Today, the Pratt Institute has announced the launch of a new cluster hire initiative aimed at recruiting diverse faculty to each of the five degree-granting schools on its Brooklyn, New York campus. 

Through “Diverse Voices Creating Just Futures,” Pratt believes it will create transformational learning experiences for all students as was outlined in the All-Institute Learning Goals from 2021.

Five new tenure-track assistant professors will be appointed to schools of Architecture, Art, Design, Information, and Liberal Arts and Sciences, respectively. There, they will focus on a broad range of special academic program areas, including Film/Video, Undergraduate Architecture, Interior Design, and the History of Art and Design. Pratt says the cohort will be brought together and provided with support for their scholarly and creative endeavors, in addition to being able to collaborate with each other on multidisciplinary research and other special projects.

Cluster hiring has been shown to be an effective and adaptable way of achieving DEI benchmarks while retaining academic standards and making the new hires feel more at ease with the transition to campus.

School of Architecture Dean Quilian Riano recently explained his vision of the program as a "pluralistic" environment where students and faculty work together towards the shared betterment of the built environment. Pratt will thus look to apply takeaways from the first cohort to future hiring pushes, resulting in a gradual sea change emblematic of his comment that a "legacy is really built over time, it is a process rather than an end goal."

Provost Donna Heiland added finally: “The Institute has a longstanding commitment to nurturing and sustaining a diverse community—from its founding in 1887, when it welcomed students from all walks of life, through the present day, when hiring and supporting a diverse faculty is an explicit commitment of our strategic plan. This cluster hire is both a resounding affirmation of that commitment and an extension of it."

You can learn more about applying to the “Diverse Voices Creating Just Futures” positions here.