According to the latest figures from the American Council on Education, of the more than 500,000 faculty members in 1991, 68 percent were men and 32 percent were women, compared with 73 percent of men and 27 percent of women in 1981. In 1981, whites made up 91 percent of the faculty; in 1991, they constituted 88 percent of the total. In 1991, of the remaining 12 percent minority, there were twice as many male as female African American, Hispanic, Asian American, and American Indian faculty members. The category with the highest number of minority faculty (5.1 percent) was called Asian Americans--although it was defined as all Asian faculty, born in the United States or not, including citizens and noncitizens--followed by African Americans (4.7 percent), Hispanics (2.2 percent), and American Indians (.3 percent).

The total number of full professors at colleges and universities increased by 25 percent from 1981 to...

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