Argument for Diversity in Higher Ed
John Brooks Slaughter, Ph.D., the President emeritus of the distinguished Occidental College (which counts Barack Obama as an alum) presented a convincing argument for the diversification of higher education to the Diversity Leadership Council Conference at Johns Hopkins University.
Mr. Slaughter argues that the most important element of an inclusive learning community is a more diverse and representative faculty and administrative staff. The minority population of the country is rapidly increasing, but this diversification has not been reflected in our colleges and universities. One of the major problems in creating a more diverse staff at these institutions, according to Mr. Slaughter, is their tendency to overlook the specific financial and socialization needs of these groups. He says that “the high price of attendance and correspondingly low levels of financial aid will discourage many, particularly those first-generation college-goers from low-income families. It has been estimated that a $1000 shift from grant to loan has as much as a 17% negative impact on retention for minority students.” Since many qualified minority candidates come from a more disadvantaged financial background, this situation is clearly problematic, and contributes to the lack of ethnic representation in the faculty of our colleges and universities. As of 2004, minorities made up less than 5% of the faculty at our research and graduate level institutions, and this figure shows no sign of improving. Mr. Slaughter goes on to say:
“The poor record of success in producing diverse faculties in our nation’s colleges and universities is due to many factors. They include the inadequate K-12 preparation received by racial minorities and the economically disadvantaged who are concentrated in many of our poorest and lowest achieving urban schools. There is a higher dropout rate for many of these same students and lower levels of entrance and progression in college and graduate school.”
Mr. Slaughter also cites arguments discussing the benefits of a more diverse faculty, saying that it helps to support particular groups of students and provide an encouraging symbol for them, and improves the institution’s curriculum and learning experience in our diverse society. He goes on to say that these efforts should be central in our ongoing efforts to improve our education system, and that a college or university should provide “all of its students with a total educational experience of the highest quality; one that prepares them for life in a world that has become increasingly complex, pluralistic and interdependent.”
More here: http://jhuaa.org/bin/u/x/john-slaughter-presentation.pdf