Reduction in dissonance between abstract

1
Greater Diversity in Higher Education
Potential Outcomes
Drivers
Public policy the law
More low-income people of color ready for
careers and improved quality of life
Reduction in dissonance between abstract
concrete attitudes about integration
Positive change in social beliefs values
GREATER STUDENT, FACULTY, ADMINISTRATIVE
CURRICULAR DIVERISTY IN
HIGHER EDUCATION
Support for diversity in the general population
Increased identification with concern for other
groups
Awareness of willingness to abolish structural
racism white privilege
Improvements in PreK-12
More complex thinking (Integrative Complexity)
stimulated by diverse contacts exposure to a
wider range of ideas
Programs designed to improve college access
success
Demographic changes
Preparation of the individual to function in an
increasingly diverse society
Support for diversity in college admissions
financial aid policy
More research on issues of race, ethnicity and
gender
College goals mission

• ACE AAUP. Does Diversity Make a Difference,
  2000.
• Anthony Lising Antonio and Kenji Hakuta. The
  Effects of Racial Diversity on Cognitive
  Complexity in College Students. Psychological
  Science, August 2004.

Tom Rudd Senior Researcher

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Greater Diversity in Higher Education
Outcomes
Barriers
Drivers
Public policy the law
Emphasis on standardized testing
More low-income people of color ready for
careers and improved quality of life
Reduction in dissonance between abstract
concrete attitudes about integration
High attrition rates among minority students
Positive change in social beliefs values
Ineffective Affirmative Action Programs
Support for diversity in the general population
Increased identification with concern for other
groups
Awareness of willingness to abolish structural
racism white privilege
Disparity in K-12 resources
Weak support for a diverse professoriate
More complex thinking (Integrative Complexity)
stimulated by diverse contacts exposure to a
wider range of ideas
Improvements in PreK-12
Diminishing value of need-based financial
aid
Programs designed to improve college access
success
Shift toward merit-based financial aid
Preparation of the individual to function in a
diverse society
Demographic changes
Increasing dominance of egoistic values over
altruistic values
Support for diversity in college admissions
financial aid policy
More research on issues of race, ethnicity and
gender
College goals mission
Structural racism white privilege

• ACE AAUP. Does Diversity Make a Difference,
  2000.
• Anthony Lising Antonio and Kenji Hakuta. The
  Effects of Racial Diversity on Cognitive
  Complexity in College Students. Psychological
  Science, August 2004.

Tom Rudd Senior Researcher

3
What is Structural Racism
Many of the contours of opportunity for
individuals and groups in the United States are
defined or structured-- by race and racism.
The term structural racism refers to a system in
which public policies, institutional practices,
cultural representations, and other norms work in
various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate
racial group inequity. It identifies dimensions
of our history and culture that have allowed
privileges associated with whiteness and
disadvantages associated with color to endure
and adapt over time. Aspen Institute Roundtable
on Community Change. 2004. Structural Racism and
Community Building. Keith Lawrence, Stacey
Sutton, Anne Kubisch, Gretchen SuSi and Karen
Fulbright-Anderson. Washington, D.C. The Aspen
Institute
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Examples of Structural Racism

• Redlining in the real estate industry
• Disparities in who gets mortgage loans and at
  what rates of interest
• Racial profiling
• Disproportionate number of K-12 students of color
  tracked into special education classes
• Discriminatory hiring and promotion in private
  industry
• Harsher sentences for people of color who are
  convicted of crimes
• Exclusionary zoning

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What is White Privilege
On a structural level, white privilege refers to
white peoples historical and contemporary
advantage in all of the principal opportunity
domains, including education, employment,
housing, health care, political representation,
media influence, and others. The accumulated
benefits of white privilege add up to a pattern
that has concentrated and sustained racial
differences in wealth, power and other dimensions
of well-being.1 On a psychocultural level, white
privilege is the internalized belief that white
people are inherently entitled to a bigger piece
of the American pie than people of color.
1 Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change.
2004. Structural Racism and Community Building.
Keith Lawrence, Stacey Sutton, Anne Kubisch,
Gretchen SuSi and Karen Fulbright-Anderson.
Washington, D.C. The Aspen Institute
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Diversity Integrative Complexity

• The construct of Integrative Complexity (IC)
  refers to the degree to which cognitive style
  involves the differentiation and integration of
  multiple perspectives and dimensions.
• Low IC (simple reasoning) occurs when a single
  dimension (perspective) is used to consider an
  issue and there is no differentiation between
  dimensions.
• Intermediate IC occurs when individuals recognize
  the existence of alternative perspectives, but
  see these perspectives as independent and
  unrelated (differentiation but no integration of
  perspectives).
• High IC involves the recognition of multiple
  perspectives and solutions and consideration of
  trade-offs among these perspectives and
  solutions.
• Research suggests that diversity impacts
  integrative complexity
• The presence of a Black collaborator in a group
  of White participants generally leads to a
  greater level of integrative complexity.
• Racially diverse contacts are positively related
  to IC.
• The racial diversity of a students close friends
  and classmates is more strongly associated with
  IC than the racial diversity of a discussion
  group in a classroom.

Source Anthony Lising Antonio and Kenji Hakuta.
The Effects of Racial Diversity on Cognitive
Complexity in College Students. Psychological
Science, August 2004.
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Racial / Ethnic Diversity at Ohio Colleges
Universities
1 Digest of Educational Statistics, 2002
Source Ohio Board of Regents