Reports detail growing diversity among Johns Hopkins student, faculty, and staff communities

The most recent editions of Johns Hopkins University's reports on the composition of its student, faculty, and staff populations show steady, sustained progress in the university's ongoing efforts to increase the number of affiliates from groups that are underrepresented in higher education.

The four reports are a key component of the university's commitment to transparency and accountability, as articulated in the Second Roadmap on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The Roadmap also notes that the university is placing greater emphasis on measurable goals and progress related to DEI efforts.

The university first published a faculty composition report in 2016, added reports pertaining to graduate students in 2017 and staff in 2019, and is now publishing a report on undergraduate students for the first time.

This undergraduate student report highlights an especially pronounced increase in the diversity of the composition of JHU's student body over the past decade. That shift reflects the university's commitment to admitting high-achieving students from a variety of backgrounds and the impact of a historic $1.8 billion gift for financial aid from Hopkins alumnus and former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, which has allowed JHU to become permanently need-blind and loan-free, dramatically reducing the financial burden of a Hopkins education on students and their families.

Across all four composition reports, which reflect data through Fall 2021, the university shows marked gains in the proportion of individuals from underrepresented groups, which includes those who are Black or African American, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. The proportion of individuals from underrepresented groups:

• Rose from 18% of domestic undergraduate students in 2013 to 31% in 2021
• Rose from 13% of the total graduate student population in 2013 to 17% in 2021
• Rose from 8% of both all faculty and full-time professorial faculty in 2015 to 11% in 2021

Among staff, the representation of races/ethnicities other than white among staff grew from 39% in 2017 to 43% in 2021.

Because recruitment and retention depend upon efforts within schools, departments, and programs, the reports disaggregate the data to assess progress at a number of levels. Each of the reports also includes a section entitled "Moving Forward" which summarizes some of the DEI efforts and initiatives underway across the university, and, where available, the reports include data on intersectionality (e.g., in the staff, graduate, and undergraduate reports) and peer benchmarking (e.g., in the faculty, graduate, and undergraduate reports).

The university community is encouraged to review all four reports online:

• Report on Undergraduate Student Composition 2021-22
• Report on Graduate Student Composition 2021-22
• Report on Faculty Composition 2021-22
• Report on Staff Composition 2021-22

Other highlights of the reports include:

• Among faculty, the proportion of women rose from 42% in 2015 to 46% in 2021; among professorial faculty, the proportion increased from 37% to 41%
• Representation in executive/administrative and managerial roles increased from 2017 to 2021 across multiple JHU divisions for both women and race/ethnicities other than white
• The percentage of students from underrepresented groups in graduate programs has increased from 13% of the total student population in 2013 to 17% 2021 Each degree program has also seen an increase, with the greatest change seen in PhD programs (8% of the total student population in 2013 to 13% of the total student population)
• The proportion of first generation/limited income (FLI) students within the undergraduate student body increased from 17% in 2013 to 26% in 2021

Johns Hopkins is currently conducting its first-ever universitywide climate survey, The Assessment of Climate for Living, Learning, and Working at JHU. This climate survey is a critical goal of the Second Roadmap and reflects feedback received from staff, faculty and students during the Second Roadmap task force process to gather even more granular and inclusive data. This feedback already is being incorporated into the composition reports through sections highlighting the complex and overlapping identities of members of our community.

The climate assessment also is designed with this feedback in mind in order to capture more granular and nuanced facets of race, ethnicity, ability, experience and thought, including developing strategies for anonymous self-identification of groups and identities. The survey results will help university leaders better understand people's experiences, behaviors, and perceptions of life across all of JHU's campuses and help shape the university's future endeavors in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space.

Correction: The years to which these composition reports pertain was misstated in an earlier version of this article. The Hub regrets the error.