There have been nothing but whispers, shouts, questions and strong opinions voiced since a controversial column about the University of Tampa that ran in the St. Petersburg Times last Sunday.
The article painted an ugly picture on the face of UT as it spoke of the university’s past during the times of the Civil Rights Movement.
It described UT as “lacking racial diversity”, only referring to tenured African-American Professors.
With the controversial issue being the talk of the town among faculty, staff and the surrounding community, The Minaret also heard a wave of voices sounding from the classrooms.
Many students had a lot to say about the St. Petersburg Times article and expressed a variety of views on diversity regarding their professors.
Some agreed with the article, saying that the UT faculty is lacking racial diversity.
“Being an American, having European ancestors, I feel that every professor I’ve had has been from the United States, so I don’t believe that [the faculty] too diverse,” said sophomore Lauren Eckman.
“I think that we can benefit if we had a faculty that was more diverse.”
“My nationality is Filipino,” Reed Masakayan, junior pre-med major. “The majority of professors, in my opinion, are Americans. If they’re not Americans, then they could be immigrants who have been here for a very long
time and no longer classify themselves as Asian or European, etc.”
It seems international as well as American-born students both feel the professors all seem to be looking the same.
International student Olamide Henry Tolujo said, “Being a Nigerian, I believe that UT’s faculty is not racially diverse. There are just too many white professors, to be sincere.”
On the other hand, some students felt that UT is doing its job and has a variety of ethnicities and nationalities represented among the faculty.
“My biology teacher is from the Ukraine, my Spanish teacher is from Costa Rica, I believe, and my global issues teacher is from Greece,” said sophomore criminology major, Devin Paul Reiersen. “I would have to say yes, we are diverse.”
“As a Portuguese-American, I feel as if UT’s faculty is racially diverse and gives equal opportunities regardless of race,” stated sophomore advertising and public relations major Adam Gomes.
Sergio Campins, a junior international business and finance major from Guatemala said he believes the university is very diverse.
“There are professors from China, Greece, Canada and Japan.”
Other students, while noting the small number of African-American professors, still say UT is on track with a wide variety of faculty from various backgrounds.
“As a Bohemian, UT’s faculty is diverse,” stated senior communications major Keesha Bethell. “There are teachers from all over the world: Cuba, Bahamas and Spain. Even so, a majority of the teachers and faculty are white.”
Patricia Yeazell, a theatre major, said, “Although there is a small percentage of African-American professors, I’ve been fairly pleased with the varied background of my instructors. Some of them have hailed from the Middle East, India and even Spain.”
Some students believe that diversity is not just confined to the U.S, but the world.
“Being half Colombian and half Chilean, I believe that UT’s faculty is somewhat diverse, average,” said Anthony James Martorell-Diberonimo, sophomore biology major.
“The world is bigger than African-Americans and whites and so, at UT there are a wide variety of races teaching, from Irish to Italian, etc. UT’s faculty is racially diverse, meaning global.”
Almost all of the students interviewed for this article were unaware of the column in the St. Petersburg Times upon questioning.
Once informed about the article, most students were astonished by the accusations made.
Some brought up issues of racial profiling and labeling in the way UT hires their staff, saying the article is only the tip of the iceberg.
Meanwhile, others say it’s just the lies of a disgruntled, unhappy professor. The matter of a diverse teaching staff is important to most UT’s student’s educational experience and they are making their voices heard.
The issue of whether or not UT is racially diverse enough is one that will continue to echo across the campus long after today.
Alyssa Major can be reached at amhoward@spartans.ut.edu and YasamSherbaf can be reached at ysherbaf@spartans.ut.edu.
There are a few things that trouble me about this article. Why is this an issue? Why should it matter if your professor is American, non-American, black or white. I would prefer for UT to hire professors who are educated and equipped to do the job. Race should never be a question. The problem is that because we have lack of a certain color professor should not matter, we have great graduates ones who can obtain jobs that is the only thing that matters.
I am not an American and it really upset me that Bahamian a person from the Bahamas was called a Bohemian. A bohemian is NOT a person from the Bahamas but rather a person is a gypsy. Before you print please check for spelling errors; what if you published Amoricean?
Not culturally diverse? Nearly half the professors I’ve had are from another country. Sounds like most of these comments are coming from the rich, white kids who have problems telling a difference of anyone’s race unless it’s really a different skin color.
Gaudy reporting, poor journalism, and misrepresented facts.
This is why University of Tampa seniors, graduate students, alumni, and anyone with an appreciation for English have quit the post-Arrabal Minaret. Our student newspaper has fallen a long way since 2007.
Alyssa and Yasam… seriously? There are UT professors teaching journalism classes right now. Go to them! Or at least a First Year Writing seminar.
“The issue of whether or not UT is racially diverse enough is one that will continue to echo across the campus long after today.”
What a dandy pontification! Certainly less difficult than researching the accusations of Dr. Botjer or providing a summary analysis of faculty demographics. We understand the Minaret needs to uphold its anti-establishment bias, but the goal of good journalism is to present an entire case and allow the reader to form an opinion.
“‘Being an American, having European ancestors, I feel that every professor I’ve had has been from the United States, so I don’t believe that [the faculty] too diverse,’ said sophomore Lauren Eckman.”
Wow! That is a deep and well-educated comment! We’re glad Minaret reporters can spend 15 minutes surveying Ultimate Dining and return with a “wave of voices sounding from the classrooms.” Eckman must be a particularly talented sophomore to be able to “feel” a professor’s ethnicity. Additionally, did the Minaret discover how Eckman was able, after only three semesters of classes, to develop an informed opinion of the entire faculty’s demographics?
The Minaret has been degenerating into satire since Arrabal’s graduation, but Fall 2010 takes the cake. Please… spend some time educating your reporters in the basics of journalistic writing and integrity.
Hey Kim,
I did read the times and the Minaret articles. Racism is defined as “a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement.” And I fail to see how the times article is not about racial diversity at UT among professors. It clearly states in the article:
“Botjer, who is beyond the normal retirement age, said he may retire next year — or perhaps the year after. He said he is thinking of the lasting impact he can make by persuading UT to become serious about minority faculty hiring.”
The article is about racial diversity and his believed problems of tenure among the races…Anyways, as much as I love arguing online (sarcasm) you are entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. I sincerely respect you and your opinions…That’s the best part of this great nation! See how diverse our opinions are? That’s great! And I’m being genuine here. Let’s just take race out the equation and well have no problems associated with the aforementioned articles. 😉
To those who say it doesn’t matter what color professors are-you’re right until we look around our campus and wonder how our experience may have been just a little more enriched with a more diverse staff. I came here from a very diverse campus in New York where I had professors from all over the world. I feel that I robbed myself of that rich exposure when I came to UT. I have not had one professor that I have truly been able to relate to as an African-American female at UT. If you’re a black female at UT, you have to basically “get in where you fit in.” I have honestly never been on another campus like UT. It is the least racially diverse campus in FL. I feel that I have received an okay education here at UT, but it is definitely lacking in major areas. Perhaps there are no African-American based courses because there is no one here to teach them. That’s not a well-rounded education and b.t.w-I was the only African-American in African-American History at my last school so that isn’t the point.
Any person who, after reading the article in the St. Petersburg Times, would go so far as to call Dr. Botjer a racist is extremely ignorant (Skyman).
Why don’t people read nowadays? The issue is NOT about racial diversity among professors!
This is all ridiculous. Someone always has to pull the race card. I don’t want someone teaching me just because they are white, black, purple- I want someone teaching me because they are the most qualified to do so. Who cares what color the professor is?
I decided to attend UT because of it’s diversity. The student body and the faculty are very diverse. I have yet to even notice what color/nationality any of my professors or fellow students are. If your biggest gripe is the lack of “color” amongst professors, then you aren’t focussing on the correct issues.
When will people see past color and start to see the importance of experience in academia and the work force. Hiring someone due to their race and not based on their backround/education will only degrade the quality of education for students. Racial quotas and the like are simply obsolete in 2010. I am not implying that racism no longer exists, but I do think that most people could care less what color someone is.
I want the school to focus on getting the most qualified professors in front of me, based on their education and experience rather than their color.
First, let’s clear something’s up. What does an American look like? We are the most diverse nation on this earth, and I challenge anyone to explain to me what an American “looks like.” We are ALL Americans, and we come in every shape, size, and color. Second, why and the hell does race matter? Diversity is measured by the man or the women’s experiences, views, beliefs, and teachings, not by the color of there skin. Botjer seems to suggest just the opposite and is in fact the “racist” one. Noting a persons color belittles them to a single identifier. Finally, I have full faith that the hiring committees are being fare and just in there hiring selections. I would never want the hiring committee to sacrifice principle in employing someone who was not worthy to teach, or merely hired a lesser qualified candidate simply because that candidate was white, black, or whatever. Dr. Botjer is upset. Yet he fails to look at simple statistics. 20% or so of the U.S. population is African American. Only about 2% of that population holds a PhD. UT is a great school, with the greatest professors and scholars. I have learned much from my time here from these seasoned educators. I have had black and white professors throughout my academic career. Yet I learned nothing about there skin color. I LEARNED FROM THERE MINDS. I state again that diversity is found in the heart and in the intellect of the individual. I am truly saddened for those among the UT community, like Dr. Botjer, that have been reduced to examining a person based upon gender, race, religion, ect.
I encourage readers (and the writers of this article) to do a little factual research. Even though UT is a private institution, it is required because of its 501c status to report ethnicity and gender stats, ranks, and SALARIES to the US Department of Education. On the Dept of Ed site, one discovers how low UT falls in diversity compared to institutions of its size and location. (Uh, do we exist in a large Latino population? A larger-than-national average community of African Americans?) Professor Benjamin (the faculty member denied tenure) is also a woman. You might be surprised to see how women fare in rank and salary (understand the approximately 3:1 ratio of male to female full professors might make salary comparison look good because one or two highly paid female business profs can skew the data.)
The St. Pete article was not just about numbers. It was about tenure and promotion. How many women are denied promotion compared to men? How many people of color are supported enough to even put themselves forward for tenure? What’s the retention rate of faculty of color and female faculty as compared to white men? With all due respect, Minaret staff, do some journalistic work, a fact-based article worthy of your portfolio–not just a survey of people eating in the caf. Where’s your advisor?
The issue is more complicated that the St. Pete times or Minaret portray. Are there qualified high quality African-American professors out there across the disciplines? Certainly, but given the general paucity of African-American students in many discipline’s graduate programs they are a very small minority (much smaller than in the general population). Because universities desire diversity, the small number of candidates makes them very high in demand. As UT is not at the top of the academic pecking order, it is extremely difficult to lure high quality African-American faculty to campus. Dr. Botjer has been at UT for the better part of half a century. During that time, he has no doubt served on dozens of hiring committees. Has he managed to translate his passion for diversity into actual hires? The numbers speak for themselves. This isn’t to say that Dr. Botjer is a racist. By all accounts he is not. But the dearth of African-American hires coming out of the committees he has served on is representative of the problems all committees face. I think there is another issue being overlooked here as well. Diversity is not just about race. As many students in the article point out, a campus can be diverse nationality-wise. Diversity in genders is another way to make a faculty look more like its students. Economic class diversity is often overlooked but most professors come from relatively affluent backgrounds and it can be hard for them to empathize with students who might be having a difficult time making ends meet.
After reading the article in the St. Petersburg Times, I believe that the professor (Dr. Botjer) has every right to be upset. In fact, I, too, was very angered with the facts presented.
But the issue here is that this article talks only of racial diversity among our professors. The true problem – UT’s lack of tenured African-American professors – is not addressed.
I recommend to anyone who has not already read the article to visit the St. Petersburg Times website and type “George Botjer” into the search bar.