(158) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Anti-racism (DEIA) Pulse-Check: Comparative Analysis of Administrative and Non-administrative Pharmacy Faculty Perceptions

Objective : To assess whether pharmacy faculty in administrative positions had differing perceptions of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Anti-racism (DEIA) landscape at their academic institutions compared to non-administrators.

Methods: The DEIA Faculty Perceptions of College Climate (FPCC) survey was used to assess the objective of this study. This survey is validated to explore perceptions of faculty among their college/ school of pharmacy regarding DEIA efforts. Inclusion criteria consisted of pharmacy faculty members employed within a school or college of pharmacy in the United States and also members of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). The survey explored demographic information and items from the validated FPCC survey. Faculty in administrative positions included deans, department chair/vice chair and those that held a director position. Survey results were analyzed using IBM SPSS (version 25.0). A Pearson’s chi squared was used to explore demographic differences between the two groups. An independent t-test was used to explore mean FPCC scores between the two groups.

Results: 846 respondents answered all questions and met the inclusion criteria. Of which, a total of 312 held administrative positions (113 deans, 82 department chair/vice chair, and 117 in a director position) while 534 had no administrative appointments. Faculty with administrative positions scored higher (better experience) than non-administrative faculty in the diversity, equity, and inclusion domains (p < 0.001). A mean difference of -0.58 was observed in the diversity domain (p=0.001), -1.20 in the equity domain (p < 0.001), and -1.47 in the inclusion domain (p < 0.001). No significant difference was observed in the anti-racism domain.

Conclusions: Pharmacy faculty in administrative positions exhibit more positive perceptions of DEI efforts within their academic institutions compared to their non-administrative counterparts.