Once
again, all higher education institutions, especially selective public
universities, have been confronted by the continuing issues surrounding the
role of diversity on our campuses.
It is certainly an American set of issues, but not uniquely so. One of the outcomes of globalization
and global mobility is that increasing diversity – religious, ethnic, racial,
economic – is raising a host of questions, problems, and issues at colleges and
universities across the world.
American higher education has been grappling with the questions,
problems, and issues for decades, but with mixed success, as is evident from
the recent Supreme Court decision.
I
think one of the difficulties is that our focus on creating and accommodating
diversity has generated suspicion among many Americans about our motives, and
whether there is any underlying and principled rationale for building
diversity, or even attending to it at all. Most American colleges and universities believe that
diversity is central and important. Judging by the briefs filed in this and
other cases, many sectors of our society also believe that diversity is
important, even critical. The
decision in Fisher v. Texas, and much
of the accompanying commentary, suggests that we have not yet provided a
compelling rationale for our convictions about the importance of diversity, at
least to a sizable fraction of our fellow citizens and several members of the
Supreme Court. I think it is
possible to do so.
At
the University of Rhode Island, and at many other universities, two relatively
recent forces influence our commitment to diversity: the burgeoning diversity
of our own country, and the impact of the global economy and an increasingly
globalized society. It is an
educational imperative that we prepare our students to thrive in contexts where
they have to work effectively with people who do not look like they do, who do
not share the same world view, assumptions, politics, economic status,
religion, sexual orientation, or fundamental beliefs. Our graduates must be able to find common ground and develop
shared goals with an enormous variety of others. The massive global challenges they will face cannot be
solved or overcome by a single nation or group. Truly, the security, prosperity, and health of our students
will depend upon their success in living and working productively in a world
and country where they are, in effect, a minority.
Frequently, fractious and divisive forces in our society hinder our efforts to provide our students with the knowledge and skills they need to
succeed. To mitigate these
influences, I think it is critical to foster a community on campus where every
member is valued, respected, welcomed, and affirmed. We do not need to agree with one another, or even to have
much in common, in order to create such a community. We have this in common –
we all wish to be valued, respected, welcomed, and affirmed as a person. One of the finest attributes of a
residential campus is the possibility of creating such a community – a
community that encompasses the students, faculty, and staff and extends
throughout the dorms, dining facilities, libraries, gyms, classrooms, and
offices of the university.
Creating such a community is part of the foundation for equity and
justice, not just on the campus, but also in the societies in which we live and
work.
As
a step towards that goal, the University of Rhode Island, through the Office of
Community, Equity, and Diversity (and co-sponsored by the Division of Student
Affairs, the Office of the Provost, and the Office of the President) put
together a continuing event termed “20,000 Voices”, to reflect the fact that
URI is striving to build a community where all 20,000 members have a voice. The exciting work begun in the daylong
initial event continues through the work of discussion groups, committees, and
organizations. I have no doubt
that these efforts will substantially assist URI in becoming the kind of
community of which all 20,000 of us will feel proud. (See uri.edu/diversity/voices
and the recent edition of Quadangles uri.edu/quadangles
for more information.) Thanks very
much to everyone who is participating. If you haven’t been involved so far,
there are still many opportunities to make a difference.
