Demand 4: Faculty Evaluations

via community letter, Nov. 11, 2015: RESOLVED Fall, 2018

"We demand that the faculty evaluations that each student is required to complete for each of their professors include at least two open-ended questions such as: 'Has this professor made any microaggressions towards you on account of your race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, and/or other identity?' and 'Do you think that this professor fits into the vision of Emory University being a community of care for individuals of all racial, gender, ability, and class identities?' These questions on the faculty evaluations would help to ensure that there are repercussions or sanctions for racist actions performed by professors. We demand that these questions be added to the faculty evaluations by the end of this semester, Fall 2015."

Since Emory University does not have an evaluation questionnaire that is shared across its many schools, colleges, and units, the implementation of the policy called for in Demand 4 requires many different entities to endorse the questions. In discussions, faculty members voiced concern that such questions could discourage challenging conversations in the classroom, and black faculty in particular were concerned that the questions could invite negative evaluations from majority students whose ideas about race were challenged in the classroom.

After reviewing relevant literature and similar questions from peer institutions, the working group drafted questions for review, along with recommending relevant training and evaluation processes. The group then proposed that the recommended changes go through each school/faculty governance process as required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Updated: August 2019