© 2003 the president and fellows of harvard college educating all of one nation: best practices...
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© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Educating All of One Nation: Educating All of One Nation: Best Practices from the Best Practices from the National Campus Diversity National Campus Diversity ProjectProject
Educating All of One Nation ConferenceOctober 25, 2003Atlanta, Georgia
The National Campus Diversity ProjectHarvard Graduate School of [email protected]
Dean Whitla, [email protected]
Researchers:Elizabeth Flanagan, [email protected] Carolyn Howard, [email protected]
Presented by Frank Tuitt, [email protected] Reddick, [email protected]
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Why are we doing this research?Why are we doing this research?
Professional Schools Research– Law School Research– Medical School Research
Support from:– Atlantic Philanthropies– Ford Foundation– Mellon Foundation
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Goals of the National Campus Goals of the National Campus Diversity ProjectDiversity Project Identify best practices and characteristics
found in successful diversity initiatives Locate programs that have improved
academic achievement of underrepresented minority (URM) students and examine the components of these
Examine admissions policies and practices of schools
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Research Questions How do students, faculty, and staff describe…
– the campus’ efforts for inclusion and success of underrepresented minority students, faculty, and staff?
– Campus climate (the social, political, and cultural environment) and inter-racial group relations?
– Success in providing diversity in curricula, and teaching and learning?
– Success in providing co-curricular diversity programming?
– Perceptions of institutional transformation?
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Our School Selection ProcessOur School Selection Process
A minimum rate of structural diversity among student population
Higher than average retention rates of minority students
Special initiatives or Centers noted in the academic press/journals (e.g., UMD’s Diversity Web, UMichigan’s Center for Race and Ethnicity)
Recommendations from Advisory Board
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Categorization of Schools Based on:Categorization of Schools Based on:
Size Selectivity Funding Sources – Public vs. Private Geographic Region
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Research SampleResearch Sample Started with 101 schools that met our criteria Narrowed down to 50 NCDP has visited 28 campuses to date From the 28 campuses that we have visited, we
have interviewed:– 9 college presidents– 12 vice presidents or provosts– 120 faculty members– 250 administrators– Over 400 students
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Data CollectionData Collection Phone Interviews Web-based research Campus interviews Focus group interviews with students Existing literature and institutional research
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What constitutes a “model program?”What constitutes a “model program?” How successfully a campus strives for inclusion and success of URM
populations Campus climate and inter-group relations How students perceive campus success in providing curricula covering
diversity issues Administrative and institutional transformation In addition, successful or model programs exhibit the following
attributes– higher than average retention rates for URM students
– higher than average rates of achievement among URM students
– higher than average rates of multicultural programming in curricula.
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Structural Diversity
LeadershipDevelopment
Social/CulturalIntegration
AcademicSupport
RetentionActivities
RecruitmentActivities
Students
Human Capital
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Students: Recruitment Activities
Minority student recruitment officers on staff
Admissions office sponsors special recruitment programming
Contacts and links to minority students Student’s college prep program University has and supports a Minority
Alumni Recruitment network
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Financial Aid Need-blind financial aid Race-based scholarships (McNair, Mellon, HEOP)
– Programs are under fire in the anti-affirmative action era
Merit Awards– “Buying Students” (UVA, Northwestern, Agnes Scott)
High school-based scholarships (UT-Austin, Berkeley, UCLA)
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Students – Retention Activities
Academic Support Retention office (larger schools) Summer Prep Programs Year-Long (+) Academic Transition
Programs Scholarship Programs that create
Community through mentoring relationships and “culture of study”
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Leadership Development and Social/Cultural integration Service Learning Programs and Community
Organization Programs Living/Learning Cultural Centers
– Race-specific vs. Integrated• Offices vs. residential centers
• Multicultural advisors in residential centers vs. residence life staff
Responses to intolerance, prejudice and hate crimes (Stanford)
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Academic Enhancement Programs Academic Enhancement Programs for URM Studentsfor URM Students Model programs create a “culture of achievement”
for URM students who might otherwise associate academic achievement with social isolation
Instructors explicitly state that high standards are the criteria for success, challenging “stereotype threat”(Steele, 1999)
Virtually all model programs were in the SMET disciplines
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
University of Texas, Yale University, & University of Texas, Yale University, & Rice UniversityRice University
Texas’ “Emerging Scholars” (Derived from the University of California-Berkeley)
Yale’s STARS Program Rice’s Spend a Summer With a Scientist Program Carnegie Mellon, Mt. Holyoke, Occidental,
Northwestern, Stanford, the University of Florida, the University of Miami, Wellesley, and Williams College all have specific, very successful SMET programs for URM and female students
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Institutional Vision and TransformationInstitutional Vision and Transformation Leadership, vision, financial resources, college
institutional research and evaluation combine to form the Institutional capital of the college– Financial resources in our cohorts appear to play less of a role
Mission statements promoting diversity attached to a strategic plan or a commission updating such a plan
Campus assessment of various strengths and weaknesses with regard to diversity, or campus climate
Supportive, vocal Presidents have specific task forces, commissions, or better yet, administrative offices dedicated to follow through on strategic planning initiatives
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Mt Holyoke College & Occidental CollegeMt Holyoke College & Occidental College
High structural diversity at Mt Holyoke and Occidental
Institutional vision follows practice over time Faculty recruitment is strategic Students, administrators, and faculty know and
understand the efforts at these campuses via participation and information sharing
Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH) is making strides from reactive to proactive strategies to address diversity
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
University of Maryland & University of Maryland & Princeton UniversityPrinceton University Semester-long cross-cultural dialogue and
leadership retreats at Maryland (similar programs are also at Arizona State, UMass, and the University of Michigan)
Sustained Dialogue at Princeton (similar programs at the University of Virginia and Mt. Holyoke)
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Aspects of Curriculum Transformation
There are a few full ethnic/specialty departments (e.g., African American, Latino, and Women’s Studies) that a have range of courses
Transformation is typically spurred by diverse faculty
A very few schools have mandatory enrollment in one or more courses that focuses on social justice issues; or history, status, achievement of diverse groups
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Curriculum Transformation continued
Course Development funds – Exist at some schools but are often too few at most– At a few schools (e.g., UC Berkeley, U Maryland,
Stanford, U Michigan), course core requirements have spurred sincere interest in course development
Teaching and Learning Centers for faculty do exist– Workshops offered for faculty and staff encouraging
interdisciplinary methods or diversity issues content– However, many are underused by the very professors
who need the training
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Teaching and Learning Challenges (for students) Negative Class Room Experiences
– Native Informants
– Perceptions of White Professors
– Perceptions of Faculty of Color
– Challenges from White students and faculty
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Challenges for URM professors Lack of community due to few professors
and administrators of color Administrative burden of being “point
person for diversity” Overextension in being many things for
many people – colleagues, students and community members alike
The faculty reward system
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Positive Teaching and Learning Experiences Faculty-Student Engagement Creates the space for Diverse Perspectives White students have the chance to explore
assumptions Student-to-Student Engagement Attentiveness to how students are
experiencing the learning environment
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Student Concerns ‘Mainstream’ campus population doesn’t attend or
appreciate events Concern about retention of their minority peers Inadequate response by Senior Administration General isolation from faculty and administrators Classroom experiences need enhancement Frequently diversity program directors and staff
are not viewed as “mainstream” Social isolation Exhaustion about “doing it all”
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Summarizing Thoughts More “model programs” than “model institutions” Students of color experience the institution
differently from mainstream students – despite programming
Communities of color are finding fewer students committed to the traditional values of organizations– Communities are changing– Activism generally seems not as strong today– integrated programs vs. concentrated programs –
both are necessary
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Attributes of Successful ProgramsAttributes of Successful ProgramsVocal and active commitment from
senior administrators with regard to diversity initiatives
Institutionalized administrative support for such initiatives (e.g., Offices of Multicultural Affairs)
Opportunities for meaningful cross-cultural dialogue through community service or intercultural dialogue programs
© 2003 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
More Attributes of Successful More Attributes of Successful ProgramsPrograms
Programs targeted specifically for promoting the achievement of URM students
Faculty and staff training and support on diversity issues
Majority student engagement in events and in the classroom
Crisis prevention and intervention through explicit protocols and preventive education