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Housing is a social determinant of health

Many Black Americans disagree with the President's claim to "have done more for Black Americans than anybody"

Amy Lewin and Kevin Roy work with Montgomery County, Maryland, public schools

Comments on social stratification and remote work

Rashawn Ray pens OpEd in The Hill

Perpetual stress brings long-term health impacts

Notes strong new business formation

When Information is Not Enough: Evidence from a Centralized School Choice System

Although modest gains are observed in the number of African American, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican faculty in higher education institutions, systemic issues of underrepresentation and retention remain problematic. This article describes how historically underrepresented minority (URM) faculty in Predominantly White Institutions perceive discrimination and illustrates the ways in which discriminatory institutional practices—such as microaggressions—manifest and contribute to unwelcoming institutional climates and workplace stress. Using a mixed methods approach, including survey data and individual and group interviews, findings show that respondents ( n  = 543) encounter racial discrimination from colleagues and administrators; experience discrimination differently based on their race/ethnicity and gender; and report difficulties in describing racist encounters. Qualitative data reveal three themes that inform the survey results on perceived discrimination: (1) blatant, outright, subtle, and insidious racism; (2) devaluation of scholarly contributions, merit, and skillset by colleagues and administrators; and (3) the burden of “representing minorities,” or a “racial/ethnic tax.” Propositions for how to change unwelcoming environments and create safe spaces for professional development to reduce the adverse effects of discrimination among URM faculty are discussed.

This article contrasts perceptions among 58 under-represented minority (URM) faculty employed at U.S. research-extensive universities who reported an absence of mentoring or experienced informal or formal mentoring modalities. Key findings reveal a mentoring glass ceiling that affects URM faculty career paths: an absence of mentoring can lead to significant career miscalculations; well-intentioned mentors can devalue faculty scholarship; lack of senior faculty accountability for observed disengagement from faculty career development; and inadequate mentorship often limits access to social networks and collaborative research opportunities. Recommendations are offered for developing effective formal mentoring initiatives that reflect an institutional investment in early-career URM faculty.