup, or drop her a line at beckie.supiano@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Content

  • Thrust Into a National Debate on Race, 2 Missouri Chiefs Resign
  • Upheaval in Missouri Highlights Football Players’ Power
  • 5 Moments That Led 2 Top Leaders at Missouri to Resign
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin