Topic: Diversity, equity, and inclusion
Blog Post
August 23, 2023
Reflections from the 2023 Association of African American Museums Conference
At the end of July, I flew to Nashville to attend the 45th annual Association of African American Museums (AAAM) meeting. Established in 1978, AAAM, a non-profit membership organization, provides support to African and African American focused museums and their dedicated professionals. This year’s conference delved into the significant roles of the African American community in shaping museums, music, and societal movements. As a new member and a first-time attendee, I was excited to explore the conference offerings and…
Issue Brief
August 21, 2023
Redressing Relationships with the Historically Marginalized/ Redresser les relations avec les personnes historiquement marginalisées
This publication provides four focused examples about specific institutions that have worked to address the imperative to redress their relationships with historically marginalized communities/ Cette publication fournit quatre exemples ciblés d’établissements qui ont spécifiquement travaillé pour répondre à l’impératif de redresser leurs relations avec les communautés historiquement marginalisées.
Blog Post
June 15, 2023
Cave Canem and Ithaka S+R to Conduct a Field Study on Black Literary Arts Organizations
Today we are excited to announce an Ithaka S+R research collaboration with Cave Canem, funded by the Wallace Foundation. The project, “Magnitude and Bond: A Field Study on Black Literary Arts Service Organizations,” will focus on Black literary arts organizations from the perspective of sustainability, community engagement, and resilience. Cave Canem, founded in 1996, is a Brooklyn-based, non-profit Black literary organization that serves as a hub for the many voices of Black poetry. Founded by artists for artists, Cave Canem…
Issue Brief
June 8, 2023
Living Wages
Art Museum Leaders Confront Persistent Staff Compensation Challenges
Movements for pay equity, including raising minimum wages and increasing pay transparency, have been building momentum in grassroots and policy arenas across the United States. As a result, museums, like many employers, face mounting pressure to better align their compensation practices with their diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments. Ithaka S+R’s research has found that the majority of art museum directors view pay equity as a high priority at their organization and are finding attracting and retaining diverse and talented staff…
Past Event
June 25, 2023
Elevating Student Voices
A Culturally Responsive Program Evaluation for First-Generation Student Success
As higher education institutions serve more diverse student populations, culturally responsive research practices and equity-based perspectives are critical to ensure program evaluation is responsive to all students’ needs. In this session at the 2023 NASPA Conference on Student Success in Higher Education, presenters from Ithaka S+R and the Kessler Scholars Collaborative will highlight promising practices for conducting a culturally responsive evaluation and share a case study example from the Kessler Scholars Program, a comprehensive support program serving first-generation, limited-income…
Blog Post
May 31, 2023
Advancing Student Success through Academic Equity Topical Research Projects
Research Reports by ATI Honorarium Awardees George Mason University, Marist College, and Muhlenberg College
Student success and equity are intrinsically linked. Students from lower-income, first-generation, and historically underserved backgrounds face deeply entrenched systemic inequities and a myriad of obstacles both on college campuses and beyond. To help address these challenges, with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Gray Foundation, three American Talent Initiative members each received a $7,250 honorarium to tackle research on key topics of academic equity.
Blog Post
May 4, 2023
2022 Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey Dashboard
Last year, Ithaka S+R, in partnership with the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), and with funding from the Mellon Foundation, was able to launch the third cycle of the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey. Filling out this survey can be time intensive, as rather than survey staff directly, we ask that museums submit data that has been recorded in their human resources system. This requires museum directors or their designee to fill…
Blog Post
April 18, 2023
Assessing the Racial Diversity of Librarians
How racially diverse is the librarian profession, and how can we begin to assess that diversity? Those are the two key questions at the heart of two companion issue briefs we are publishing today. The first issue brief, co-authored by both of us, focuses on the methodological implications of trying to measure the racial demographic trends of the profession in the absence of systematic benchmarking beyond US Census data reported through the Bureau of Labor…
Issue Brief
April 18, 2023
Changing the Racial Demographics of Librarians
Librarianship has a racial diversity representation problem. Black, Indigenous, and people of color have been underrepresented in the field for decades, and despite the momentum and initiatives in support of diversifying the profession, the numbers appear to not have changed meaningfully. The data tell a consistent and compelling story: the library profession remains overwhelmingly white. Part of the problem stems from the fact that demographic information about the profession is not measured and reported in a consistent manner.
Issue Brief
April 18, 2023
By Any Measure
The Racial Demographics of Librarians
The things that get measured by an organization are a tell for what matters to the organization. Librarianship has been grappling with an underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) librarians for decades, and while libraries have developed a plethora of recruitment initiatives, the numbers appear to have not changed meaningfully, remaining static over the decades. A contributing factor may be that demographic information about the profession is not routinely measured and reported.
Blog Post
March 30, 2023
Findings from the Most Recent US Library Survey
Today, we are publishing our findings from the latest cycle of the US Library Survey, fielded from October to December 2022. This report is designed to provide library and other higher education leaders with a high-level look at how library deans and directors conceptualize the role, strategic alignment, and value proposition of academic libraries on campuses. In this sixth iteration of the project, we continue to explore library strategy, budgets, and staffing. We also introduced new batteries of questions…
Research Report
March 30, 2023
US Library Survey 2022
Navigating the New Normal
Since 2010, Ithaka S+R has conducted the Library Survey on a triennial basis with the overarching goal of tracking the perspectives, priorities, and leadership strategies of library deans and directors at four-year academic institutions. This study is designed to provide library and other higher education leadership with a high-level overview of the topics that are at the forefront of library leaders as they conceptualize the role, strategic alignment, and value proposition of academic libraries on campuses.
Past Event
March 17, 2023
Casting a Different Kind of Net
Diversifying Collections in Academic Libraries
At ACRL’s 2023 Conference, Ithaka S+R’s Mark McBride will participate in an OCLC hosted panel discussion on diversifying collections in academic libraries, alongside Andy Breeding and Merrilee Proffitt. The panel is scheduled to take place on Friday, March 17 at 9 – 10 am. Panelists will share findings from recent research and related discussions that explore: What does it mean to diversify collections? What practices can support those efforts? What barriers are being encountered? What does a better future look…
Past Event
March 22, 2023
Texas Student Success Program Inventory Launch
Ithaka S+R was commissioned by the Student Success Division of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to develop the Texas Student Success Program Inventory, an online resource that organizes information about student success programs at Texas institutions on an easy-to-use, searchable platform. On March 22, 2023 at 1:00 pm CST/2:00 pm EST, the THECB and Ithaka S+R will host a webinar to introduce users to this new resource. In this webinar, Ithaka S+R will provide some background…
Blog Post
March 9, 2023
An Expansive Inventory of Student Success Programs at Texas Colleges and Universities
Students can face numerous barriers on their path to a degree, especially given the hardships wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is therefore essential that colleges and universities provide students with the support they need to thrive on campus and complete their degrees. Student success programs play a vital role in facilitating this support through a range of innovative and evidence-based services. However, it can be difficult to access information about these programs across states and regions. This lack of…
Past Event
May 21, 2023
Living Wages in the Museum Field: Signs of a Crisis on the Horizon
Session at the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting
On Sunday, May 21 at 8:40 – 9:05 am MDT at the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting, Ithaka S+R’s Liam Sweeney, Deirdre Harkins, and Joanna Dressel will present a session on signs of a crisis on the horizon for the museum field, drawing insights from the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey, published in November 2022.
Past Event
May 19, 2023
BTA and Ithaka S+R: Perspectives from the Art Museum Trustee Survey
Session at the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting
On Friday, May 19 at 11:30 – 12:30 pm MDT at the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting, Ithaka S+R Senior Analyst Liam Sweeney and Analyst Deirdre Harkins will present a session on the Black Trustees Alliance for Art Museums and Ithaka S+R Art Museum Trustee Survey, published in November, 2022. The survey examined the experiences and demographics of art museum trustees from museums in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Blog Post
February 14, 2023
An End to Affirmative Action Must Not—and Need Not—End the Pursuit of Diversity at Selective Colleges and Universities
If, as is widely expected, the US Supreme Court issues a decision in 2023 that significantly limits, if not completely prohibits, the use of race in college and university admissions, it would come at exactly the wrong moment in the ongoing struggle to address our racial history. To further socioeconomic mobility and racial equity in the United States, selective colleges and universities must create more opportunities for high-achieving students from racially minoritized backgrounds, not fewer. But even if the Court…
Issue Brief
February 10, 2023
Alternative Strategies to Support a Diverse Student Body
Affirmative Action at Risk
With a decision pending in two lawsuits challenging race-conscious admissions practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), many observers are predicting that the US Supreme Court will significantly limit, if not completely prohibit, the use of race in college and university admissions. Such a decision would stand sharply crosswise to current needs. Selective colleges and universities, both public and private, are still far from embodying racial equity.
Blog Post
November 16, 2022
New Insights on Trustees and Staff in Art Museums
The Black Trustee Alliance 2022 Art Museum Trustee Survey and the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey 2022
Today Ithaka S+R releases two research reports, the 2022 Art Museum Trustee Survey and the Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey 2022, which introduce new insights into key constituencies in the cultural sector. For roughly a decade Ithaka S+R has produced research reports that shed light on strategy and leadership, staff demographics and employment characteristics, as well as governance and organizational structure within art museums.