Council for Racial and Ethnic Equity and Diversity (CREED)

Background

Faculty diversity is critical to fostering a campus environment that reflects the needs and perspectives of our society, and UT Austin is focused on the recruitment, inclusion, and retention of faculty members from underrepresented groups. To address and improve faculty diversity at UT Austin, a partnership between the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost and the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement began in 2014. The faculty recruitment, retention, and mentoring design team, composed of faculty members and administrators, was formed to discuss the creation, mission and membership of a formal faculty diversity council.

The purpose of the council is to advance faculty diversity by working to remove barriers, ensure fairness in university policies and practices, and to facilitate an inclusive climate of advancement and growth for all faculty. In the spring of 2015, the design team put forth a proposal to the provost, which was approved, to form the Council for Racial and Ethnic Equity and Diversity (CREED).

Current Work

CREED began work in the fall of 2015 to fulfill its mission to advise the provost on best practices in recruiting, retaining, and advancing faculty members who are racially, ethnically, gender, or in other ways diverse. CREED also works in collaboration with colleges and departments to develop initiatives and programs to improve the campus climate for diverse faculty. CREED along with the vice provost for diversity monitors progress through data collection and analysis from UT Austin and peer institutions.

For the 2020-21 and 2019-20 academic years, CREED has focused on issues related to faculty diversity with regards to:

• Archiving/Accountability
• Associate Deans for Equity
• Equity-based Hiring Practices
• Mentoring
• Retention Strategies

For the 2018-19 academic year, CREED focused on the following issues related to Latinx faculty:

• Faculty Numbers/Compensation
• Leadership
• Chairs/Professorships
• Graduate Students
• HSI Status
• Service/Community Engagement
• Teaching