Michigan State University Extension
Diversity and Pluralism - 11180269
12/95/
ERIC TITLE NUMBER: ED298991 AUTHOR: Harris, Zelema
TITLE: Institutional Commitment to Cultural Diversity.
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1988
NOTE: 11 p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (Chicago,
IL, March 8, 1988).
ABSTRACT: In 1987, one-third of the kindergarten students
in the United States were minority. These students will be
the pool from which institutions of higher education will
draw their college freshmen in the year 2000. The impact of
this increase in cultural and ethnic diversity will be
pervasive, especially with respect to broadening
European-oriented curricula to make them more inclusive of
other cultures. The changes that the colleges will face
must be approached systematically. Institutional commitment
to ethnic and cultural diversity from the executive level
must be in place before progress can be achieved. This
commitment must be reflected in recruitment and retention
efforts to increase the number of minority and female
faculty members, in activities to educate faculty members
who are insensitive to minorities and non-traditional
students, and in efforts to involve minority faculty
members in guiding institutional responses to diversity.
Student recruitment and retention efforts must focus on
reversing the trend toward declining rates of participation
of minority students in higher education; identifying
barriers to transfer and academic success; and developing
academic and personal support systems to ensure
achievement. Black colleges, which provide many role models
for students, promote high expectations, and foster
student/teacher interaction, have played an important role
in educating black youth, awarding an estimated 40% of all
of the degrees earned by black
students. The predominantly white colleges that have been
successful in graduating minority students share the views
that minority achievement is a preparation issue rather
than a racial issue, that the campus environment is
critical, and that the underrepresentation of minorities
within the faculty needs attention. All colleges prepare
themselves for the future if they begin to embrace the
changing student population now. (AJL)
KEY DESCRIPTORS: Academic-Achievement; Black-Colleges;
Black Students; Change-Strategies; Curriculum-Development;
Educational-Responsibility; Enrollment-Projections; Futures
of-Society; Higher-Education; Population-Trends; Student
Needs; Student-Recruitment
KEY DESCRIPTORS: *Affirmative-Action; *College-Students;
*Cultural-Pluralism; *Educational-Change; *Minority-Groups;
*School-Demography
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