Affirmative Action
James Gholson
Thank you for publishing "Affirming Diversity at Michigan" in the September-October issue and "Diverse Student Bodies, Diverse Faculties" in the November-December issue. They both are important discussions of affirmative action. As a member of academia for thirty years, I am struck with amazement that discussions of affirmative action rarely include survey results of African American academics on the subject. Is this a step that higher education cannot take?
Key to the understanding of the African American academic is his or her desire to benefit the African American community in some way. This desire broadens the definition of "research," strengthens its tools, and ultimately benefits the human condition.
A casual perusal of tenure and promotion guidelines shows little commitment on the part of faculty in higher education to link promotion and tenure guidelines to diversity and multiculturalism (even in a rudimentary or graduated fashion). Simple steps such as including diversity of perspective (ethnic and otherwise) in syllabi are rarely mentioned. Certainly, I have yet to see criteria that link mentoring of minority students, minority recruitment, development of tutorials, internships in inner-city schools, Web-based networking, or research on minority communities. Can the American experience be fully appreciated without a walk through the black perspective(s)?
If affirmative action is to constructively affect the learning process, it should function for all segments of the community in developing a full and dynamic perspective of a targeted issue. Faculty who struggle with diversity (and pluralism) in syllabi can be steered toward those who have successfully structured pluralistic processes in their classes. In the meantime, it would be helpful to survey African American faculty on the issue.
Additionally, it would be interesting to see some success stories where promotion and tenure guidelines have been linked with affirmative action, diversity, and cultural pluralism.
James Gholson
(Music)
University of Memphis
|