Although Latino enrollment in higher education has increased as the US Latino population has grown (Latinos now outnumber African Americans), more often than not Latinos begin their college education in community colleges or less selective four-year institutions--institutional types with lower persistence and completion rates in general. Moreover,…

For the past fourteen years, the author has been a campus leader in efforts to diversify the faculty. He has raised diversity issues in search committees, met with candidates of color when they visited campus, served as a mentor to incoming faculty, helped to develop a faculty diversity initiative, and led discussions on retaining faculty of…

Efforts to diversify university faculties began almost forty years ago. Since then, the number of white women faculty and faculty of color on U.S. campuses has grown slowly but steadily. At the same time, the explanatory framework for this shift--what they call the "terms of inclusion"--has changed profoundly. "Diversity" and "excellence" were…

The author of this article was particularly intrigued with an observation made in a paper written by one of her students in a graduate seminar on the philosophy of higher education. Most class members wrote about contemporary issues, but this student focused instead on mentoring in the medieval church. He reported that both the eastern and western…

Institutions embrace diversity in theory, but they do not do much to implement it. Their inadequate support for ethnic studies is a case in point. The "managing differences" model of diversity does not seriously question the status quo. Current diversity efforts on campus help perpetuate the racial order as historically constructed, with…

Emphasizing the value of difference may protect affirmative action while reinforcing inequalities. While education shows great concern for multiple perspectives, it uses diversity to preserve affirmative action. Though research indicates diversity has educational value, its use of prevailing academic practices reinforces the status quo. The main…

Investigated how the job market treats potential faculty members, particularly minorities. Results debunked many prevailing myths about diversifying the faculty (e.g., the scarcity of minority faculty means that institutions must compete to hire them). Strategies and issues for consideration when institutions are exploring diversity are discussed,…

Journalists and college professors deserve certain privileges, including freedom of speech and academic freedom, but they must adapt their work to increasingly diverse populations. They must confront public mistrust, convince people that these freedoms are worthwhile, and protect essential public rights through what they study and teach and to…

Though diversity is essential on college campuses, recruiting and retaining faculty of color remains an extremely difficult challenge. Research shows that encouraging diversity among faculty and students promotes better teaching and learning and encourages better scholarship. Since the 1970s, new courses have proliferated in many disciplines, and…

Faculty of color are severely underrepresented in American higher education; they make up just over 10 percent of full-time undergraduate professors. Many in academe are familiar with this statistic and know that progress in increasing the presence of faculty of color on U.S. campuses has been slow. They are also aware, however, that students of…