Deepening Representation and Voice in the Discipline: Challenges and Opportunities under the Veil of Uncertainty

As an academic discipline, Political Science has made significant gains in the racial and ethnic composition of the professoriate over the past 30 years. Perhaps because of significant efforts (minority identification programs, underrepresented minority status groups, summer institutes, mentoring, and leadership pathway programs) to increase the number of tenured professors from all racial and ethnic groups, the number of tenure-track faculty from these groups has increased appreciably (nearly 20% since 2018). However, given the increased scrutiny of race and ethnicity in higher education, the uncertainty of how federal action will help or hinder efforts to improve access and inclusion in the discipline and how this might mute the ability of faculty to advocate for increased representation and academic freedom in the professoriate this raises a number of vexing issues. This diverse panel of senior political scientists will discuss their respective paths in the discipline and draw insights on how Political Science can sustain the efforts that have positively impacted the discipline in the face of legal and socio-political barriers to advocacy, free speech and fuller inclusion.