Promoting Diversity: An Important Responsibility of Higher Ed

Dr. Maria Hesse, President CGCC, recommended this article as a guest feature for our leadership column. We appreciate President Rao for permission to feature this article which was first printed in the e-magazine, Solutions for Our Future.

Michael Rao, President
Central Michigan University
January 26, 2008

We face challenging times in America. Fundamentally, we have the incredible charge of figuring out how we as a people—in our own nation and around the world—will live together without harming or intimidating each other simply based on our differences. While it appears that there is a longstanding human tendency for some to harm others who are unlike themselves, there is also a human ability to rise above this by using our intellect to understand the complexities that come from differences: complexities that are real, complexities that are important to our existence and understanding, complexities that might help us figure out how life is supposed to work and what it means.

The recent spike in racial incidents that have occurred on university campuses around the country underscores the scope of this burgeoning societal issue. Colleges and universities cannot expect to be excluded from acts of hate. In fact, as learning communities, we should lead people to engage in thoughtful and candid dialogue about these issues and utilize these low moments as opportunities to educate ourselves about diversity-related issues and the importance of inclusion.

To reignite this important dialogue in our community, Central Michigan University recently welcomed renowned psychologist and multicultural scholar Derald Wing Sue to participate in a public diversity forum. Sue drew attention to the uncomfortable truth that everyone holds biases, stereotypes, and misinformation about certain groups in our society. He asserted that the first step to becoming more culturally sensitive is to recognize how our thoughts, actions, and feelings reflect these biases in small public displays called microaggressions.

Sue et al. define racial microaggressions as “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color.” These phenomena also can extend beyond race to target gender and sexual orientation. Although, as Sue states, “perpetrators of [racial] microaggressions are often unaware that they engage in such communications when they interact with racial/ethnic minorities,” these subtle snubs, dismissive looks, and other automatic but detrimental behaviors create inequity and propagate racist attitudes in society.  

Higher education institutions can play a lead role in helping avert the development of racism by infusing cultural competence learning objectives throughout the curricula and by facilitating and encouraging personal interaction between all members of our communities. As Sue states, “To become culturally sensitive, aware and competent is not an intellectual process alone, but an experiential exercise.”

As a faculty, we decided long ago that diversity is a very important part of everyone’s learning experience because it is fundamentally important to educational excellence and understanding the human experience. Wisdom tells us that there is much to gain from differences: understanding them, embracing them as opportunities, and achieving civility and honesty. Ultimately, we are all served best if we envision and then realize university communities that are microcosms of the world.

Current research and social science theory maintains that students learn more successfully in racially and ethnically diverse environments and that these students are, in turn, better prepared to actively participate in and strengthen our democratic society. A university community that embraces differences, values justice, and treats all people with respect and professionalism contributes much to the peaceful and civil future of humankind and serves as a model for all of us.

Universities must, with a single voice, denounce all acts and symbols of hate, bias, and intimidation on and off of our campuses. We must continue to work together to recognize and reduce microaggressions and prejudices. We are obliged to foster a general appreciation for individual differences and enlighten our students, staff, and community members about the myriad benefits of living, learning, and working in a diverse environment.

Intolerance in any form goes against what we as higher education professionals are here to achieve: to gain a true understanding of how to work and exist together, with all of our differences, and to live our lives more fully appreciating what it means to be human. Our work to promote diversity, respect, and acceptance of all human beings is perhaps one of the most important roles we play, for it is our differences that will ultimately help us succeed together as a people.