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Introduction In 1994, the Center for Diversity and Multicultural Studies was established to provide a focal point for diversity activities. Under presidential leadership and in line with "pluralism and diversity" directives from the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York, the center's executive committee was charged with developing a diversity plan to further channel Brooklyn College's proactive activities in this important endeavor. During the past two decades, institutions of higher education have struggled to incorporate diversity concepts into the curriculum and promote awareness of these concepts among students, faculty, and professional staff. Institutions are aware that in many respects the landscape before them still retains a variety of attributes that militate against change. However, shifting demographics and the growing recognition that diversity deepens intercultural understanding are potent incentives for the development of strong institutional initiatives to position colleges to meet successfully the challenges of the twenty-first century. The starting point for Brooklyn College's initiative is the demonstrated support and firm commitment to the principles of diversity and pluralism evinced by the college's administration. These are manifest in such official statements and policies as Brooklyn College: The Year 2000 and Beyond, Shaping the Future, the Master Planning Committee Report, and presidential reports on campus racial and ethnic relations written since 1985; and such actions as the hiring of a more diverse faculty and staff, the establishment of an Office of Affirmative Action, continued support for ethnic and women's studies, and the college's increasingly proactive work in the development of the communities surrounding the campus. The initiative builds upon the wide array of existing college practices and attempts to translate pedagogical, legal, moral, and demographic imperatives into an action model. It is intended as a guide for the creative and flexible infusion of diversity into the curricular and administrative policies, practices, and processes. Background Having men, women, people of color, persons from different religions and age groups, and individuals with disabilities in leadership and management roles is essential in higher education institutions. Such diversity encourages new program development and institutional innovation while also mitigating the all-too-human tendency to follow unexamined practices, which sometimes continue though they have ceased to be effective. Ideally, the richness and diversity of the borough's cultural and intellectual life should be reflected in every aspect of the college's institutional life. The more points of view and the more references of experience there are, the more options will appear in response to problems and opportunities. As University of Michigan President James Duderstadt noted, "without a [university] population that mirrors that of our complex world, we cannot hope to educate ourselves to be citizens of the world" (1995 Information Gateway Project). Through strategic planning, Brooklyn College can maintain its leading role and national reputation among the premier urban public higher education institutions. While our approach to diversity must be grounded in the college's specific institutional history and culture, we must also look outward to the experiences of other educational and corporate institutions, including Brown, Columbia, Harvard, the New School, Rutgers, the University of Wisconsin, and Xerox, all of which have made strides in addressing diversity. Defining Diversity Despite some restraints, most institutions of higher education demonstrate a commitment to the principles of affirmative action. Qualified and capable women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans have been hired. Indeed, affirmative action provides the cornerstone and a continuum for a meaningful diversity effort. Yet even the fair and committed need to go beyond affirmative action if we are truly to advance the institution. Our evolving definition of diversity suggests that, in both theory and practice, inclusiveness and demographic pedagogical principles are essential to an environment in which students, faculty, and staff appreciate and celebrate differences in culture, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, class, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, and age. This perspective holds that knowledge of diverse cultures allows us to better construct new theories, guide research, improve social relations and, ultimately, deepen our understanding of human commonality and universalism. Brooklyn College's approach seeks to strike a balance between pluralism/diversity and distinct group experiences/needs. This is an inclusive learning and community transformation process that goes beyond mere numerical diversity, choosing instead to place a prescriptive value on interactive diversity as an institutional and educational norm. Objectives The college's first strategic plan and comprehensive approach posits both short- and long-term actions that will effectively communicate the extraordinary educational significance attendant to preparing students for the diverse, pluralistic society of the next century. These objectives are to: •
open and transform the lines of communications about issues of intercultural
relations, Recommendations The recommendations may be categorized as structural, human development, resource allocation, and programmatic in nature. They cover administrative action, governance, student life, faculty development, curriculum reform, and community relations. In the final analysis, these recommendations reflect a broad brush for both action and process to address the central issue of changing the institutional culture in a political and state budgetary environment that is hostile to diversity (Reframing the Institution, Bolman and Deal, 1991). As a coordinated, collegewide undertaking, these recommendations cast an attainable vision. Administrative/Structural Efforts to institutionalize diversity should include the following: 1. Requirement for departmental, programmatic reviews and/or annual reports that examine gender, ethnicity, and other equity issues as part of the unit's self-study assessment. The review should address the unit's strengths, weaknesses, and actions taken with respect to diversity in order to provide comparative data, policy feedback, and a basis for vice-presidential evaluation of the success of implementation efforts. The reviews and accompanying analyses should be submitted to the president for appropriate action as part of institutional program planning. 2. Expansion of financial and administrative support for the Center for Diversity and Multicultural Studies as the dynamic focal point in the college's diversity process. 3. Provision of staffing and financial incentives to individuals and units that undertake diversity initiatives with respect to the curriculum and the workforce. 4. Continuation of staffing and support from the senior-level administration for the director of Affirmative Action in order to enhance the office's ability to play a leadership role in grappling with the broader challenges presented by diversity. 5. Identification, with the assistance of the Office of Development, of donors who will create by 2002 a funding base to support at least two endowed or enhanced interdepartmental faculty chairs that will bring to the campus scholars from underrepresented ethnic/racial minority groups in order to facilitate building a critical mass of such faculty. 6. Creation of shared and joint faculty lines with the Center for Diversity and Multicultural Studies and among academic departments so that diversity may be linked to interdisciplinary, interdepartmental studies. 7. Utilization of the faculty and student leadership of the Honors Academy so that diversity planning becomes an integral part of all honors and special program areas. 8. Establishment of a college-community board of civic, political, religious, business, and academic leaders to improve the public perception of access, quality, outreach, and constructive community relations. "Town meetings" and other opportunities for exchange of views and ideas, as well as community development projects, should be encouraged and aided by faculty expertise. 9. Creation of a committee that is charged with developing a conflict-resolution mechanism that might be modeled after the college's Sexual Harassment Advisory Panel. 10. Review of all college committees to ensure gender and ethnic diversity. Human Resources A key to diversity is ongoing faculty and staff development and training. In-house mechanisms and resources should be established and/or enhanced (e.g., the Center for Teaching, the Multicultural Studies Council) to provide for a continuing process of intellectual renewal that is in step with diversity goals. Other measures include: 1. Creation of a multicultural resources booklet. 2. Creation of exit interviews and a diversity component added to performance evaluations. 3. Inclusion of visible aspects of the diversity of the Brooklyn College community in all campus publications. 4. Provision of appropriate enrichment, sponsorship, and support programs for professional women, individuals with disabilities, people of color, and other underrepresented groups to assist them in developing their leadership capabilities. 5. Support of professional staff in entry- and mid-level management positions as they pursue graduate-level educational programs. 6. Establishment of a program (e.g., three- to six-month internships in specific administrative areas) in which senior-level administrators serve as mentors to talented members of the professional staff and faculty who have leadership aspirations. 7. Development of a "bridge-building" course for managers to help them develop the skills necessary to ensure a welcoming environment for all members of a diverse workforce. Student Life Student-based services and activities need to be enhanced to facilitate student diversity and students' successful navigation through academic and administrative processes. Such measures include: 1. Incorporating a multicultural/diversity component into orientation programs for incoming and transfer students and student leadership-training seminars. 2. Providing resources for the Multicultural Assembly to facilitate cross-cultural student club projects. 3. Developing a multicultural approach/component for the Student Handbook. 4. Institutionalizing the celebration of nationally designated months for women's history, black history, and Asian American, Native American, and Latino heritages. 5. Undertaking an assessment/survey of the student population to explore ways of expanding outreach to underserved and underrepresented communities. 6. Supporting enrollment and recruitment planning that incorporates the goal of maintaining a diverse student body. 7. Undertaking a review of student counseling for the purpose of student retention, focusing on language, age, culture, and other special situations faced by students. 8. Strengthening ties with graduate pipeline programs that have a diversity component. 9. Establishing criteria and procedures for routine reviews of scholarships, awards, and all other financial support, from whatever source, in order to ensure that there is an open and equitable process for all students. 10. Establishing diversity scholarships for underrepresented students where permissible. 11. Creating a student recognition day and awards for clubs or individuals building bridges among cultures. 12. Conducting workshops and tutorials for students with disabilities who need academic help. 13. Facilitating student input that reflects the diversity of the student body on college search and other committees. Faculty Immediate steps will be taken to improve the faculty's diversity profile, including, but not limited to: 1. Development of new faculty lines and hiring protocols, including articulations with pipeline programs and departmental retention programs that will protect talented, diverse junior members of the faculty and that promote the value of diversity. 2. Allocation of funds for outreach efforts directed toward recruiting in order to enhance and upgrade faculty searches at both the junior and senior levels for departments and disciplines in which affirmative action goals have been established so that a critical mass is built in areas where there is underrepresentation of minorities and women (see, for example, the Queens College Diversity Fund). 3. Development of formal methods and strategies for mentoring and advising in order to improve the status of women, people of color, and others in the sciences and other academic areas in which there is underrepresentation or clustering. 4. Review and implementation of appropriate pay equity differentials. 5. Development of methods, forums, and workshops for helping faculty incorporate information on diversity into their courses. An example of this kind of action is the Presidential Resource Grant, which enabled the Center for Teaching to hold a conference on multiculturalism (fall 1996). 6. The enhancement of orientation programs for new faculty and teaching assistants to include methods of incorporating diversity materials in course content and pedagogy. Curriculum A diverse interdisciplinary curriculum requires diverse faculty with interdisciplinary skills (Boyer, 1995). The college must undertake an interdisciplinary model of faculty and curriculum diversity as these elements are mutually dependent. As noted in Brooklyn College: The Year 2000 and Beyond (page 8), a "Multicultural environment [should be viewed] as a springboard to a global education." The following activities will be implemented: 1. Restructuring of science, mathematics, and other courses to broaden the focus and to integrate the constructs of class, race, gender and gender orientation, and diverse cultural perspectives across the curriculum and throughout the academic life of the college. (See, for example, the Core 3 reader, People, Power, Politics, as a model product of this type of effort.) 2. Facilitation of innovative departmental collaborations for shared courses and faculty as a way to encourage diversity. 3. Creation of an Asian American studies component to address underrepresentation in the curriculum. 4. Enhancement of ethnic and women's studies programs with incentives that encourage and facilitate interdepartmental collaboration. 5. Enhancement of bilingual education efforts, recognizing that linguistic diversity plays a significant role on campus. 6. Promotion of Community Service Internships across the curriculum as a key link between campus and community diversity and interaction. Resources The college must reexamine the budget and resource allocation process and priorities in the light of the diversity imperative. Planning and Budget Committee decisions should, as a matter of course, demonstrate that diversity has been taken into account when making resource allocations. 1. The college should undertake a major capital campaign to secure unrestricted funds for the support of diversity and other projects (see, for example, the Rutgers $5.5 million "Campaign for Community, Diversity, and Educational Excellence"). 2. In addition, the college should actively pursue grants and endowments that can be targeted for visiting professorships, postdoctoral fellowships, and exchange programs involving underrepresented populations. It is anticipated that this Diversity Plan will undergo modification as warranted by experience and assessment of implementation strategies; annual presidential progress evaluations; a heightened awareness of diversity in resource allocation, curriculum development, student life, governance, and faculty and staff composition; and the strengthening of ties with the community. For additional information, contact:
Office of Affirmative Action, Compliance, and Diversity
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