Bloomfield College

Case Study - Spring 2006

History and Context 

Bloomfield College has distinguished itself through its longstanding investment in diversity.  The institution’s commitment has multiple dimensions: to diversify the college community; to focus on multicultural and global perspectives in the curriculum and co-curriculum; to shape the College to be a successful multicultural workplace; and to be a resource for both the town of Bloomfield and the communities from which the college’s students come.  Bloomfield’s commitment to the educational value and societal benefits of diversity are historically rooted in its founding over 135 years ago as a seminary for immigrants and is expressed in the institution’s mission statement, which reads in part, “One of the strengths of the College is the rich diversity of its students.  The College is committed to this richness because it provides an ideal context for personal growth and a basis for a better society.” 

Bloomfield’s investment in diversity has been bolstered by sustained presidential leadership for nearly a quarter-century and has led to a campus population that includes the rich diversity of northern New Jersey and an increasing international population.  Bloomfield has taken advantage of its small-college ability to shape its mission and goals with its philosophical commitment to access and equity, to connect from-the-top and grass-roots leadership, to plan flexibly and coherently, and to communicate among and engage all constituencies. Its ability to sustain strong leadership from the top, cultivate leadership and learning in collaborative partnerships among faculty and staff, and develop special expertise in multicultural communication both within the College and it surrounding community, was both a work-in-progress and a balanced institutional portfolio that positioned the College as an exemplary campus in diversity work.

The more than 2,000 students at Bloomfield come from at least 50 countries.  Two thirds are from minority racial/ethnic groups, half are over 25 years old, and 67% are women.  In addition to a diverse student body, Bloomfield has been successful in diversifying its faculty.  The number of fulltime faculty members of color has been about 25% for the last ten years (27.2% as of 2004).  Minority representation in the administrator and non-service staff ranks is 47%.   This remarkable structural diversity at Bloomfield has set the stage for an impressive array of curricula, co-curricula and events.  The College taps diversity as an educational resource, integral to the Bloomfield experience, which leads to educated citizens and inspires the community to embrace difference. It is poised to sustain a learning community that thrives on diverse and innovative programming, pedagogies and modes of interactions.

Campus Diversity Initiative Model 2002-2006

Drawing on its long history of diversity work, Bloomfield College initiated a campus-wide faculty and staff development and program enhancement project (inclusive of curricula, co-curricula, and services) in 2001 with support from The Bildner Family Foundation New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative (NJCDI). The project focused on broadening and deepening the diversity knowledge and skills of faculty and staff through the Center for Cultures and Communication (CCC) so the campus itself could become a more integrated resource for its students and the larger community.  

In semester-long seminars for professional and program development, faculty and staff studied positionality and intercultural communication; the heritages and perspectives of diverse groups; issues of race, immigration and globalization; cross-cultural communication; multiple intelligences, and diverse learning styles and pedagogies.  Faculty and staff developed pedagogies that engage students to tell and learn from their own stories and prepare students for a multicultural and global society through exposure to powerful stories from diverse backgrounds.  Discovering and respecting differences and commonalities helped create a community of learners, and the literature suggested that such recognition and connectedness promotes retention and achievement. All participants applied their learning to projects in their ongoing diversity work, which included efforts in library and career services, co-curricular programming, and curriculum.

Understanding that leaders enter institutional change from different portals and with their own habits of the mind that are grounded in their experiences and disciplinary training, the seminars enabled the campus-wide agency of diversity to organically progress through professional development seminars. These seminars became a catalyst in which individuals could pursue an inclusive and challenging liberal education that taped their expertise, interests, and institutional responsibilities and through which they could  improve the campus climate, enhance the curriculum, expand diversity opportunities, and collaborate with new individuals and entities to achieve Bloomfield’s educational mission.

Consequently, second growth activities emerged from the initiative. That is, beyond faculty and staff seminars, they continued to use their knowledge and connections in “second-level growth” activities -- not directly part of their NJCDI work, but proof of the truly transformative nature of the project. These activities include workshops to study Kréole language and culture to better understand Bloomfield’s Haitian population and a learning community block linking first year seminars and writing courses, a general education course in a traditional discipline, and the co-curriculum.  

This institutional change strategy facilitated a campus-wide collaboration in which all members of the community have critical roles that are necessary for creating a healthy campus for students to achieve success and thrive in a challenging academic environment.  The linchpin for this strategy was dependent on campus members contributing their talents, expertise, and strengths to the Bloomfield mission.  The CCC continues to foster collaboration and second growth activities.

Accomplishments

Individual and small-group projects from the NJCDI seminars for professional and program development included new curricula and co-curricula, (e.g. the minor in Latino/Latin American and Caribbean Studies, a course cluster for freshmen on diversity themes), course revisions for general education (e.g. global contexts of U.S. history, aesthetics and cultural history of quiltmaking), studies of the groups and home communities of Bloomfield students, and information literacy workshops designed for international and immigrant students.

Bloomfield created a semester-long commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Freedom Summer in Fall of 2004.  Through cross-campus collaborations, the commemoration evolved into a coherent and pervasive learning experience for students.  Freedom Summer became a theme in courses and in co-curricular programming.  The Freshman Core Program was redesigned around “Freedom and Citizenship”; a course on the History of Freedom Summer was created; students hosted an opening event at the art gallery; an original play was written and performed, with cross-cultural casting; the art gallery exhibited From No House to the White House: Jazz Photographs of Milton Hinton.  The College Convocation speaker was the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of I’ve Got the Light of Freedom, Charles Payne; founder of the Freedom Schools in Mississippi and Charles Cobb lectured and visited with students.

Additional second growth activities included:

• Diversity All Year: two to four programs per week on a diversity component of the College community, organized and presented by College community members such as Sub-Saharan Africans, Irish-Americans, Women Artists and Writers, and African-Americans.
• Talking Women’s Lives: Personal narratives by members of the campus community held at least once a month, organized by Women’s Studies.
• Beyond Tolerance Program, focusing on religious tolerance,headed by the College Chaplain with presentations conducted by students. The latest example was a student-led adiscussion on the Wingspread Declaration on Religion and Public Life.
• Cultural Artifacts: Displays from collections of members of the College community and field trips to local museums, organized by the library staff

The new Center for Cultures and Communication also played a key role in creating an inclusive educational climate that supports intercultural teaching and learning, respectful dialogue, scholarly research and writing, and personal and cultural growth from a non-western perspective in order to develop informed, engaged, and responsible graduates.  The CCC continues to offer a Diversity Training Certfiicate, seminars for professional development, and opportunities to learn from the community in which Bloomfield is situated.  

The CCC has facilitated a town-wide Pilot Study Circle Project to address the changing population and immigration/migration issues.  Diversity Training Certificate interns work with residential advisors and study groups on understanding implicit culture and developing cross-cultural communication skills. Interns have conducted on and off-campus workshops to groups as diverse as a religious-based alcohol and drug rehabilitation agency to a large bridal shop in an affluent New Jersey suburb.   

Through the CCC and the “second growth and beyond activities” of seminars, this engaged campus continues the work of diversity education for  students, faculty, staff and the many other constituents who come into contact with Bloomfield College.