The diversity imperative: excellence, institutional culture, and limiting assumptions at some historically white universities
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Date
2007
Authors
Steyn, Melissa
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State
Abstract
Contrary to a still common belief that diversity lowers standards, current research in
Higher Education indicates that an institution that wishes to maintain a competitive
advantage needs to put well-managed diversity very high on its agenda, for reasons of
academic and pedagogical excellence as well as to be responsive to changing local and
global dynamics. In order to rearticulate diversity as an imperative driven by the search
for excellence, the established institutional culture needs to be interrogated to
understand why diversity is constructed as a “problem” and attitudes and values are
maintained that are hostile to an inclusionary culture. A key element in this institutional
culture is whiteness, and different forms of multiculturalism can be identified in terms
of their relationship to the power of white privilege. This article names and discusses
several assumptions that may underpin received practices and approaches within
Historically White Universities (HWUs), which need to be rigorously challenged, and
argues for an approach to diversity which can be described as “Critical Diversity”.
Description
Keywords
Diversity at universities, Higher Education, White privilege, Historically White Universities (HWUs)
Citation
Steyn, M. (2007). The diversity imperative: excellence, institutional culture, and limiting assumptions at some historically white universities. Communitas, 12, 1-17.