Media, politicians, and the courts portray college campuses as divided over diversity and affirmative action. But what do students and faculty really think? This book uses a novel technique to elicit honest opinions from students and faculty and measure preferences for diversity in undergraduate admissions and faculty recruitment at seven major universities, breaking out attitudes by participants' race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, and political partisanship. Scholarly excellence is a top priority everywhere, but the authors show that when students consider individual candidates, they favor members of all traditionally underrepresented groups - by race, ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic background. Moreover, there is little evidence of polarization in the attitudes of different student groups. The book reveals that campus communities are less deeply divided than they are often portrayed to be; although affirmative action remains controversial in the abstract, there is broad support for prioritizing diversity in practice.

As scholars and practitioners in higher education attempt to embrace and lead diversity efforts, it is imperative that they have an understanding of the issues that affect historically underrepresented students. Using an intersectional approach that connects the categories of race, class, and gender, Diversity and Inclusion on Campus comprehensively covers the range of college experiences, from gaining access to higher education to successfully persisting through degree programs. Authors Winkle-Wagner and Locks bridge research, theory, and practice related to the ways that peers, faculty, administrators, and institutions can and do influence racially and ethnically underrepresented students’ experiences. This book is an invaluable resource for future and current higher education and student affairs practitioners working toward full inclusion and participation for all students in higher education. Special features: Chapter Case Studies—cases written by on-the-ground practitioners help readers make meaningful connections between theory, research, and practice. Coverage of Theory and Research—each chapter provides a systematic treatment of the literature and research related to underrepresented students’ experiences of getting into college, getting through college, and getting out of college. Discussion Questions—questions encourage practitioners and researchers to explore concepts in more depth, consider best practices, and make connections to their own contexts.

Diversity has been a focus of higher education policy, law, and scholarship for decades, continually expanding to include not only race, ethnicity and gender, but also socioeconomic status, sexual and political orientation, and more. However, existing collections still tend to focus on a narrow definition of diversity in education, or in relation to singular topics like access to higher education, financial aid, and affirmative action. By contrast, Diversity in American Higher Education captures in one volume the wide range of critical issues that comprise the current discourse on diversity on the college campus in its broadest sense. This edited collection explores: legal perspectives on diversity and affirmative action higher education's relationship to the deeper roots of K-12 equity and access policy, politics, and practice's effects on students, faculty, and staff. Bringing together the leading experts on diversity in higher education scholarship, Diversity in American Higher Education redefines the agenda for diversity as we know it today.

We’ve heard plenty from politicians and experts on affirmative action and higher education, about how universities should intervene—if at all—to ensure a diverse but deserving student population. But what about those for whom these issues matter the most? In this book, Natasha K. Warikoo deeply explores how students themselves think about merit and race at a uniquely pivotal moment: after they have just won the most competitive game of their lives and gained admittance to one of the world’s top universities. What Warikoo uncovers—talking with both white students and students of color at Harvard, Brown, and Oxford—is absolutely illuminating; and some of it is positively shocking. As she shows, many elite white students understand the value of diversity abstractly, but they ignore the real problems that racial inequality causes and that diversity programs are meant to solve. They stand in fear of being labeled a racist, but they are quick to call foul should a diversity program appear at all to hamper their own chances for advancement. The most troubling result of this ambivalence is what she calls the “diversity bargain,” in which white students reluctantly agree with affirmative action as long as it benefits them by providing a diverse learning environment—racial diversity, in this way, is a commodity, a selling point on a brochure. And as Warikoo shows, universities play a big part in creating these situations. The way they talk about race on campus and the kinds of diversity programs they offer have a huge impact on student attitudes, shaping them either toward ambivalence or, in better cases, toward more productive and considerate understandings of racial difference. Ultimately, this book demonstrates just how slippery the notions of race, merit, and privilege can be. In doing so, it asks important questions not just about college admissions but what the elite students who have succeeded at it—who will be the world’s future leaders—will do with the social inequalities of the wider world.

By the New York Times bestselling author: a provocative account of the attack on the humanities, the rise of intolerance, and the erosion of serious learning America is in crisis, from the university to the workplace. Toxic ideas first spread by higher education have undermined humanistic values, fueled intolerance, and widened divisions in our larger culture. Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton? Oppressive. American history? Tyranny. Professors correcting grammar and spelling, or employers hiring by merit? Racist and sexist. Students emerge into the working world believing that human beings are defined by their skin color, gender, and sexual preference, and that oppression based on these characteristics is the American experience. Speech that challenges these campus orthodoxies is silenced with brute force. The Diversity Delusion argues that the root of this problem is the belief in America’s endemic racism and sexism, a belief that has engendered a metastasizing diversity bureaucracy in society and academia. Diversity commissars denounce meritocratic standards as discriminatory, enforce hiring quotas, and teach students and adults alike to think of themselves as perpetual victims. From #MeToo mania that blurs flirtations with criminal acts, to implicit bias and diversity compliance training that sees racism in every interaction, Heather Mac Donald argues that we are creating a nation of narrowed minds, primed for grievance, and that we are putting our competitive edge at risk. But there is hope in the works of authors, composers, and artists who have long inspired the best in us. Compiling the author’s decades of research and writing on the subject, The Diversity Delusion calls for a return to the classical liberal pursuits of open-minded inquiry and expression, by which everyone can discover a common humanity.

This book provides insightful accounts into the diversity program successes and promising practices by diversity officers working on college and university campuses in the United States.

Freedom of speech is a fundamental aspect of American democracy, and university campuses have historically been central to the free speech debate through serving as protectors of this constitutional right. In recent years, campuses have returned to the center of this debate as our notion of what kinds of speech are acceptable and how speech should be controlled continues to develop. With the rise of trigger warnings, designated free-speech zones, and controversial speakers being disinvited from lecturing at universities, the question of whether campuses continue to represent the future of free speech or symbolize its repression has become progressively urgent.

Illuminating the emerging importance of the diversity leader on college campuses, this book offers perspectives and narratives from diversity leaders at institutions of higher education. Becoming a Diversity Leader on Campus unpacks the tension of how diversity leadership is shaped by external factors and pressures that confront colleges and universities, as well as by the unique experiences and identities of the individuals appointed to diversity leadership positions. This book offers a better understanding of how diversity leaders make meaning and sense of their roles, desire, and passion for promoting diversity within their institutions. Chapter authors offer narratives that represent their realities regarding the concept of diversity leadership, how they came to be in their roles, and how diversity leaders do diversity work. This important resource provides practical strategies and guides faculty and higher education professionals in navigating the situational, contextual, and relational constructs within the social and cultural contexts of college and university campuses.

Exploring Campus Diversity:Case Studies and Exercises explores the realistic chain of events that happens on college and university campuses across the United States that involve issues of diversity and campus climate. Many of the real-life scenarios presented in the book are taken from actual events on university and college campuses. A full array of learning exercises is associated with each of the case studies, and problem-solving questions are presented to stimulate understanding of the situations and how they relate using thoughtful, critical, and reflective reasoning. Specifically, Exploring Campus Diversity examines diversity dilemmas pertaining to the challenges of expanding diversity and equity on American campuses. Experts from across the nation proffer problem-solving questions that are included at the end of each case study to guide the reader in ways of thinking about the diversity scenarios and deciding on appropriate ways to understand and recommend action to take in addressing the potential problem. Each case study offers examples of a possible challenge that a college or university might encounter in trying to deal with diversity, campus climate issues, or problematic policies. This book pushes the reader beyond the theoretical to the practical application of diversity principles in their everyday lives.

Creating Campus Cultures is the first book to explicitly focus on how campus cultures shape the experiences of racially diverse student populations.