A new report from the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California at Los Angeles finds racial differences in the sources of stress experienced by faculty in higher education. The institute surveyed nearly 24,000 faculty members at 417 institutions of higher learning across the United States.
The results showed that 72.5 percent of Black faculty were worried about their personal finances. Only 64.7 percent of White faculty members were stressed by their financial situation. The difference may be due, at least in part, to the fact that Whites tend to be concentrated in full and associate professor ranks whereas Blacks are more likely to be in lower-paying assistant professor, lecturer, or instructor posts.
Black faculty were far more likely to be stressed than their White counterparts because of perceived discrimination in the workplace. Nearly two thirds of Black faculty members said they experienced some or extensive stress due to discrimination. Whites were more likely than Blacks to experience stress from committee work, faculty meetings, interaction with students, and in relationships with colleagues.
The full report can be downloaded by clicking here.
