|
Recent research has found that college students who are educated in an environment that reflects racial and ethnic diversity become better learners and more effective citizens. It also found that students, non-minority and minority alike, learn better when the learning takes place in a setting where they are confronted with others who are different than themselves. According to a survey sponsored by the American Council on Education, nine out of ten Americans understand the value of a diverse university community, considering it important to have students of different races, cultures and backgrounds in higher education. At the same time, there remains disagreement on how to accomplish that result and the urgency with which to approach this task. In addition, the circumstances on each campus are at least somewhat unique, as witnessed by my own experiences, first at the University of Maryland and now at The Ohio State University. There is one common denominator of successful programs, however, and that's leadership. Over recent decades, the University of Maryland has enjoyed considerable success on diversity matters, at least in relative terms. For example, the university has been able to increase substantially the percentage of African-American students, and at one point in the recent past, it had the highest percentage of African-American faculty and students of any AAU university. Whatever success Maryland has enjoyed can be traced in large part to an action by the U.S. Office of Civil Rights, which had ordered the state to develop affirmative action programs that would eliminate a dual-track, racially segregated system of higher education. One such response at the University of Maryland was a merit-based scholarship program the Benjamin Banneker Scholarship for African-American students. In the mid-1990s, this program was challenged in court, and the university lost the right to award the scholarship. It was an important moment in the evolution of the university when the Faculty Senate and Student Government Association endorsed my decision to appeal to the Supreme Court, dramatically demonstrating that the pursuit of diversity had become a fundamental value of the university. Thus, although the appeal was unsuccessful, it was a victory of sorts for the institution. The situation at Ohio State is markedly different. Ohio State has never been segregated, yet its students and faculty are more homogeneous than at Maryland. Still, Ohio State has made progress over the past decade, and we compare favorably with our peer institutions in our degree of diversity. Of the freshman class that entered in the fall of 1999, for example, over 18 percent are minorities a record for Ohio State but still not enough to bring about the full benefit of a truly diverse learning environment. To generate more systematic progress on diversity matters, Provost Ed Ray and I appointed a blue ribbon committee to develop a multifaceted Diversity Action Plan. It's the first time Ohio State has had a real diversity plan, one with clear and explicit goals. While not everyone is happy about this, I believe strongly that such goals are essential in any diversity plan because our biggest hurdle is to establish a sense of seriousness and a basis for accountability. Our Diversity Action Plan has several goals: * Become a leader within the higher education community with regard to diversity and the creation of a campus culture of inclusion; * In the short-term create a faculty, student and staff profile that more closely reflects the diversity of the state; * In the longer-term build a community that more closely reflects national diversity; and * Ultimately, create a richer, more stimulating and enhanced educational experience for all students. In support of these goals, the plan lists six objectives, with a long list of associated action items. In addition to recruitment and retention targets and initiatives, these include incentives to develop models of excellence, the collection and systematic organization of data and the assignment of accountability for real progress. Programs and initiatives run the gamut from a more aggressive minority student recruitment effort to developing pools of qualified women and minority candidates for faculty and administrative positions. The Diversity Action Plan and related initiatives can be found at www.osu.edu/diversity/. In the fall of 1999, the provost and I announced our initial diversity agenda based upon this Action Plan and highlighting the priorities we see as most pressing in the near term. We recognize that our role in this matter is key. I have learned from experience that especially on the topic of diversity there is no substitute for leadership from the top. If the president and provost don't take the lead on this issue, no one will.
|
|
No
secular institution faces a greater imperative to embrace and practice
diversity than does higher education.
In addition to righting past wrongs and creating a quality workforce
for the knowledge economy, our very reason for being obliges us
to give every student the best education possible, and that requires
a diverse learning environment.
