Under the leadership of Dean Michelle D. Young and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Will Perez, LMU School of Education is embarking upon a cluster hire of five faculty this academic year with an eye on boosting diversity.
The effort was identified as a top priority for SOE by its Diversity Action Committee (DAC), led by Perez and his co-chair, school psychology professor Emily Fisher. “We based our decision on data we collected during the 2020-21 academic year, which showed that we had room for improvement in this area,” says Perez.
Cluster hires are an emerging practice in higher education that can help institutions achieve strategic goals such as increasing a faculty body’s subject-matter expertise, diversity, or interdisciplinarity. For SOE, diversity is embedded in the school’s core values and is a prominent element of its strategic plan. “As one example, last year nearly half of our student body was Latina/o, which is reflective of our nation’s changing demographics and of California’s population in particular,” says Young. “Yet representation of Latino/as in the education profession overall lags behind these figures, especially in leadership.” Research demonstrates the importance of diversifying the profession to student success. Hiring talented faculty who reflect the population of our students, Young says, is one important way the SOE will provide role models and mentors that are critical in these students’ educational and career journeys.
The five faculty to be hired will teach in various programs in SOE, including its teacher-preparation programs, higher education, educational leadership, counseling, and school psychology.
