Administrators from Andover and eight peer schools reflected on diversity this Wednesday in the first “Eight Schools Diversity Symposium.” Head of School Barbara Chase had spearheaded the conference, which promoted discussion on developing and maintaining diverse faculty members. The conference featured attendees from Choate Rosemary Hall, Deerfield Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, Hotchkiss School, Lawrenceville School, Northfield Mount Hermon School and St. Paul’s School attended the conference. Kevin Cardozo, Instructor and Chair in Chemistry, Jeffrey Domina, Instructor and Chair in English, Patrick Farrell, Instructor and Chair in Mathematics Linda Griffith, Dean of Community and Multicultural Development (CAMD), Nancy Lang, Assistant Dean of Faculty, Nancy Jeton, Special Assistant to the Head of School, Peter Neissa, Instructor and Chair in Spanish and Head of the Division of World Languages and Temba Maqubela, Assistant Head for Academics and Dean of Faculty represented Andover at the conference. Selected department chairs—Cardozo, Domina, Farrell and Neissa—presented to the group about their experience maintaining a diverse faculty body. Conference attendees later focused on ways in which the eight schools could work together to recruit a more diverse faculty body. “[Diversity] is a part of our identity of who we are as Andover. It is in our DNA, it is in our grass, it is in who we are as an institution. Everybody knows that they have to deal with people who are different from themselves, and that is a very important thing,” said Maqubela. Neissa proposed that schools add more diverse course offerings that would appeal to a variety of faculty. In the past five years, the Spanish Department made significant progress in broadening the course options, according to Neissa. New courses at the 500 level look into the Spanish communities that Phillips Academy directly serves. Cardozo thought Phillips Academy could draw quality candidates from the Teaching Fellow program to add to faculty diversity. Domina suggested that departments include more faculty of color from the department directly in the hiring process, according to Cardozo. Maquebela said he proposed that “We could have a presentation that is all about the eight schools and then hand out brochures and describe each of the schools and let a candidate choose where they would like to apply.” Neissa said, “Overall, the presentations discussed how we have approached the issue [of having a diverse faculty body]. It is not a question of better or worse, but rather a way of getting a lot of schools similar to ours to share information about hiring and retaining faculty of color.” “We don’t have to keep the fact that Andover has moved in a positive direction a secret,” he said. Administrators from other schools commended Andover’s efforts to have a diverse faculty body. “Andover was leading the way yesterday. They by far had the most impressive program, and it was great because they were willing to share,” said Mark Blackman, Dean of Multicultural Affairs at Phillips Exeter Academy. “[What I learned yesterday] was that even though we are all competing schools, we should all be collaborating because we are all looking to achieve the same goal.” John Taylor, Dean of Faculty at Deerfield Academy wrote in an email, “I also found the presentations that were given by Andover’s Department Chairs very helpful…Their presentations stimulated me to come back to Deerfield and review how we conduct our hiring process.” “It was also reassuring to hear that the eight schools that were present at the conference are grappling with the same issues and are genuinely committed to identifying strategies that will allow us to have a more diverse faculty,” he continued. Warren Reid, Founder & CEO of Nemnet, a minority recruitment and consulting program, spoke to the group in the morning about hiring and retaining a diverse faculty. Griffith said that Reid’s idea that to find a more diverse faculty, a school must increase its exposure was “a big takeaway for everybody.” “[Independent schools] get dozens of applications for one spot because certain people know about us. But, it is always people who are a part of our worlds. If you want a more diverse or ‘non- traditional’ prep- school hire, you would have to increase the exposure,” said Griffith. The meeting discussed ways in which the schools could retain faculty members of color. Representatives from peer schools said that faculty of color at their schools work for an average of 2.4 years, according to Maqubela. Maqubela said that Phillips Academy struggles particularly to attract female Latino faculty members. During his presentation, Farrell said that he was willing to consider a candidate’s diversity before experience in other areas, such as coaching or previous boarding experience. “I was really impressed with Farrell’s presentation, and I agree with what he said. If I want to hire a strong candidate from [another part of the world] who has never been to a boarding school, we have to be flexible on what it is that we offer. Otherwise, the top candidates that bring a cultural package as well will walk away from the job,” said Neissa. Jada Hebra, Vice Re3ctor for Faculty at St. Paul’s School, commented on the presentations as a whole. “Most fascinating was the collegiality, honesty, and information sharing among my peers,” wrote Hebra in an email. “I learned that increasing exposure in job markets, especially on the internet, is the best way to attract strong candidates, not word of mouth through internal communities as is commonly believed.” St. Paul’s School offered to hold the conference next year, again during the first week of October. The heads of school and trustees of the eight peer schools will attend the next conference.
