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By Karen Gentry | Knowledge
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WEST MICHIGAN – Colleges and universities across the region may define diversity in different ways, but they agree that inclusion serves as a key facet of a balanced educational experience.
Post Proposal 2, Michigan public universities are prevented from race- or gender-based recruiting, but the schools still value diversity, according to officials Knowledge spoke with for this report.
Christina Arnold, director of the Bob and Aleicia Woodrick Diversity Learning Center at Grand Rapids Community College, said GRCC takes pride in how it defines diversity. “People often think of race. Our definition is so much broader – there’s gender, sexual orientation, disability, diversity of thought, age – any dimension of diversity you can think of is reflected in our programming at our center,” Arnold told Knowledge.
The focus at Kalamazoo College is on creating an inclusive community, said Sara Westfall, VP of student development and dean of students. “We don’t think of diversity as being an issue of color. We also care very much about diversity in terms of religious and cultural background, national origin, gender identity and neuro-diversity,” Westfall said. “It’s really about human diversity and having a campus that is inclusive so nobody is left at the fringes. We respect socio-economic class and gender as much as we do color and religion.”
Meanwhile, Davenport University thinks of diversity in multi-faceted, broadly defined terms, according to Dave Veneklase, executive VP of organizational development. “As an organization that values diversity, we will establish an open environment where multiple viewpoints are valued and intentionally work to ensure that people from a wide range of backgrounds are valued,” Veneklase told Knowledge.
For Hope College, diversity is part of the college’s approach to international and multi-cultural education and part of the curriculum and general education program, according to Alfredo Gonzales, associate provost and dean of international and multicultural education for Hope College. “As with other disciplines such as history, art, political science, biology, psychology, mathematics and music, diversity is an essential component of a Hope education,” Gonzales told Knowledge.
Martha Warfield, associate VP of diversity and inclusion at Western Michigan University, said WMU President John Dunn identified diversity as one of three pillars for the future in a 2009 address. She said diversity at WMU encompasses inclusion, acceptance, respect and empowerment.
According to WMU, diversity includes the dimensions of race, ethnicity, and national and regional origins; sex gender identity and sexual orientation; socioeconomic status, age, physical attributes and abilities, as well as religious, political, cultural, and intellectual ideologies and practices.
Area colleges and universities have many programs in place for staff and students to encourage and discuss diversity and recruit and retain a diverse student body.
Making strides
While private schools are free to operate outside of Proposal 2’s restrictions, public schools can’t set goals or specifically target a given population based on ethnicity, race or sex. Despite that ban, WMU has increased its African American population by 200 students and its international students by 200 individuals, a feat attributed to Detroit outreach efforts, the Kalamazoo Promise, relationships with the Dominican Republic and the Confucius Institute, working with state and American Indian tribes and outreach to Hispanic communities in Southwest Michigan. The Division of Multicultural Affairs offers academic support services and cultural awareness programs to support and retain students.
One of GRCC’s key diversity initiatives is its Diversity Lecture Series now in its 16th year. The series, which kicks off Sept. 29 this year, brings in five nationally known speakers who speak on a range of topics. Arnold said GRCC also has the largest annual Martin Luther King celebration featuring a speaker and a march during the day. Many courses also fall under diversity awareness, including women’s studies and African American history. Diversity training is also offered through the Diversity Learning Center.
“Students are very interested and very willing to engage in these learning activities,” said Arnold, noting that GRCC is also home to many student organizations including the Black Student Union, Hispanic Student Union and groups for women and Asian Americans.
The Diversity Learning Center also offers training for students, staff and community members through the Institute for Healing Racism, which focuses on the history of racism in the U.S. and offers fee-based services on diversity to businesses, nonprofits and educational institutions.
Hope College’s Upward Bound Program and Children’s After School Achievement program are two initiatives designed to attract a student body more inclusive of the entire community. The Upward Bound Program is one of the oldest programs in the nation designed to serve underrepresented students, while the CASA program serves more than 100 at-risk students in first through fifth grades in local elementary schools. Gonzales said Hope College also hosts educational conferences for local organizations such as Latin Americans United for Progress and the Ethnic Diversity Alliance.
“Underrepresented students now comprise over 12 percent of the total student body. Minority and international faculty now make up over 11 percent of our total faculty group,” Gonzales said.
Diversity initiatives are also part of many of Hope’s academic departments and through student organizations such as the Black Student Union, Hope Asian Perspective Association, La Raza Unida, International Relations Club, Delta Sigma Theta and the National Society of Black Engineers. Hope College also has more than 200 study abroad programs.
Currently, one third of Davenport students are minorities, up from 30 percent in 2007. Veneklase said Davenport students formed the Global Student Organization in 2008. This year a “Diversity Audit” was conducted by the university through Stratus Group Inc. to identify issues and needs of students, faculty and staff. Davenport also plans to hire a director of diversity, equity and inclusion and form a diversity, equity and inclusion council this September. The council will help develop programs and strategies to advance diversity and inclusion.
One of Calvin College’s most successful efforts to recruit a diverse student body is a pre-college program for 11th and 12th graders, according to Michelle Loyd-Paige, dean of multicultural affairs at Calvin College. Through a four-week summer course, students take a class in subjects such as biology, sociology and history and are part of a mentoring support system, social and faith-building activities. Loyd-Paige said most of the 75 participants this summer were minority students.
Calvin also promotes its Grass Roots floor, a living and learning community where students immerse themselves in issues of diversity and racism. A mixture of American, international and underrepresented minorities can sign up to live on the floor.
“One of the advantages of living on a floor like that is that you are living with people who are lookingforward to discussing issues of race and ethnicity,” Loyd-Paige said. “The Grass Roots floor is attracting students of color and white students who understand it’s a diverse world and they want to celebrate that. This is something that is attractive to them.”
Calvin faculty members are also involved in making sure curriculum is multicultural with its content and assignments in all subject areas. Faculty members also take part in book reading groups and conferences on diversity. Calvin also participates in the Partners for Racism Free Community, a Grand Rapids area organization that grew out of the Summit on Racism.
At K College, about 20 percent of the incoming student body are students of color, with more than 10 percent being international students, according to Westfall. She said 40 staff members have completed diversity and inclusion training. There are specific student organizations for African Americans, Latinos, and GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) individuals.
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