Tag Archives: diversity and inclusion

A New Resource for Higher Ed Diversity Leaders

The following is a guest blog post by Ariana González Stokas, a senior associate with PRG. Stokas previously served as the vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at Barnard and Bard colleges and is the author of “Reparative Universities: Why Diversity Alone Won’t Solve Racism in Higher Ed,” published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

ArianaGonzalezStokas headshotIt is impossible to be a higher education leader in 2023 without being painfully aware of the multiple attacks on diversity and inclusion work—ranging from legislation in 20 states to the pending Supreme Court decision on the consideration of race in admissions. A recent Washington Post headline perfectly summed up the national mood: “DEI Is Dead,” the State of Virginia’s chief diversity officer said in remarks at Virginia Military Institute.

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What Can We Do or Do Better?

Last week we saw a Black man’s life snuffed out, horrifically. And we can’t “unsee” it.

I sat at the water’s edge here in northern Michigan this morning at dawn, reflecting on all that has happened over the course of the past few days. “How can I help?”, I thought to myself. “What can I do or do better? What part can I play in meaningful, positive change?”

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Expect Respect

Every Sunday morning, I curate a roundup of the most important recent higher education news for our e-newsletter called The Weekly Scan. Last week the task was especially depressing.

At a University of Florida commencement exercise, a marshal used physical force to rush graduates off stage, especially members of an African American fraternity. At Colorado State University, campus police pulled two Native American high school students away from an admissions tour. At Yale, a white graduate student called campus police to report a black graduate student had fallen asleep in a residence hall common area.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that a police officer said this when the black student was then detained: “You’re in a Yale building, and we need to make sure you belong here.”

What are we to make of such deeply troubling actions, and what can we do about it?

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What Can Campuses Do in the Aftermath of Charlottesville?

Reflections for university leaders and their communities

Photo credit: University of Virginia Today

The violent neo-Nazi and white supremacist marches in Charlottesville and on the University of Virginia campus last weekend unleashed a torrent of hate-filled animosity beyond anything we have witnessed in several decades. Across the country, leaders are speaking out, social media is ablaze and citizens are challenging the abhorrent racism and bigotry on such sickening display.

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Stumbling Blocks

4/2/17 Stumbling Block exhibits / Bicentennial

University of Michigan historian Martha Jones and her colleagues had a vision: As part of the university’s bicentennial celebration this year, Michigan would confront some of the institution’s most challenging issues and difficult moments.

The result is last week’s dramatic pop-up art exhibit called “Stumbling Blocks,” featuring seven installations marking less visible – and sometimes deeply troubling –U-M stories one might not expect to find during a 200-year anniversary party.
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