Chesler offers framework for diverse campus

Updated 12:00 noon February 16, 2004

Diversity Summit

Chesler offers framework for diverse campus

By Laurel Thomas Gnagey

The University needs a planned strategy built from a clear vision in order to achieve true diversity, Mark Chesler, professor of sociology, told participants at a Feb. 11 diversity summit.

Attendees at the Diversity Conference listen to one of the day's speakers. Much of the day was devoted to smaller group conversations. Said one participant: "I am a staff member who came away with new appreciation for individual faculty and what they are doing." (Photo by Paul Jaronski, U-M Photo Services)

“We need to be driven by a vision of a multicultural university. We must have some sense of what the desired future might look like and where we are going,” he said.

During his plenary address, Chesler said there are a number of myths that must first be challenged for the campus to embrace diversity totally. One of the biggest misconceptions, he said, is that diversity is only an issue of representation of different groups of people, and about varying ideas in the curriculum.

“The challenge, in fact, is about much more than that. It is about the quality of life and learning that goes on in the institution,” he said. “It is about building a multicultural community—one that goes beyond toleration and even [beyond] a celebration of differences—to full inclusion and integration; to fair play, equal treatment and just outcomes.”

Chesler said another myth is that diversity is only about race.

“While race is perhaps the greatest discriminatory dividing line in our country, along with economic class, the challenge is about more than that. It is about a wider variety of socially destructive differences, and differential treatment, including the allocation of cherished resources along the lines of gender, and economic class and job status, sexual orientation and age or generational status, and physical ability.”

Chesler reminded the group that diversity is not just about students—it’s about faculty, staff and administrators as well. In particular, it affects issues of recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff.

“If we do not deal effectively with ourselves, as faculty, administrators and staff, we’ll be hard pressed to help our students,” he said.

Chesler gave a brief description of the status of the climate at U-M, quoting his own research with a colleague, Associate Professor Alford Young, and that of others, including Professor Emerita Patricia Gurin, whose findings on the educational value of diversity were cited in the Supreme Court cases.

“While the majority of students of color on campus report positive relationships with faculty members, and that they are taken seriously in class, students of color also report that stereotyping occurs in class and faculty offices as well,” he said.

Chesler also reported campus studies have shown that women, particularly women of color, report being taken advantage of by their departments in terms of teaching and advising loads, and they often feel their authority is challenged by students.

While some research has been conducted on campus climate, he said more is needed—either formal studies or informal conversations—in order to develop an effective strategy for addressing diversity.

“Our approach needs to be informed by reality—by knowledge about the problems and the positive encounters experienced by members of our community,” Chesler said.

The push to become a community of diversity cannot just be top down, he said. “Grassroots involvement is required as well. So, we will need the mobilization and support from, and empowerment of, many people in groups throughout the institution.”

Diversity Summit

Chesler offers framework for diverse campus

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