THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408150026
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Old Dominion University's strategy to recruit black faculty has won broad support on campus.
``I think they're doing all they can be expected to do in light of the fiscal restraints,'' said James R. Sweeney, an associate professor of history who is white.
``I think it's vital we do have African-American faculty members.''
But the policies have sometimes irked both black and white professors.
Samuel F. Coppage, a former president of the Coalition of Black Faculty and Administrators, said ODU should be doing even better. ``The commitment from the top, especially on the part of President (James) Koch, has been excellent,'' he said.
``But, unfortunately, the trickle-down on the college and department level has not been great, and this is a problem.''
Faculty search committees are not pushing hard enough to get minority candidates, Coppage said. He's heard white professors griping about special treatment for blacks, and he doesn't like it.
``It got this way because of years of foot-dragging,'' said Coppage, an associate professor in management information systems and decision sciences.
``Let's not talk about how unfortunate it is now, because it's not a level playing field. This has been created by some of the folks who are grumbling.''
D. Alan Harris, another associate professor of history, has a different view: Though he supports the plan, he feels administrators often have unrealistic expectations of finding black candidates.
Harris said he was involved in a search last year for a history professor that uncovered no black candidates.
But the administration kept pressing the panel to keep at it.
``The administration came down too hard and refused to listen to the committee,'' Harris said.
``We finally got a letter from some prominent black historians saying nobody's available, and they (the administration) said, `OK, well, that's it.'
``Sometimes the pressure has been a bit too strong. Too often, it's easy for an administrator to say, `You haven't worked hard enough.' But he isn't in contact with the people out there in the discipline.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
STAFF
WHERE BLACK PROFESSORS TEACH
SOURCE: State Council of Higher Education
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB