Equity, Diversity And Inclusion

Minority serving institutions have been an integral part of the education system in the United States since before the Civil War (LeMelle, 2002). Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have, for much of their existence, been criticized for the level of academic rigor, political context, and their social agenda have created controversy for generations. With that being said, HBCUs hold a valuable place in the landscape of US higher education institutions. The culture, history, and perspective that is taught and shared are unparalleled and cannot be replicated at a predominately white institution (PWI).

Diversity, what does it look like at Jackson State University (JSU), a historically black university, located in Jackson, MS? Administrators in higher education are charged with the responsibility of preparing students to be civil minded in a society that is changing rapidly as it relates to the inclusion of others. With such intensity to incorporate increased changes and differences, there is a need to collectively understand the full scope of differences among students.

Dr. Cephas Archie is the Diversity & Inclusion Program Coordinator for Houston Community College (HCC), where he assists in the implementation of the colleges 7 + campus Diversity & Inclusion Plan. Collaboratively working with all institutional stakeholders – both internal and external, Dr. Archie spearheads the institution’s diversity and inclusion efforts for the near 81,000 students, faculty and staff. As an employee of the Office of Institutional Equity at HCC, his efforts are accompanied by the college’s Diversity & Inclusion Council.

Companies and educational institutions greatly benefit from the guidelines of affirmative action because they profit from the different ideas, work styles, and contributions unique to each diverse individual. As quoted in Paul Connors’s compilation, Affirmative Action, President of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger, addresses the importance of a diverse educational system by stating, “The experience of arriving on a campus to live and study with classmates from a diverse range of backgrounds is essential to students' training for this new world, nurturing in them an instinct to reach out instead of clinging to the comforts of what seems natural or familiar” (12-13). A statement by Southeastern Oklahoma State University further supports the idea that success in modern day society stems from diversity saying, “Our country is strong because of the rich diversity of our culture, not in spite of it” (Affirmative Action).

Racial preference has indisputably favored Caucasian males in society. Recently this dynamic has been debated in all aspects of life, including college admission. Racial bias has intruded on the students’ rights to being treated fairly. Admitting students on merit puts the best individuals into the professional environment. A university’s unprejudiced attitude towards race in applicants eliminates biases, empowers universities to harness the full potential of students’ intellect, and gives students an equal chance at admission.

Having served in higher education the past three years, I have grown in my appreciation for the complexities of colleges and universities. Specifically, I am fascinated by how institutions value diversity within their student population and among their employees. Over the past two years colleges and universities have had to confront their racist past to understand their student population. Christian higher education has not been immune to this soul searching. Christian institutions must recognize diversity as a biblical and institutional imperative to embrace institutional inclusive excellence. Diversity needs to be embraced for institutions to survive in a pluralistic and changing society. As higher education faces a tumultuous future, there is a heightened need for diverse administrators who can navigate and effectively lead institutions towards inclusive excellence.

Here at The University of Texas at Austin, we embrace and encourage diversity in many forms, striving to create an inclusive community that fosters an open and supportive learning, teaching and working environment. Our strength as a university draws from our wide range of perspectives and experiences, and we support a free exchange of ideas alongside thoughtful consideration of our differences. The UT Austin Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE) offers more than 40 programs and initiatives that support this vision, strengthening diversity on campus and in communities across the state, all while helping to shape the future leaders of Texas and the world

We, Lindenwood University’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force are charged with promoting the well-being, safety and security of a diverse academic community in which teaching, learning, and the exchange of ideas can flourish, and where we encounter, encourage, and interrogate ideas that challenge settled notions of truth.

Iverson uses critical race theory (CRT) to examine how discourses of diversity, circulating in educational policies, reflect and produce realities for people of color on university campus. Analysis reveals four predominant discourses shaping images of people of color: access, disadvantage, marketplace, and democracy. This article aims to enhance understanding about how racial inequality is reproduced through educational policies. CRT originated in the 1970s to contest the absence of attention to race in the courts and in law. Data from an analysis of 21 diversity action plans issued at 20 U.S. land-grant universities. Use of NVivo computer software designed for qualitative data analysis. He sought universities that had a diversity committee,

The equal opportunity that affirmative action provides has also increased the amount of minority applicants applying to each school. It has “resulted in doubling or tripling the number of minority applications to colleges or universities, and have made colleges and universities more representative of their surrounding community” (Messerli). Since the playing field has been evened, it has encouraged more of those who are disadvantaged because of their ethnicity to apply for and get admitted into college. However, the quotas cause schools to admit under qualified students of minor races who don’t meet the limit over highly qualified students who’s race has reached the limit.

As a testament to the next discussion point of opportunities, especially within the realm of college admission, I have experienced firsthand the opportunities presented by affirmative action. As a low-income, first-generation college student, Virginia Tech had offered me a full scholarship based solely on merit and financial need. As a “minority” according to Virginia Tech, I had an

The pursuit of social justice in the contemporary university through equal access has been recognized as an increasingly widespread phenomenon. In his study of historical university missions, John C. Scott describes a democratization mission, originating in early America, that combats elitism in academia by offering “equal educational opportunit[ies]” to serve and educate the general citizenry (15). Scott notes that, historically, equal access to higher education was only offered to white male citizens, though this inequality has been largely eliminated through the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century (18). Acknowledging that “over 20% of all [American] adults 25 years of age and older currently possess a baccalaureate or higher”,

March 6th, 1961 Affirmative Action policies in higher education were implemented (Infoplease). Affirmative Action was designed to provide equal access to universities for historically underrepresented minorities. The argument of whether Affirmative Action should be decimated is a simple one. Students who have the academic credentials and earn their way into college deserve to be accepted. For no reason should previously excluded minorities gain unfair leverage in an attempt to “right past wrongs”. But with Affirmative Action banned in only eight states, we are left with two questions; how exactly Affirmative Action affects the culture within universities to have it seen as an unjust policy, and can diversity continue to survive without this program.

In order to study the need of a racially and culturally diverse college campus, the journey and battles fought must be dicussed. While there is a lack of diversity on college campuses today, they are not completely devoid of people of color. However, there was a time when college campuses were one hundred percent Caucasian. Jonathan R. Alger, Jorge Chapa and a team of researchers conducted studies on various college classrooms. They then went on to publish their findings in a book titled Does Diversity make a Difference? The purpose of their paper was to discuss the importance of diversity and reveal the effects of non-diverse campus. They begin their book by taking a look into the history of diversity in America. The start of the Civil Rights movement along with President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty took place in the mid 1960s. These events forced the country to face the reality of the people of color in America. These Americans of color did not have equal access to education, jobs, housing, or other valued resources (Alger et al. 2000). College administrators and faculty were starting to understand the necessity of a diverse campus. The realized that people of color had just as much to offer to the United States as the Caucasian majority. During that time, “many higher education faculty members and administrators were deeply concerned that abandonment of race sensitive admissions and hiring, at a time when most minority groups continue to be unrepresented in higher education, will severely limit campus diversity and would undermine the learning environment for all students.” (Alger et al. 2000). Additionally, a lot of the traditionally white colleges and universities were provoked and questioned by the concerns of their students. The universities and colleges began to notice their inability to extend the same educational

“The American Council on Education (ACE) has a longstanding record of commitment to access to higher education for all qualified Americans and to the advancement of equal educational opportunity” (The Importance of Diversity in Higher Education) This dedication is considered in ACE's positions open strategy, its automatic exercises, and its livelihood polishes. It has been communicated over and over in resolutions by the ACE Board of Directors with respect to governmental policy regarding minorities in society, nondiscrimination, value, meet open door, and induction guidelines. The ACE is only one of the numerous aggregations that accept assorted qualities in universities.