The Millennials and Diversity: Unraveling the Tapestry

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The Millennials and Diversity Unraveling the
Tapestry

• Interactive Exercise
• The Dynamic Diversity
• Paradigm Inventory

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The Millennials and Diversity Unraveling the
Tapestry

• RESEARCH TEAM
• Jessie Antonellis, Gary A. Cruz, Lynette Cook
  Francis, Amanda Kraus, Jenny Lee, Melissa D.
  Ousley, Cynthia Quijada, Sofia Ramos and Melissa
  Vito
• Department of Multicultural Programs and Services
  
• and
• Dean of Students Office
• The University of Arizona
• Tucson, AZ 85721
• National Conference on Race Ethnicity
• New York
• June 3, 2005

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Why the Continued Focus On Diversity?
Complex thinking occurs when people encounter a
novel situation for which, by definition, they
have no script, or when the environment demands
more than their current scripts provide. Racial
diversity in a college or university student body
provides the very features that research has
determined are central to producing the conscious
mode of thought educators demand from their
students. -- Patricia Gurin, 1999
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The Take Home Message

• Diversity paradigms from progressive scholastic
  perspectives
• Postmodern, Critical Postmodern,
  Stigmatization/Minority Stressor, Meritocratic
• Millennial Students are accepting of the idea of
  diversity but are not critically engaged
• Race and ethnicity no longer solely occupy the
  main crux of diversity

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Why Continue to Focus On Diversity?THE LAW OF
THE LAND

• University of Michigan Cases
• a diverse student body is a crucial component
  of a premier education an education that
  prepares students to live in a multi-ethnic,
  multi-racial, and globally interdependent
  society.
• February 18, 2003 The University of Arizona
  signed a joint amicus brief with the University
  of Pittsburgh, Temple University and Wayne State
  University, in support of the University of
  Michigan in Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v.
  Bollinger

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The University of Arizona Diversity Initiatives

• Establishment of Diversity Coalition
• Partnership between the UA President, the UA
  Provost and the Diversity Coalition
• Development and implementation of the Diversity
  Action Plan
• UA discussesDiversity campus wide event
• The Guide to Successful Searches
• The Recruitment and Retention of a Diverse
  Faculty proposal
• Establishment of six community Diversity Advisory
  Councils to the President

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The University of ArizonaDiversity Coalition

• Advises the president
• Advocates for diversity, researches issues, and
  develops the agenda and priorities
• Involves the entire campus in diversity to effect
  systemic change on campus
• Develops mechanisms for accountability
• Holds vice presidents, deans, department heads,
  and directors accountable for implementation of
  diversity goals
• Continually assessing the Universitys diversity
  progress and challenges

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Why Continue To Focus On Diversity?HIGHER
EDUCATION TRENDS

• Diverse Democracy/Campus Climate (Hurtado, 1994
  1999)
• Social Justice (Adams, Bell, Griffin, 1997
  Miller, 1999)
• Multicultural Competence (Pope, Reynolds,
  Muller, 2004)
• Globalization (Leonardo, 2002 Torres, 2002)

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Why Continue To Focus On Diversity?THE
MILLENNIAL STUDENT

• Diversified student populations (Harvey
  Anderson, 2005)
• Optimistic, protected early exposure to
  diversity and expanded view of diversity (Howe
  Strauss, 2003)
• Team players, achievers (DeBard, 2004)

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Project Rationale The Why Question

• student body diversity is a compelling
  governmental interest
• Reaffirming Diversity A Legal Analysis of the
  University of Michigan Affirmative Action Cases.
  Civil Rights Project. www.civilrightsproject.harva
  rd.edu
• Global competitiveness in the New Economy affects
  the nature of higher education

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Literature Review

• Correlations with openness to diversity (Whitt,
  Edison, Pascarella, Terenzini Nora, 2001)
• Perceptions of nondiscriminatory racial
  environment at institution
• Participation in racial or cultural awareness
  workshop
• Diverse student acquaintances
• Conversations with other students in which
  different ways of thinking and understanding were
  emphasized

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Literature Review (contd)

• Faculty/student interactions key for retention
  and openness to diversity (McGinty Stodt
  Klepper, 1987 Whitt, Edison, Pascarella,
  Terenzini Nora, 2001)
• Peers powerful for campus integration,
  influencing attitudes on diversity (Pascarella
  Terenzini, 1991 Phinney, Ferguson Tate, 1997)
• Involvement and successful socialization
  correlates with academic success (Astin, 1993
  Gurin, 2003)
• Multicultural education critical to understanding
  transformative perspective of diversity (Banks,
  1994 Banks Banks, 1989)

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Conceptual FrameworkDIVERSITY PARADIGMS
ASSIMILATION
ACCULTURATION
ACCOMMODATION
DIVERSITY
INTEGRATION
TRANSFORMATION / CONVERGENT
SEPARATION
RACE/ETHNIC FOCUSED
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Re-conceptualized Critical FrameworkDIVERSITY
PARADIGMS
MERITOCRACY Trow, 1990
ACCULTURATION
ACCOMMODATION
DIVERSITY
INTEGRATION
TRANSFORMATION / CONVERGENT
SEPARATION
RACE/ETHNIC FOCUSED
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Re-conceptualized Critical FrameworkDIVERSITY
PARADIGMS
MERITOCRACY Trow, 1990
STIGMATIZATION / MINORITY STRESSOR Afshar-Mohajer
Sung, 2002 Torres et. al., 2003
ACCOMMODATION
DIVERSITY
TRANSFORMATION / CONVERGENT
RACE/ETHNIC FOCUSED
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Re-conceptualized Critical FrameworkDIVERSITY
PARADIGMS
MERITOCRACY Trow, 1990
STIGMATIZATION / MINORITY STRESSOR Afshar-Mohajer
Sung, 2002 Torres et. al., 2003
ACCOMMODATION
DIVERSITY
TRANSFORMATION / CONVERGENT
CRITICAL RACE THEORY i.e. Bell, Crenshaw,
Delgado,, Gate-Billings, Gotanda, Solorzano,
Williams
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Re-conceptualized Critical FrameworkDIVERSITY
PARADIGMS
MERITOCRACY Trow, 1990
STIGMATIZATION / MINORITY STRESSOR Afshar-Mohajer
Sung, 2002 Torres et. al., 2003
ACCOMMODATION
DIVERSITY
POSTMODERN Tierney, 1993
CRITICAL RACE THEORY i.e. Bell, Crenshaw,
Delgado,, Gate-Billings, Gotanda, Solorzano,
Williams
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Re-conceptualized Critical FrameworkDIVERSITY
PARADIGMS
MERITOCRACY Trow, 1990
CRITICAL POSTMODERN Tierney, 1993
STIGMATIZATION / MINORITY STRESSOR Afshar-Mohajer
Sung, 2002 Torres et. al., 2003
DIVERSITY
POSTMODERN Tierney, 1993
CRITICAL RACE THEORY i.e. Bell, Crenshaw,
Delgado,, Gate-Billings, Gotanda, Solorzano,
Williams
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Research Questions

• What are Millennial Students perceptions and
  attitudes with regard to diversity?
• How do the perceptions and attitudes of the
  Millennial Student compare across traditional
  measures of diversity race/ethnicity, gender,
  class, ability, and religion?
• What elements do Millennial Students ascribe to
  diversity?

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Methods

• Online Survey Focus Groups
• Sampling Strategy
• Stratified random sample
• Over-sampled students of color
• Contacted 5,610 full-time, classified
  undergraduates enrolled in spring 2005
• Weekly emails sent to students over five weeks
• Response Rate
• N 1,144 (20.4)

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Methods - Sample
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Methods Survey

• Used ASSET, online survey design tool, hosted at
  Seton Hall University
• 125 questions
• Open-ended
• Race/ethnicity, ability, religion, sexual
  orientation
• Whether diversity matters and why
• Beliefs about diversity
• Personal actions reflective of diversity
• Closed-ended
• Attitudes, behaviors and perceptions regarding
  diversity of various groups race/ethnicity,
  sexual orientation, gender, ability, religion
• Perceptions on importance of support services for
  various groups

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Methods Focus Groups

• Initial (N30)
• Students invited to participate in focus groups
  to talk about diversity
• Follow-Up (N14)
• Two sessions of focused dialogue with students
  from initial focus groups
• Professionally filmed for video

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Methods Coding

• Inter-Rater Reliability
• Team Coding
• Race/Ethnicity
• Religious Affiliation
• Sexual Orientation
• Paired researchers to arrive at consensus for
  placement within model
• Defining diversity
• Whether diversity matters
• Beliefs about diversity

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Findings Demographics
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Findings Demographics
Percent of Respondents by First Generation
College Student Status
16.0
14.3
14.0
12.7
14.0
11.9
12.0
9.4
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Total
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Findings Demographics
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Findings Demographics
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Findings Demographics
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Findings - Race/Ethnicity

• Resistance to traditional racial/ethnic
  categories in describing cultural background
• Race/ethnicity self-identity examples
• Tan
• Human
• Native American/Egyptian
• Euro-mutt with a dash of Native American
• Half Egyptian, quarter Scottish, eighth French
  eighth English
• Jamexican-American

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Findings Race/Ethnicity (contd)
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Findings Race/Ethnicity (contd)
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The Video

• Students Speak
• About Diversity

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Dynamic Diversity Paradigm Inventory (DDPI)
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Findings Diversity Paradigms
Meritocratic Perspective 3
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Findings Diversity Paradigms
Meritocratic Perspective I define diversity as
a measure of the differences among peoples past
life experiences. To specify, I do not consider a
black person diverse from a white person if they
both grew up in a wealthy suburb with loving
parents and an easy overall life, despite their
superficial racial differences. - White,
Catholic, Male, Sophomore, Social Sciences
Major
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Findings Diversity Paradigms
Stigmatization Perspective 10
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Findings Diversity Paradigms
Stigmatization Perspective While appreciating
and recognizing cultural heritage and differences
is an admirable goal, I feel that it creates more
divisions than it breaks down. Forced
diversity inherently segments a population, and
segmentation leads to resentment and bigotry.
- White, Agnostic, Male, Sophomore,
Computer Information Sciences Major
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Findings Diversity Paradigms
Postmodern Perspective 80
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Findings Diversity Paradigms
Postmodern Perspective I think that it is very
important for co-existence and communication that
we try to understand where people are coming from
and how they communicate with others as well as
understand how our own up-bringing has affected
our views. - Latina, Catholic, Senior,
Social Sciences Major
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Findings Diversity Paradigms
Critical Postmodern Perspective (Including
Critical Race) 7
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Findings Diversity Paradigms
Critical Postmodern Perspective Diversity is a
mixture of the physical and cultural
characteristics that combine to distinguish
individuals. Diversity is responsible for
cultural differences and distinct ways of
living. It is important that people are different
to provide a constant supply of challenging
ideas. Without differences, there is no basis of
comparison and people are slaves to their
homogenous ways of thinking. Diversity supplies
unfamiliarity that causes people to stretch into
beyond their own ways of thinking. -
Bi-Racial/Ethnic, Spiritual, Female,
Sophomore, Social Sciences Major
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Findings Diversity Paradigms
Critical Race Perspective Diversity shouldnt
just be thought of as one particular people
representing a single group. For example, most
people, when they hear the word Asian, think of
Chinese people. When people hear the word
Hispanic, they think Mexican. People need to be
made aware of all the cultures and
ethnicities. - Asian American, Christian,
Female, Sophomore, Education Major
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Dynamic Diversity Paradigm Inventory (DDPI)
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Findings
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Findings
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Limitations

• Small sample, single institution
• Self-selection of participants
• Pressure to give socially acceptable answers
• Rhetoric may not match behavior
• Inter-rater reliability to validate open-ended
  answers

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Conclusions

• Higher education must become more actively
  engaged in diversity efforts
• Millennial Students strongly resonate a
  postmodern perspective a plurality of voices
• Millennial Students value the importance of
  separate services for groups

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Implications

• Higher education must rethink its paradigm of
  diversity
• Educators and administrators must actively work
  to understand the whole student
• Students must actively engage in critical
  discourse on diversity
• Diversity must be woven into the fabric of the
  institution to effect systemic change

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Future Research

• Longitudinal study to begin in fall 2005
• The study will follow a cohort of first-time
  freshmen for four years and examine their
  evolving perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors
  with regard to diversity

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Food for Thought

• What are students attitudes and perceptions
  regarding diversity at your institution?
• How will these views of diversity affect
  programming?

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Contact Information

• Gary A. Cruz, abd.
• Interim Assistant Director, Research and
  Assessment
• [phone]
• gcruz_at_u.arizona.edu

• Melissa D. Ousley, Ph.D.
• Research Analyst
• [phone]
• mousley_at_u.arizona.edu

Project Web Site http//dmps.web.arizona.edu/mille
nnial/
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