SPS Today: Diversity of Perspective at SPS
Faculty Diversity is at an all-time high
Faculty diversity at St. Paul’s is at a record high, 26 percent, in 2019-20, with people of color representing more than a quarter of the current faculty.
Over the past five years, under the direction of The Rev. Michael Spencer, vice rector for faculty, the School has been deliberate in its hiring process to bring in a more diverse faculty. This is also the first time in SPS history that there are more women instructors than men. Diversity of socioeconomic and geographic background as well as sexual orientation has also risen.
“In diversity work, we talk about mirrors and windows,” says Spencer, who is a person of color. “Our schools are predominately filled with windows for students of color. They look through windows and see people who don’t look like them. We want to increase and strengthen the metaphorical mirrors of the community. When students see people of color on the faculty, they see someone like them looking back. They see their identity affirmed; they see their future; they see that they are included here.”
Diversity of perspective and lived experience strengthens the learning environment for all students, no matter their background, adds Vice Rector for School Life Theresa Ferns ’84. “It’s really important that children develop empathy of other people’s experiences,” Ferns says. “To make a truly inclusive and welcoming culture, we need to make sure children see themselves reflected in faculty.”
Spencer has seen a wider variety and increased participation of campus organizations, such as the Hindu and Muslim student groups, which he attributes to a more diverse faculty. Recently, the School opened an all- gender house for students who may not identify on the gender binary. To help retain and support a diverse faculty in a largely white state, St. Paul’s School encourages its instructors to attend local and regional meetings and social gatherings for faculty of color. The School also sponsors gatherings for faculty of color on campus and sends several instructors to the National Association of Independent Schools’ annual People of Color Conference.
While the administration is proud of how far it has come, Spencer says he would still like to see the number of faculty of color climb to more closely reflect the student body population, which is 41 percent students of color. “If we’re not creating a multifaceted environment that has diversity of perspective, we’re missing the higher calling of contributing to the next generation,” Spencer says. “We’re preparing our students for life in an increasingly complex world, one rich in diversity of perspective and opinion, a world that will require the essential skills of navigating a challenging web of human connection. Exploring the facets of this web prepares all of us for the opportunities of the future.”