Princeton University

Case Study - Spring 2006

History and Context

For more than thirty years, the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding (formerly the Third World Center) has played an invaluable role in providing a social, cultural, and political environment that has been responsive to issues of ethnic and racial diversity, that has addressed the needs and aspirations of students of color, and that has enriched the Princeton experience for all students.  Dr. Fields was the nation's first African-American administrator at a predominantly-white, Ivy League university. After joining the Princeton administration in 1964, Dr. Fields served as an advocate for underrepresented students, faculty, and staff. He provided the conceptual guidance that resulted in the establishment of the Third World Center and other programs to benefit students of color.

In 1993, an important landmark in Princeton’s diversity effort was the issuance of a Report on Campus Race Relations, authored by then vice provost Ruth Simmons.  This report resulted in such initiatives as the appointment of an ombuds officer, the establishment of a Race Relations Working Group, and an effort to better coordinate race relations activities.  In the ensuing years, Princeton has implemented specific measures designed not only to recruit a more diverse student, faculty, and staff population but also to foster a culture in which all could excel.

Sustained Dialogue, a process for changing relationships and combating deeply rooted human conflicts, was developed by Harold Saunders ’52, an emeritus trustee and the director of international affairs at the Kettering Foundation, which researches ways to improve the practice of democratic politics.  Sustained Dialogue was initiated at Princeton in 1998 by members of the Class of 2002 with the support and encouragement of Trustee Saunders and others in their “grandparent class”.  It is a student-led dialogue process that gathers community members (including staff and faculty) in small groups to focus primarily on issues of religion, gender, and race. It has been found to have made a positive impact on participants.

In December, 2004, President Shirley M. Tilghman appointed a Diversity Working Group which is charged with identifying strategies and potential barriers that affect the recruitment, hiring, retention and promotion of a diverse workforce at Princeton. The group has focused its efforts on people of color among non-faculty employees at all levels.

The Diversity Working Group was formed by President Tilghman in fall 2004 to identify strategies and potential barriers that affect the recruitment, hiring, retention and promotion of a diverse work force at Princeton. The group, which focuses its efforts on people of color among non-faculty employees at all levels, issued an interim report in Fall 2005 that described several initial steps the University could take to increase the diversity of its staff. The report also recommended efforts to ensure a long-term commitment to supporting and retaining a staff that reflects a broad range of talents and perspectives.

In a recent article, Princeton announced that Terri Harris Reed, formerly associate provost for institutional equity, was promoted to the position of vice provost for institutional equity and diversity.  In addition, two new positions -- one in the Office of the Provost and one in the Office of Human Resources -- were created to provide additional administrative support for Princeton's diversity-related initiatives.

In her expanded role, Reed will supervise the director of equal opportunity programs and services, a new position in the Office of the Provost. This person will have primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with nondiscrimination laws and will play a central role in the development of programs and services that support the University's commitment to equity, diversity and community in a context of academic excellence. As part of her responsibilities to oversee efforts designed to make Princeton accessible to and inclusive of all persons, Reed also will supervise the newly created Office of Disability Services. 

The Diversity Working Group is in the final stages of selecting a consulting firm to conduct a systematic assessment of the cultural norms that support and drive behaviors impacting diversity goals as well as of staff perceptions about their experiences at Princeton. The goals of the audit are: to improve employment policies and practices, so that individuals from all racial and ethnic backgrounds have an equal chance of participating and thriving in the University's work environment, and to create a work environment that manages the challenges and takes full advantage of a work force of individuals with differing perspectives and talents.

The Diversity Working Group also is continuing its other work and expects to submit a final report to Tilghman by the end of the summer 2006. The group encompasses 20 staff members and administrators from a range of departments, levels and backgrounds. 

Campus Diversity Initiative Model 2002-2006

Through support from The Bildner Family Foundation New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative, Princeton established Dialogue@Princeton. This new structure was designed to foster a more open and welcoming campus environment by supporting projects promoting intercultural understanding. Among the goals of Dialogue@Princeton were:

• Expanding programs such as Sustained Dialogue, which is comprised of small groups that meet regularly to discuss diversity-related issues
• Promoting new dialogue groups and campus-wide dialogue forums
• Providing resources for community-building programs and events through the Bildner Fund for the Advancement of Diversity on Campus

Dialogue@Princeton supported several other dialogue projects such as Dialogue@the Library and, through the Bildner fund, offered mini-grants to promote more collaborative efforts across the campus to foster intercultural dialogue and to enhance overall diversity efforts.  The mini-grants were designed to improve and enhance understanding among increasingly diverse community members and groups, both on and off campus.

Accomplishments

As a result of the grant, dialogic initiatives have flourished. Dialogue@Princeton contributed in several valuable ways to amplifying discourse about inclusiveness in the Princeton campus community, which, in turn, contributed to the cultivation of a more hospitable climate for learning. The support of the New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative (NJCDI) provided resources for training, travel to conferences, and other administrative expenses. The moderators of Sustained Dialogue identified for themselves a larger role in facilitating campus-wide conversations on these topics. 

In addition, the Bildner Fund (now known as the Fund for Intergroup Collaboration) has supported important, imaginative dialogue across affinity groups and departmental lines. The Fund is designed to benefit the Princeton University community by supporting new intergroup collaborative programming efforts. It provides financial support for efforts to improve and enhance understanding among our increasingly diverse community members and groups. Through this Fund, it is hoped that organizations will diversify their programmatic efforts and engage with each other in the planning, development, and implementation of projects which strengthen the complexity and depth of intergroup understanding.

Among many other meaningful programs, the Fund for Intergroup Collaboration has supported a Human Rights film festival of African, Middle Eastern, Latin American, and Asian films and lectures; a Souk Festival (“Souk” means “market” in both Arabic and Hebrew), which was designed to showcase the similarities, between the Arab/Muslim and Israeli/Jewish cultures, that are often overlooked in political discussions);  “Fried Chicken/Fried Rice”, a celebration of  music, dance, and spoken word poetry by all of Princeton’s Pan-African and Pan-Asian groups; and a talent show co-sponsored by the Black Student Union, Hip-Hop Art, Chicano Caucus, and Trenton High School. 

‘Dialogue’ has become part of the vocabulary of the community, so much so that several editorials and letters have appeared in the student newspaper arguing for or against the value of dialogue. Dialogue is a mainstay – albeit controversial – and a catalyst for institutional learning and change.

The use of dialogue as a tool was expanded to include other strategies and methods and other populations, including members of the Library staff.  Supported by the NJCDI, consultants introduced important concepts about such dimensions of diversity as social class and ethnicity.  This led to richer dialogues and discussions within and between professional groups, and heightened community awareness about the need for institutional support for administrative staff. The Library’s MOSAICS initiative (library.princeton.edu/hr/training/mosaics.html) has helped staff members understand and appreciate each other better by making them more sensitive to the backgrounds and cultures of their colleagues. Click here to view the Diversity Digest article, “Dialogue Groups at Princeton University Library,” for a further description of this project.

Princeton’s Sustained Dialogue initiative continues to thrive. The opportunity to participate in Sustained Dialogue groups will be actively promoted during Freshman Orientation week, and in 2006-07 each of the residential colleges will sponsor a group. The Sustained Dialogue Campus Network (SDCN), a national organization that emerged from the Princeton project, now has nine affiliate chapters on college, university, and high school campuses.  See www.sustaineddialogue.org/campus_network.htm