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Though the numbers of minorities have increased in University of California faculty in recent decades, diversity remains a pressing issue for many UC leaders.

The UC President’s Task Force on Faculty Diversity, composed of 11 UC academic and administrative leaders, presented the findings of its recent report at the President’s Summit on Faculty Diversity in Oakland on Tuesday.

The report found that as the numbers of underrepresented minority scholars have grown in recent years, the UC faculty has failed to represent the changing demographics. Underrepresented minorities include faculty who are American Indian, Latino/Chicano, black and Asian.

In the face of this growing divide, UC officials have begun discussing measures to increase the numbers of underrepresented minorities among the university’s faculty.

“Faculty diversity is one of the most pressing issues facing the University of California today,” UC President Robert Dynes said in a press release. “UC will remain competitive as a leading institution of higher education only if it is successful in addressing the underrepresentation.”

The task force made several recommendations to increase diversity. It suggested that administrators begin issuing annual reports on faculty diversity and provide “resource-based incentives for diversity efforts,” according to the report.

Another recommendation revolved around making diversity a major component in the planning of faculty hiring, curriculum development and other areas.

In the 2004-2005 academic year, non-white faculty made up 27 percent of the new appointments for the entire UC. During that same period, 26 percent of UCLA’s new appointments were non-white.

Most individual UC campuses have committees designed to address faculty diversity. At UCLA, the Office of Faculty Diversity manages projects and provides access to resources that contribute to faculty diversity.

The university has taken steps to differentiate its diversity efforts from affirmative action, which was rendered illegal in the mid-1990s by Proposition 209. Affirmative action is the use of race or gender as a factor in personnel or admissions decisions.

Jennifer Ward, a spokeswoman for the UC Office of the President, said the UC has received “nothing but support” for its diversity efforts and it would not avoid the issue because it might be associated with affirmative action.

“Diversity is not a bad word and diversity is not something the university wants to shy away from,” she said. “It’s something we want to embrace.”

The UC has a Web site explaining the mission and findings of the diversity task force, including a link to the university’s policy on affirmative action.

The task force has emphasized that faculty diversity is a concern in universities across the nation.

“The lack of faculty diversity is not unique to the University of California and is a growing concern across our nation’s institutions of higher learning,” said the group’s chairwoman, Rosina Becerra, in a press release. Becerra is an associate vice chancellor of faculty diversity at UCLA.

“As the most diverse state in the nation, we have the opportunity to take the leadership in creating the most diverse faculty among institutions of higher education,” she said.