A friend recently sent me an editorial decrying the focus on diversity at America's colleges and universities. The writer was clearly convinced that academic institutions are trying to pull a fast one on the public by promoting a sneaky move toward affirmative action. His proof rested on the observation that you can find administrative officers at colleges everywhere whose title carries the "d" word alongside their names. The reason this writer thought this was bad was that in his view America is already thoroughly diverse and yep, it always has been diverse, why his ancestors came here from Ireland and had a tough time way back when, and really there's nothing to talk about.
About two years ago when I was chairing the Ohio State University's College of Humanities Diversity Committee I received a bristling e-mail from a student who was affiliated with the new conservative student newspaper on campus.
He'd found my name alongside the "d" word and he fired off a terse note wondering if I could comment as an authority on diversity why there wasn't a program in "white studies" at our institution. I wrote him back promptly and thanked him for his interest in the undergraduate curriculum at Ohio State and I urged him to visit me during my regular office hours. I told him that the university's explorations of cultural diversity do indeed include the experiences and heritages of white people. Did he know that one can pursue "Irish Studies"; "English literature and history"; "European literature and history"; "American Studies" and on and on I went--Scandinavian Studies; Icelandic Studies; heck, even French.
Since this particular student had revealed that his own heritage was essentially Irish I encouraged him to visit me so I could help him map out a good sequence of courses on Irish literature and history. Did he know, I asked, that Ohio State's library has a considerable Irish manuscript collection?
You guessed it. I never heard from that student again. He didn't really want to study diversity if it meant actually signing up for classes.
This is of course the true problem with higher education. One has to read books and engage in research. Why bother to read about the experiences of the Norwegians in North America? Why not just decry those students who want to know about the Jewish diaspora or the history of American slave narratives. Why not sneer at people who want to sharpen their intellectual rigor while gaining invaluable job skills?
Sneering at intellectual life is much easier than entering it.
One of the great glories of America is it's national excellence in higher education. The last time I looked that commitment was entirely democratic.
Why do colleges and universities hire administrators to think about diversity?
Because people need assistance in all kinds of ways. There's an ADA Coordinator to make sure that the wheelchair ramps are safe and that information technology will work for students and staff with disabilities. There's a director of the African-American Center to make sure that students will have information about courses and visiting speakers and new kinds of scholarships.
The guy who wrote the column decrying this would argue that no one helped his ancestors.
Not true.
He could take a good course on the history of Irish labor unions in 19th century America.
But that would mean going back to school. Why bother? There's nothing to be learned about the lives of emigrants or the history of American tolerance.
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Great post, and a great blog. Thanks.
Posted by: Viveth | November 06, 2006 at 11:10 AM