Survey Finds No Progress in Increasing Black Faculty and Staff at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

An internal report from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale finds that black employment at the university has declined in recent years. The university reports that there were 313 African Americans employed in faculty, administration, or staff positions in 2008. They made up 6.2 percent of the overall work force at the university. The number of black employees is slightly lower than was the case five years ago. The survey, Minority, Women, and Disabled Students, Faculty, and Staff Annual Report, stated that only one of the 12 deans at the university is black and this dean is scheduled to retire at the end of the current academic year.

Blacks make up about 16 percent of the student body at Southern Illinois University. Black enrollments have increased significantly in recent years.

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