4.3.2 Educational Benefits of Diversity

At its best, liberal education empowers students intellectually to understand the complex geopolitical, socioeconomic, ethical, and technological challenges confronting humanity at this juncture in history. Numerous studies grounded in the principles and methods of social psychology indicate that this intellectual transformation happens most effectively in a learning environment where personal interactions, both in the classroom and generally around campus, promote open discussion of new ideas and exposure to social environments previously unknown to students. These studies demonstrate that cognitive development is measurably and permanently enhanced in students who in the course of their daily lives have frequent and intense interactions with others whose backgrounds and worldviews are profoundly different from their own. This growing body of scholarly work also shows that all students in a diverse social environment engage more effectively in discussions about complex issues, becoming more adept at understanding multiple perspectives and more capable of critical thinking in ways that will enhance the quality of their lives and their career success long after graduation.

Lewis & Clark College is an institution of liberal learning that aims to educate its students for successful and fulfilling lives in their chosen fields of endeavor. To honor this promise, the College gives its students the opportunity to engage actively and critically in dialogue informed by those richly diverse cultural traditions that make up our American heritage. Therefore, the College explicitly acknowledges and affirms its conviction that diversity with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, socioeconomic background, religious orientation or spirituality, physical or sensory disability, gender, and sexual orientation on the Lewis & Clark campus provides an educational benefit for all students that can be realized only by enhancing and preserving the presence of students and education professionals from diverse backgrounds in our learning community. In creating and sustaining such a community, we engage, to the extent possible, in practices that will ensure a high degree of diversity on our campus, simultaneously meeting the highest standards of academic excellence of which we are capable.

Approved by the Board of Trustees, May 5, 2007

Bibliography

Alger J.R., et al. Does Diversity Make a Difference? Three Research Studies on Diversity in College Classrooms. 2000. 21 Nov. 2006.


Ambrose, S., et al. The Benefits of Diversity for Education at Carnegie Mellon. 2004. 21 Nov. 2006.


“Diversity in Academic Careers.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2006. 21 Nov. 2006.


Gurin, P. (1999). Expert report of Patricia Gurin. The compelling need for diversity in higher education. Part of expert testimony prepared for Gratz et al. v. Bollinger et al., no 97-75321 (E.D. Mich.), and Grutter et al., v. Bollinger et al., no 97-75928 (E.D. Mich.). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. See also http://www.vpcomm. umich.edu/admissions/ legal/expert/gurintoc. html, accessed on 21, 2006.


Gurin, P. , Dey, E. L, Hurtado, S., & Gurin G. “Diversity and higher education: Theory and impact on educational outcomes.” Harvard Educational Review 71.3 (2002): 332-366.


Gurin, P., Nagada, B.A., & Lopez, G.E. “The benefits of diversity in education for democratic citizenship.” Journal of Social Issues 60.1 (2004): 17-34.


Orfield, G., & Whitla, D. Diversity and legal education: Student experiences in leading law schools. Cambridge, MA: Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, 1999.


Pascarella, E.T., Edison, M., Nora, A., Hagedorn, L.S., & Terenzini, P.T. “Influences on students’ openness to diversity and challenge in the first year of college.” Journal of Higher Education, 67 (1996): 174-195.

Related Links

Office of Multicultural Affairs

L&C Diversity Action Committee