Diversity, Learning, and Inclusive Excellence:
Accelerating and Assessing Progress
Program Highlights
Complete Preliminary Program (pdf)
Keynote Address
Thursday, October 16, 2008, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Equality of Opportunity in Higher Education: Improving Access and Success for Historically Underrepresented Populations
Jamie Merisotis, President and Chief Executive Officer—Lumina Foundation for Education
Equality of opportunity in higher education is essential to educational quality as it is only through intentional engagement with diversity—in people, in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in communities—that students can gain true awareness, empathy, and cognitive sophistication of the complexity of the world. A champion of the idea that higher education reaps rich rewards for society and individuals, Merisotis has spent most of his career focused on improving access to higher education for low-income, minority and other historically underrepresented populations. In this keynote address, Merisotis will address 1) the multiple barriers that impede access to postsecondary education among historically underserved groups; 2) efforts that help students enhance and achieve their educational goals; and 3) the specific challenges faced by adult learners, particularly those who face barriers such as low income or academic under-preparation.
Plenary
Friday, October 17, 2008, 9:15 – 10:15 a.m.
Making Excellence Inclusive: Institutional and Educational Imperatives
Daryl G. Smith, Professor of Education—Claremont Graduate University and Alma R. Clayton-Pedersen, Vice President, Office of Education and Institutional Renewal—AAC&U
Diversity issues have become more complex than ever before—both in the U.S. and internationally—and historical inequities regarding education in the U.S. continue to be inadequately addressed. What will it take to establish coordinated institutional policies and comprehensive educational practices that move us to the next level of diversity work? How we envision and approach this next generation of work will have major consequences for individual institutions, for higher education and for the well being of our pluralistic democracy. This plenary will address relocating diversity as both institutional and educational imperatives. The facilitators will comment on results of nationwide research and campus based efforts that develop institutional capacity to engage diversity for learning, to monitor progress, to sustain efforts, and to ensure that efforts to link diversity with educational excellence evolve over time. By quickening the pace of change we may finally deal with our nation's unfinished business—providing equal opportunity to achieve educational excellence.
Separate registration and $50 fee required; includes lunch
Panel Discussion
Friday, October 17, 2008, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Transforming the Ivory Tower: Decades of Change for African American, Asian American, and Latino Students
Sylvia Hurtado, Director, Higher Education Research Institute; Walter R. Allen, Allen Murray Carter Professor of Higher Education; Mitchell Chang, Professor of Education; and José Luis Santos, Assistant Professor of Higher Education—University of California Los Angeles
One of the most dramatic changes in higher education over the last three decades has been the entrance of an increasingly diverse student body. What is the progress of and what are the prospects for student achievement that will ensure a well prepared, diverse workforce and democracy? Panelists will address national trends about African American, Asian American, and Latino students that remain unreported in current federal databases. Nationally known for their work on diversity in higher education, the authors of three recent reports will discuss trends in: changing socioeconomic status; access to and preparation for higher education; and aspirations, values and expectations of college students. This will be the first opportunity for the authors to discuss some of the key findings about each racial/ethnic group, reflect on progress and areas of concern, and integrate the findings for educators. The audience will be challenged to reflect on how well practices developed in another era continue to serve the changing racial/ethnic composition of their student body. They will also be asked to share new practices that seem to better serve students’ achievement of their educational aspirations and expectations.
Plenary
Saturday, October 18, 2008, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Advancing Diversity Efforts to the Next Level of Coordinated Action
Mildred Garcia, President, California State University Dominguez Hills
Well-designed diversity efforts can play a critical role in fostering student learning, advancing knowledge, and improving the institutional effectiveness of colleges and universities. Yet signs from inside and outside of the academy—recent transgressions directed at religious, racial/ethnic, and gay/lesbian groups; continuing arguments that a more inclusive curriculum “waters down” essential knowledge; heated debates about immigration; seemingly intractable global conflicts; and widespread initiatives designed to eliminate race and gender as a consideration from public policies—indicate that progress is never a given and that the need for diversity work continues. How the work is done also matters greatly. Building on her experience with two- and four-year institutions and across all sectors of higher education, Dr. Garcia will discuss how campuses can advance diversity efforts to the next level of comprehensive, coordinated action, where educational benefits for all students, and for the institution more broadly, can be demonstrated in meaningful ways.
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