The University of Houston has a vast trove of data on faculty searches, a byproduct of an aggressive effort to diversify the university’s professoriate. A team of the university’s researchers mined that data — 13,750 applications for 156 faculty positions over three years — and came to a striking conclusion.

The study showed that search committees chaired by women or underrepresented-minority faculty members led to significantly more diverse applicant pools. Committees led by women can be expected to have 23 percent more female applicants, and those led by underrepresented-minority faculty members can be expected to have 118 percent more applicants from such groups.