From Diversity to Inclusion: Challenges and Opportunities at an Urban Community College

Authors

  • Vanessa Marie Bing LaGuardia Community College, CUNY
  • Jason Hendrickson LaGuardia Community College, CUNY
  • Wendy Nicholson LaGuardia Community College, CUNY

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55370/dsj.v5i(1)%20Spring.960

Keywords:

Diversity, Inclusion, Race, Adult Learning, Community College

Abstract

Diversity is and has been heralded as a cornerstone among high-impact practices within adult education in the United States. It embodies a larger ethos and culture within a campus, including the demography of the student body, staff, and faculty, as well as institutional memory. Yet, diversity is not enough. Inclusion is undervalued, which goes beyond taking solace in bringing together diverse bodies within the room; rather, inclusion requires an institutional response that ensures that these high-impact practices are fully realized. This paper examines the efforts undertaken at an urban community college where the student body reflects racial and cultural diversity in name and number, but where a broad group of faculty and staff confront and openly examine threats to equity and inclusion. It draws upon experiential insight and scholarship while providing recommendations that will allow stakeholders to consider the perpetuation of privilege at their institutions.

Author Biographies

Vanessa Marie Bing, LaGuardia Community College, CUNY

Vanessa M. Bing, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology and Chairperson of the Social Science Department at LaGuardia Community College of the City University of New York. She is the founder and co-chair of the Faculty and Staff of Color Collective at LaGuardia, and is committed to supporting efforts to create a more inclusive college community. Dr. Bing has published academic articles addressing minority and gender issues in psychology, particularly trauma and gender violence, and has lectured and provided training on the topic of implicit bias and microaggressions in work and educational settings.

Jason Hendrickson, LaGuardia Community College, CUNY

Jason T. Hendrickson, Ph.D., is assistant professor of English at LaGuardia Community College at the City University of New York. Dr. Hendrickson's research interests include educational equity and access, 19th century poetry, hip-hop studies, and gender studies. His scholarship combines literary analysis with contemporary issues of social justice. Committed to promoting equity and access to students, faculty, and staff alike, Dr. Hendrickson serves as co-chair of the Faculty and Staff of Color Collective and the annual Black Lives Matter Summit on campus.

Wendy Nicholson, LaGuardia Community College, CUNY

Wendy M. Nicholson, MPA, is the CUNY LEADS Advisor at LaGuardia Community College, an adjunct professor at John Jay College, and an instructor at the Queensboro Correctional Facility. She is an advocate for, and is dedicated to improving the quality of life of, the members of underserved and underrepresented communities. Wendy is currently pursuing her doctorate in Public Administration at the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration. Her research interests include the role of race and racism at the nexus of educational, criminal justice, and governmental budgeting policies, diversity and inclusion, and Critical Race Theory.

References

Anderson, E. (2015). The white space. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 1(1), 10-21.

Association of American Colleges and Universities (2011). The LEAP vision for learning:

Outcomes, practices, and employers’ views. Washington, DC: Association of

American Colleges and Universities.

Berrey, E. (2015). The enigma of diversity: The language of race and the limits of racial justice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Bowman, N. (2013). How Much Diversity is Enough? The Curvilinear Relationship Between College Diversity Interactions and First-Year Student Outcomes. Research in Higher Education. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-013-9300-0

Chang, Mitchell J., Jeffrey F. Milem, and A. L. Antonio. "Campus climate and diversity." Student services: A handbook for the profession (2011): 43-58.

Chun, C.P. (2016). Best practices of affinity groups in independent schools. Dissertation, Pepperdine University. Retrieved from https://pqdtopen.proquest.com/doc/1846101741.html?FMT=ABS

Credit Suisse, (2012). Gender diversity and corporate performance. Retrieved from https://infocus.creditsuisse.com/data/_product_documents/_shop/360145/csri_gender_diversity_and_ corporate_performance.pdf

Dartmouth College (2017). Annual Report on Faculty Diversity & Inclusivity 2015-2016. Retrieved from https://www.dartmouth.edu/~provost/faculty_development_diversity/2017annualreportonfacultydiversity.pdf

Gasman, M., Abiola, U., Travers, C., & Worthington, Roger L. (2015). Diversity and Senior Leadership at Elite Institutions of Higher Education. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 8(1), 1-14

Giordano, R. (2010, October 29.) Adults who need basic education turn to community colleges. Retrieved from https://hechingerreport.org/adults-who-need-basic-education-turn-to-community-colleges/.

Gurin, P, Dey, E.L., Hurtado, S. & Gurin, G. (2002). Diversity and Higher Education: Theory and Impact on Educational Outcomes. Harvard Educational Review, 72(3), pp. 330-366. Retrieved from https://igr.umich.edu/files/igr/Diversity%20and%20Higher%20Education.pdf

Hurtado, S. (1992). The campus racial climate: Contexts of conflict. Journal of Higher Education, 63(5), 539-569.

Hurtado, S., Alvarez, C.L., Guillermo-Wann, C., Cuellar, M., & Arellano, L. (2012). A Model for Diverse Learning Environments: The Scholarship on Creating and Assessing Conditions for Student Success. In J. C. Smart & M. B. Paulsen (eds.), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research (pp. 42-122). New York, NY: Springer. Retrieved from https://odi.osu.edu/uploads/A_Model_for_Diverse_Learning_Environments.pdf

Jackson, A. & Rice, C. (2017, March 30). Ivy league colleges offer free tuition to certain students – here’s how financial aid packages stack up. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-ivy-league-financial-aid-packages-stack-up-2017-3

Keeling, R.P., [editor]. (2004). National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Learning reconsidered: A campus-wide fcous on the student experience. Retrieved from https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/Learning_Reconsidered_Report.pdf

Kochan, T., Bezrukova, K., Ely, R., Jackson, S., Joshi, A., Jehn, K., Leonard, D., Levine, D. & Thomas, D. (2003). The effects of diversity on business performance: Report of the diversity research network. Human Resource Management: Published in Cooperation with the School of Business Administration, The University of Michigan and in alliance with the Society of Human Resources Management, 42(1), 3-21.

Lambertz-Berndt, M. (2016). Communicating Identity in the Workplace and Affinity Groups

Spaces. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=div_lm

Lattimer, R. L. (1998). The case for diversity in global business, and the impact of diversity on team performance. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, 8(2), 3-17.

Lazarus Stewart, D. (Ed.) (2011). Multicultural Student Services on Campus. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Lopez Figueroa, J. & Garcia, E. E. (2006) Tracing Institutional Racism in Higher Education: Academic Practices of Latino Male Undergraduates. In Constantine, M. G. & Sue, D. W. (Eds.) Addressing Racism: Facilitating Cultural competence in Mental Health and Educational Settings. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 195 – 211.

Love, B. (2019). We want to do more than survive: abolitionist teaching and the pursuit of educational freedom. Boston: Beacon Press.

Mackinnon, F. J. D & Floyd, R. D. (2011) Nontraditional college students. In M. J. Cuyjet, M. F. Howard-Hamilton, and D. Cooper (Eds.) Multiculturalism on Campus: Theory, models and practices for understanding diversity and creating inclusion. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 327-346.

McIntosh, P. (1990) White privilege: Unpacking the Invisible knapsack. Retrieved from http://www.antiracistalliance.com/Unpacking.html

National Center for Education Statistics. (2018a). IPEDS Fall 2017 Enrollment Survey

National Center for Education Statistics. (2018b). 2015-16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16)

Orfield, G. , Frankenberg, E. D. & Lee, C . (2003). The resurgence of school segregation. Educational Leadership, 60, 16 – 20.

Osei-Kofi, N. (2014) Race in(out)side the classroom: On pedagogy and the politics of collegiality. In G. Yancy & M. del Guadalupe Davidson (Eds.) Exploring race in predominantly white classrooms: Scholars of color reflect. New York: Routledge, 162 – 172.

Parker III, E. T., Barnhardt, C. L., Pascarella, E. T., & McCowin, J. A. (2016). The Impact of diversity courses on college students' moral development. Journal of College Student Development, 57(4), 395-410.

Phillips, K.W. (2014 October 1). How Diversity Makes Us Smarter. Scientific American.

Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/

Pickett, C. W., Smith, M., & Felton III, J. (2017). Inclusive Directions: The Role of the Chief Diversity Officer in Community College Leadership. Rowman & Littlefield.

Pliner, S. & Banks, C. (2012). Teaching, learning and intersecting identities in higher education. New York: Peter Lang

Renn, K. A. & Patton, L. D. (2011) Campus Ecology and Environments. In J. H. Shuh, S. R. Jones, S. R. Harper & Associates (Eds.) Student Services: A Handbook for the Profession. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 242-256.

Robinson, G., & Dechant, K. (1997). Building a business case for diversity. Academy of Management Perspectives, 11(3), 21-31.

Roper, L. (2004, Nov/Dec) Do students support diversity programs? Change, 36(6), 48-51.

Showing up For Racial Justice (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/theory-of-change.html

Sue, D. W. (2006). The Invisible Whiteness of Being: Whiteness, White Supremacy, White Privilege, and Racism. In Constantine, M. G. & Sue, D. W. (Eds.) Addressing Racism: Facilitating Cultural competence in Mental Health and Educational Settings. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. 15 - 30

Smith, A. (2018a, April 4). Focus on diversity at community colleges. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/04/13/growing-number-community-colleges-focus-diversity-and-inclusion

Smith, A. (2018b, April 13). Growing number of community colleges focus on diversity and inclusion. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/print/news/2018/04/13/growing-number-community-colleges-focus-diversity-and-inclusion

Smith. A. (2018c, June 21). No bottom yet in 2-year college enrollments. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/06/21/community-college-enrollment-rates-expected-keep-falling

Taylor, K (25 October 2017). University Pipeline Programs Offer Viable Approach to

Faculty Recruitment. Insight into Diversity. Retrieved from http://www.insightintodiversity.com/university-pipeline-programs-offer-viable-approach-to-faculty-recruitment/

Tienda, M. (2013). Diversity ≠inclusion: Promoting integration in higher education.

Educational Researcher, 42(9), 467-475.

Tillman, L.C (2002). Culturally Sensitive Research Approaches: An African-American Perspective. Educational Researcher, 31(9), pp. 3-12. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3594490

US Department of Education (2016). Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education: Key Data Highlights Focusing on Race and Ethnicity and Promising Practices. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/advancing-diversity-inclusion.pdf

Vavrus, M. (2014). Diversity and education: A critical multicultural approach. Teachers College Press.

Venzant Chambers, T. T., & McCready, L. T. (2011). “Making space†for ourselves: African American student responses to their marginalization. Urban Education, 46(6), 1352-1378.

Yale News (3 November 2015). Yale launches five-year, $50 million initiative to increase

faculty diversity. Retrieved from https://news.yale.edu/2015/11/03/yale-launches-five-year-50-million-initiative-increase-faculty-diversity

Yancy, G. (2014). Introduction: White crisis and the value of losing our way. In G. Yancy & M. del Guadalupe Davidson (Eds.) Exploring race in predominantly white classrooms: Scholars of color reflect. New York: Routledge, 1 – 16.

Downloads

Published

2020-03-04

Issue

Vol. 5 No. (1) Spring (2020): White Privilege, White Supremacy and Adult Education

Section

Reflections

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).