The faculty are somewhat less certain about whether UD grants preferences in student admissions, but most believe that it does. More liberal faculty disapprove than approve of preferences in admissions.

One in six UD faculty believes that race and sex preferences have lowered both faculty and student quality at UD. About one in eight believes that preferences have improved quality.

UD faculty opposition to race and gender preferences is nearly the same as that recorded three years ago and somewhat higher than that recorded in 1996 among faculty nationwide. UD faculty continue to be much more likely than the earlier national sample was, however, to report that preferences have degraded faculty and student quality.

Two in five UD faculty approve benefits for both gay and unmarried heterosexual partners, while approximately one in seven approves benefits for gay but not heterosexual partners. More than one in three disapproves benefits for any unmarried partners.

Background

The Delaware chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has advocated preferences in faculty employment, but has refused to poll its members to determine whether they approve such preferences and want their union to encourage their use at UD.

In 1998, after some faculty expressed concern to the Delaware Associations of Scholars (DAS) that the University grants such preferences and that the preferences violate both civil rights laws and the U.S. Constitution, DAS polled full-time UD faculty to determine whether they believe that the University grants preferences in faculty employment and student admissions, and whether they approve such practices.

Although the 1998 UD results were even more disapproving of preferences than the national Roper results, the UD chapter of the AAUP proposed that UD adopt an explicit race-based hiring policy. Under the AAUP's proposed policy, departments should hire their first choice and a short-listed minority (but only a minority) if the first choice is not a minority. In April, 2001, The News Journal reported that the UD administration supported the policy, and in May, 2001, the AAUP announced, "For the first time, the Administration publicly agreed to such a plan".

Prior to the recent contract negotiations with the University, the AAUP announced that it would press the University for domestic partner benefits for gay faculty. As with race-based hiring, the AAUP did not survey its members to determine whether they support such benefits.

Procedures

On November 26, 2001, DAS mailed a survey on race and gender preferences and on domestic partner benefits to all full-time faculty at the University of Delaware. The survey included six questions on race and gender preferences that had been administered to 800 faculty nationwide in the 1996 Roper/NAS survey. DAS added one question on domestic partner benefits. Copies of the questionnaire and cover letter are available on the DAS website.

As in 1998, the UD Graphic Communications Center provided address labels for all full-time faculty and carried out the actual mailing.

In 1998, 157 of 790 faculty returned the survey, for a return rate of about 20%. In 2001, 198 out of 1054 full-time faculty returned the survey, for a return rate of about 19%. Much of the one-third increase in full-time faculty between 1998 and 2001--from 790 to 1054--resulted from the conversion of non-faculty, professional lines to non-tenure-track faculty lines. In 1998, slightly more than 18% of the full-time faculty were non-tenure track. In 2001, the percentage jumped to almost 25%, as more professionals were converted to faculty.

The sharp increase in the percentage of non-tenure track faculty has had two likely effects on the survey. First, it has probably depressed the overall rate of return. Only one of the 113 non-tenure track full-time instructors returned the survey. (Approximately 130 assistant professors are also non non-tenure track full-time faculty.) Second, the high number of professional converted to non-tenure track full-time faculty is likely to have increased the percentage of respondents who say they "don't know" about faculty hiring or student admission practices.

Two in five respondents were full professors, while about a quarter each were associate and assistant professors.

Overall results

• Most UD faculty oppose preferences in faculty employment and student admissions.

  Nearly seven out of ten UD faculty responding to the DAS survey believe that the University of Delaware should not grant preferences in faculty employment (68%) or in student admissions (69%) on the basis of race, sex, or ethnicity. This level of opposition is approximately the same as that found in the 1998 survey (71% and 69%) and exceeds by over 10 percentage points that registered in the 1996 NAS/Roper nationwide study.

  #1) Do you feel that the University of Delaware should or should not grant preference to one candidate over another in faculty employment decisions on the basis of race, sex, or ethnicity?
  #2) Do you feel that the University of Delaware should or should not grant preference to one candidate over another for admission on the basis of race, sex, or ethnicity?
  	Faculty Employment			Student Admissions
  	2001 UD	1998 UD	NAS/ Roper	2001 UD	1998 UD	NAS/ Roper
  Should Should Not Don't Know   (N)	27% 68  5 (195)	26% 71  3 (155)	29% 60  11  (800)	28% 69  3 (195)	28% 69  2 (155)	32% 56  11  (800)

• Most UD faculty report that UD does, in fact, use preferences in both faculty employment and student admissions.

  Nearly two-thirds believe that the University grants preferences by race and gender in faculty employment, with another 27% not knowing whether or not there are any such preferences. Fifty-five percent report preferences in student admissions, with another 36% not knowing whether or not there are any such preferences. Only 9% report that preferences are not granted in employment or admissions. Faculty who believe that there are preferences in hiring and admissions report that those preferences are more often informal than formal. A somewhat greater percentage of UD faculty than faculty nationwide believes that their university grants race and sex preferences.

  A smaller percentage of respondents in 2001 than 1999 report preferences in employment (64% vs. 81%) and admissions (55% vs. 60%). This shift in results may be owing to the addition of a new category of faculty (the conversion of professionals to faculty) rather than from faculty changing their beliefs. This interpretation is suggested by the huge jump in "don't know" responses for knowledge about faculty hiring and the smaller jump for student admissions. When "don't knows" are excluded, the same proportion of faculty in both years who claim familiarity with the University's employment and admissions practices--about 90%--report that UD uses race and gender preferences in hiring and admissions.

  #3) Putting aside your own opinion, which of the following statements best describes UD's policy for faculty employment decisions: formal, informal, or no use of preferences by gender or race?
  #5) Putting aside your own opinion, which of the following statements best describes UD's policy for student admissions: formal, informal, or no use of preferences by gender or race?
  	Faculty Employment			Student Admissions
  	2001 UD	1998 UD	NAS/ Roper	2001 UD	1998 UD	NAS/ Roper
  Formal Informal No Use Don't Know (N)	24% 40  9  27  (196)	25% 56  10  10  (155)	32% 38  16  14  (800)	26% 29  9  36  (196)	30% 30  10  31  (155)	19% 26  30  25  (800)

• Like faculty nationwide, UD faculty tend to believe that their institution's race and sex preferences have lowered rather than raised the quality of faculty and students.

  Of the 64% and 55% of faculty, respectively, who believe that UD uses preferences in faculty employment and student admissions, more believe that they have degraded than believe they have improved faculty quality (18% vs. 12%) and student quality (15% vs. 12%). About half (35% and 29%) report either that the preferences have had no impact on quality or else they don't know whether they have.

  #4) In your opinion, has the academic quality of the faculty at UD improved or declined as a result of giving preference in employment decisions on the basis of race, sex or ethnicity, or hasn't this made any difference?
  #6) In your opinion, has the academic quality of the students at your institution improved or declined as a result in giving preference in admission on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, or hasn't this made any difference?
  	Faculty Employment			Student Admissions
  	2001 UD	1998 UD	NAS/ Roper	2001 UD	1998 UD	NAS/ Roper
  Preferences Granted Quality Improved Quality Declined No Impact Don't Know	64%    12    18    18    17	81%    14    25    22    20	70%   13     4   43   10	55%    12    15    17    12	60%    8  25  18    9	45%   6   8 25   6
  No Preferences Granted	9	10	16	9	10	30
  Don't Know	27	10	14	36	31	25
  (N)	(196)	(155)	(800)	(196)	(155)	(800)

• A majority of faculty favors benefits for gay domestic partners, but not for unmarried heterosexual partners.

  Faculty are about evenly split on whether they would give domestic partner benefits to both gay and heterosexual unmarried partners (39%) or neither (36%). Because a significant minority (14%) would give benefits to gay but not heterosexual unmarried partners, more than half the faculty (53%) would favor benefits for gay partners.

  #7) The AAUP favors benefits for domestic partners of homosexuals. With regard to benefits for gay domestic partners, I feel there should be:
  	2001 UD
  No benefits for any unmarried partners No benefits for gay domestic partners Benefits for gay but not heterosexual unmarried partners Benefits for both gay and heterosexual unmarried partners Undecided No opinion   (N)	36% 1 14  39 7 2 (192)

Results by political orientation

• Nearly one-third of UD faculty describe themselves as liberal and one sixth as conservative, which is the same ratio found in the NAS/Roper study. The opposite is true for the general public, where conservatives outnumber liberals two to one.

  	2001 UD	1998 UD	NAS/ Roper	General Public (1996 Gallup)
  Liberal Moderate Conservative Don't Know/Other   (N)	32% 41 17 10 (195)	30% 46 16   8 (155)	37% 43 17   4 (800)	17% 42 35   5

• Most faculty of all political orientations oppose preferences, although liberals are substantially less negative.

  Non-liberals strongly oppose the granting of preferences in both faculty employment and student admissions. Among both moderates and conservatives at UD, four out of five believe that the University should not grant such preferences. Liberals, although clearly tending to disfavor (56%) rather than favor them (39%), are more evenly split. In all three categories, the percentage who disfavor has increased and the percentage who favor has decreased since 1998.

  #1) Do you feel that the University of Delaware should or should not grant preference to one candidate over another in faculty employment decisions on the basis of race, sex, or ethnicity?
  	2001 UD
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total
  Should Grant Should Not Don't Know      (N)	39% 56  5 (61)	16% 79  5 (81)	15% 85  0 (33)	65% 24  12 (17)	27% 68  5 (195)
  	1998 UD					NAS/Roper
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total	Total
  Should Grant Should Not Don't Know      (N)	42% 51  6 (45)	18% 81  1 (72)	20% 80  0 (25)	23% 69  8 (13)	26% 71  3 (155)	29% 60  11  (800)

  #2) Do you feel that the University of Delaware should or should not grant preference to one candidate over another for admission on the basis of race, sex, or ethnicity?
  	2001 UD
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total
  Should Grant Should Not Don't Know      (N)	41% 56  3 (61)	15% 82  4 (81)	15% 85  0 (33)	71% 24  6 (17)	28% 69  3 (195)
  	1998 UD					NAS/Roper
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total	Total
  Should Grant Should Not Don't Know      (N)	47% 49  4 (45)	21% 78  1 (72)	20% 80  0 (25)	23% 69  8 (13)	28% 69  2 (155)	32% 56  11  (800)

• The different political orientations are all similar in believing that UD grants preferences.

  Over half of all orientations believe that UD grants preferences in faculty employment on the basis of race, sex, and ethnicity: 55% (liberals), 70% (moderates) and 79% (conservatives). However, among those claiming some knowledge about the matter (that is, excluding "don't know" answers), the proportion of faculty reporting preferences rises to almost 90% in all orientations. Liberals are somewhat more likely and conservatives less likely to report that any policies are formal.

  All orientations are less certain about whether UD grants preferences in student admissions, but a large majority of moderates and conservatives and nearly a majority of liberals believe that it does. Once again, however, almost 90% of all orientations report preferences when persons claiming no knowledge are excluded.

  #3) Putting aside your own opinion, which of the following statements best describes UD's policy for faculty employment decisions: formal, informal, or no use of preferences by gender or race?
  	2001 UD
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total
  Formal Informal No Use Don't Know      (N)	22% 33  12  33  (60)	24% 46  7 24  (81)	27% 52  6  15 (33)	22% 28  17 33 (18)	24% 40  9  27  (196)
  	1998 UD					NAS/Roper
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total	Total
  Formal Informal No Use Don't Know      (N)	20% 56  13  11  (45)	26% 56  8 10  (72)	28% 52  12  8 (25)	31% 61  0 8 (13)	25% 56  10  10  (155)	32% 38  16  14  (800)

  #5) Putting aside your own opinion, which of the following statements best describes UD's policy for student admissions: formal, informal, or no use of preferences by gender or race?
  	2001 UD
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total
  Formal Informal No Use Don't Know      (N)	20% 25  15 40  (60)	24% 33  7  36  (81)	42% 30  3 24  (33)	24% 29  6  41  (17)	26% 29  9  36  (196)
  	1998 UD					NAS/Roper
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total	Total
  Formal Informal No Use Don't Know      (N)	20% 36  7 38  (45)	31% 31  11  28  (72)	40% 20  8 32  (25)	39% 23  15  23  (13)	30% 30  10  31  (155)	19% 26  30  25  (800)

• While a large percentage of all political orientations say that there has been no impact, there is substantial agreement among moderates and conservatives that any impact of preferences on institutional quality is more negative than positive. Liberals are either less negative (student admissions) or more positive (faculty employment) about the consequences.

  #4) In your opinion, has the academic quality of the faculty at UD improved or declined as a result of giving preference in employment decisions on the basis of race, sex or ethnicity, or hasn't this made any difference?
  	2001 UD
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total
  Preferences Granted Quality Improved Quality Declined No Impact Don't Know	55% 17 3 14 20	69% 10 24 21 15	79%   6 33 21 18	50% 11 11 11 17	64% 12 18 18 17
  No Preferences Granted	12	7	6	17	9
  Don't Know	33	24	15	33	27
  (N)	(59)	(81)	(33)	(18)	(196)
  	1998 UD					NAS/ Roper
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total	Total
  Preferences Granted Quality Improved Quality Declined No Impact Don't Know	76% 22 11 24 18	82% 11 32 22 17	80%   8 32 16 24	92% 15 15 23 38	81% 14 25 22 20	70% 13   4 43 10
  No Preferences Granted	13	8	12	0	10	16
  Don't Know	11	10	8	8	10	14
  (N)	(45)	(72)	(25)	(13)	(155)	(800)

  #6) In your opinion, has the academic quality of the students at UD improved or declined as a result in giving preference in admission on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, or hasn't this made any difference?
  	2001 UD
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total
  Preferences Granted Quality Improved Quality Declined No Impact Don't Know	45% 20   2 11 11	57%   6 21 22   7	73%   6 38   6 22	53% 23   6 12 12	55% 12 15 17 12
  No Preferences Granted	15	7	3	6	9
  Don't Know	40	36	24	41	36
  (N)	(60)	(81)	(33)	(17)	(196)
  	1998 UD					NAS/ Roper
  	Liberal	Moderate	Conser- vative	Don't Know	Total	Total
  Preferences Granted Quality Improved Quality Declined No Impact Don't Know	56% 11 16 20   9	62%   5 26 17 13	60%   8 44   8   0	62% 15 15 23   8	60%   8 25 18   9	45%   6   8 25   6
  No Preferences Granted	7	11	8	15	10	30
  Don't Know	38	28	32	23	31	25
  (N)	(45)	(72)	(25)	(13)	(155)	(800)

• In contrast to preferences, there is marked division among political orientations on unmarried domestic partner benefits.

  While two in five moderates and four in five conservatives oppose benefits for all unmarried domestic partners, only one in seven liberals do. While three in five liberals favor benefits for all unmarried domestic partners, only three in ten moderates and one in ten conservatives do. Liberals are about twice as likely as moderates and seven times as likely as conservatives to favor benefits for gays but not unmarried heterosexual domestic partners.

Results by college at UD

• Largely mirroring the results in 1998, at least half the faculty in all colleges oppose granting preferences in faculty employment and student admissions.

  	Should Not Grant Preferences
  	Faculty Employment		Student Admissions		(N)
  	2001 UD	1998 UD	2001 UD	1998 UD	2001 UD	1998 UD
  Arts & Science Agric. & Nat. Res. Business & Economics Engineering Health & Nursing Hum.Serv., Educ. & Pub.Pol. Marine Studies Total	62% 80% 75% 50% 86% 68% 75% 68%	70% 83% 78% 85% 88% 44% 80% 71%	62 80 75 64 86 64 88 69	70 83 78 69 88 38 80 69	(84)   (20)   (24)   (14)   (14)   (28)    ( 8) (196)	(82)   (12)   (18)   (13)    ( 8)   (16)    ( 5) (155)

• At least half the faculty in all colleges--from 50% to 79%--agree that UD grants preferences in faculty employment, although usually on an informal rather than formal basis. There is less certainty in all colleges about whether UD grants preferences in student admissions, and there is more division about whether formal or informal are the means of granting them.

A majority of groups in all colleges reports that UD actually does grant preferences, usually as the result of informal rather than formal policies and procedures. Nonetheless, a quarter believe that the preferences are supported by formal institutional policy. There is a pervasive perception among faculty, then, that UD is carrying out policies of which its faculty disapprove. The AAUP's encouragement of such policies clearly contravenes the wishes of UD faculty. The 2001 survey thus reveals the same disjunction between advocacy of the AAUP and the wishes of UD faculty as did the same survey in 1998.

The opposition to preferences goes much deeper than mere partisanship because even liberals tend to oppose them. The high consistency of faculty perceptions across different colleges and political orientations suggests that preferences may, in fact, be routinely granted at UD. This possibility warrants serious investigation.

Overall, while a sizeable percentage disapprove of benefits for any unmarried domestic partner, more than half the faculty favor benefits for gay partners and almost 40% favor them for all unmarried partners. At the same time, unlike for preferences, the split between approval and disapproval is sharply skewed according to political orientation, with liberals clearly at odds with moderates and conservatives.

Further Information

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© URL=http://www.udel.edu/DAS/survey2002/index.html
Published April 5, 2002