Diversity in Higher Education

On the Importance of Diversity in Higher Education

(Source : Chronicle of Higher Education. February 12, 1999. Page A42 )

Many colleges and universities share a common belief , born of experience, that diversity in their student bodies, faculties, and staff is important for them to fulfill their primary mission: providing a high quality education. The public is entitled to know why these institutions believe so strongly that racial and ethnic diversity should be one factor among the many considered in admissions and hiring.

The reasons include :

• Diversity enriches the educational experience. We learn from those whose experiences, beliefs and perspectives are different from our own, and these lessons can be taught best in a richly diverse intellectual and social environment.
• It promotes personal growth and a healthy society. Diversity challenges stereotyped preconceptions, it encourages critical thinking and it helps students to communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds.
• It strengthens communities and the workplace. Education within a diverse setting prepares students to become good citizens in an increasingly complex, pluralistic society. It fosters mutual respect and teamwork, and it helps build communities whose members are judged by the quality of their character and their contributions.
• It enhances America's economic competitiveness. Sustaining the nation's prosperity in the 21st century will require us to make effective use of the talents and abilities of all our citizens, in work settings that bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Achieving diversity on university campuses does not require quotas. Nor does diversity warrant admission of unqualified applicants. However, the diversity that we seek, and the future of the nation, do require that colleges and universities continue to be able to reach out and make a conscious effort to build healthy and diverse learning environments that are appropriate for their missions. The success of our higher education and the strength of our democracy depend on it.

Endorsed by
New England Board of Higher Education
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

Campus Climate - Current Situation

(Source : Minorities on Campus : A handbook for enhancing diversity by the American Council on Education (1989) Washington D.C , pages 113-119.)

The past few years have brought a disturbing increase of racially and ethnically motivated violence and conflict on campuses across the country. An inhospitable campus environment can be overt and conspicuous, or quite subtle. More frequently, the problems are subtle. Minority students and faculty often feel marginal, conspicuous and isolated from the mainstream of the institution.

At the same time majority students and faculty members are often unaware of the experiences of minorities on campus. In a recent survey of one urban campus, 76 percent of minority students, but only 36 percent of majority students thought discrimination against minorities was still a problem on campus (1989). This difference in perception is significant. Majority students, faculty and administrators do not see the environment in the same way as minority individuals. The evidence of an indifferent campus environment may be clear or a matter of nuance.

Strategies

Improving the campus climate is everyone's responsibility. The climate sets the tone and pace for efforts to recruit and retain minority students, faculty and students. Everyone on campus is a participant in the effort.

General Strategies for Success

• Recognize climate as an issue. Recognize that the issue belongs to everyone on campus, requiring leadership from the president and board as well as commitment and leadership through the campus.
• Provide education and training. Training programs for administrators, faculty, staff, security personnel and students can help sensitize people of all races to the feelings and perceptions of others.
• Involve students in initiating activities such as workshops, residential programs or lecture series.
• Keep an eye on the classroom: The central experience for all students is in the classroom. Thus, faculty are key. Overt or even covert faculty prejudice can result in inappropriate racial or ethnic remarks in class, or in lowering the performance of alienated or discouraged minority students. Also, professors' unconscious assumptions that minority students are unable to perform up to par become self-fulfilling prophecies.
• Actions speak louder than words: creating a hospitable campus environment requires going beyond the announcement of good intentions.
• Build a critical mass of minorities on campus: Research has shown that multicultural campuses (campuses with 30 percent or more minority enrollment) are more conducive to the success of minority students. While it may not be a realistic goal, the fact remains that if there is only a handful of minority students, faculty and administrators, they are more likely to feel isolated. Extra efforts and support systems will be needed to make them feel welcome on those campuses where there are only a few minority individuals.
• Cultivate pluralism in cultural and extracurricular activities: Minority speakers, performers and participants in campus activities will enrich the event. It is important that minority speakers and visitors be associated with a wide variety of topics, and not only with minority issues.
• Establish a sound grievance procedure: An ombudsperson or advocate to help individuals navigate formal grievance process, as well as to resolve problems informally, is also very helpful. Be sure that the campus community knows about the ombudsperson and the procedures in place through printed materials, workshops and other means.
• Establish a mechanism for dispute resolution to prevent disputes and the escalation of disputes.
• Be sure that there is continual evaluation of efforts and monitoring of campus climate: These may include surveys and interviews of students, faculty and staff who drop out or transfer.

Strategies for administrators and faculty

• Develop educational materials and programs: printed materials, workshops, films. Identify behaviors that contribute to an inhospitable environment. They can illustrate the adjustment problems many minorities face on campus, and generally develop a new sensitivity to climate issues among majority students, faculty and administrators. It is important that they are part of an ongoing process, and not a "separate" or "special" part.
• Form information-sharing networks with other institutions that are trying to improve climate: borrow and adapt the successes of others - what works, what does not and why.
• Develop criteria about climate issues to be used in evaluating applicants for faculty and staff positions.
• Include climate issues in performance evaluations of faculty and staff.
• Recognize individuals and organizational units for exceptional progress in creating a positive climate for minority persons, just as other forms of outstanding performance are recognized.

Suggestions for increasing diversity among faculty and staff

(Source : Richerdson, R. & Skinner Elizabeth Fiske (1991) Achieving quality and diversity : Universities in a multicultural Society. by American Council of Education, McMillan Publishing Co. Page 252 )

Some examples

• Minority faculty and administrators are a visible and influential part of campus leadership.
• Recruiting procedures for new faculty members require that the best minority candidates be included during initial screening.
• New minority faculty are recruited through enriched salary offers, payment of moving expenses and released time from teaching to support research.
• Positions have been created to recruit minority targets of opportunity in fields in which openings would not otherwise be available.
• Minority research centers make joint appointments with academic departments. Positions revert to the center when the incumbent leaves the institution.
• Minority graduate assistants are aggressively recruited to increases the presence of these groups in the classroom.
• Targeted dissertation and postdoctoral fellowships are used to expand the pool of potential minority faculty.
• Support systems and a mentoring program help untenured minority faculty members meet requirements for tenure.
• A "grow your own" program supports promising minority doctoral students in high demand fields on condition that they teach for a specific period following completion.

The issue is often stated in terms of providing role models for minority youth, but the problem is equally one of providing examples to challenge stereotypes held by majority faculty and students.

Compiled by Radha Bhatkal for the President's Commission on Diversity and The Council of Teacher Educators Task Force on Diversity

March 11, 1999