Introduction

American higher education in recent years has become the locus of high profile debate about race-conscious social policy. This focus is fueled by the ever-increasing stakes associated with advanced degrees, a broad public recognition of demographic changes, and a general sense that these goods -- whether in public or private institutions -- need to be distributed in a fair and just manner. Not far below the surface of the policy debates lies a complex tangle of ideologies, histories, and guilt that often interferes with rational analysis of the issues. This book is a somewhat quixotic endeavor, in that it tests the hypothesis that empirical research on the subject can make an important contribution to this highly emotional arena of public policy. The authors are not naïve about the nature of public policy, but as responsible researchers, we are aware of our social obligation to state in as clear a manner as possible what we do know.

With these issues in mind, we embarked on our review of a broad array of the social science literature that addresses the intersection of race and higher education. We discovered in the course of the work that the cumulative knowledge of the social sciences is substantial and consistent. Scientists like to spend much of their time picking on each other’s theories and methodologies, something that they are trained do very well. But when one takes several steps back from these local skirmishes and examines the entirety of the work with the benefit of distance and synthesis, considerable agreement and consensus can be found.

The chapters of this volume address the three major prongs of the diversity debate: fairness, merit, and benefits of diversity.

Fairness. Affirmative action policies are often criticized as being unfair because they give advantages to individuals based on group membership. Fairness arguments are examined in this volume through both empirical and theoretical evidence of persisting inequalities in opportunity and access for different racial groups. In an effort to dispel the common notion that only colorblindness will achieve true equality, the chapters also look at the extent to which racism in various forms is still prevalent among individuals and institutions in the United States, and at how race-conscious policies address racial disparities more effectively than race-neutral ones.

Merit. In order to enhance our discussion of fairness, we explore the need for a broader definition of merit that moves beyond using only students’ test scores and grades as indicators of their capacity for academic success, to looking at broader qualities of leadership, perseverance, and citizenship. Limitations of current measures of merit are analyzed and explained, and a more inclusive definition of merit is presented.

Benefits. Another track in the diversity debate that has been less examined than issues of fairness is the benefits of diversity programs in higher education. This volume pulls together tangible, empirical evidence on the benefits that diversity (in all its multiple forms and dimensions) brings to the individual, the institution and the broader society.