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Negotiating racial conflict: the leadership role of the dean of students
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Content
NEGOTIATING RACIAL CONFLICT:
THE LEADERSHIP ROLE OF THE DEAN OF STUDENTS
by
Tracy Poon Tambascia
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
August 2007
Copyright 2007 Tracy Poon Tambascia
ii
DEDICATION
I wish to dedicate this dissertation to my family, but especially to my brother,
Perkins Poon, and my father, Henry K. Poon, who are not here to celebrate this
accomplishment with me.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It has been said many times before that great things are never achieved alone. To that
end, I owe many thanks to a number of people who made the work on this
dissertation possible. First, I wish to thank my advisor and the chair of my
dissertation committee, Adrianna Kezar. Dr. Kezar offered support, asked tough
questions, and urged me on even in the most difficult times. I also owe a debt of
gratitude to the other members of my committee: Dr. Susan Allen continues to be a
great mentor and friend, though we have the opportunity to talk so rarely, and Dr.
Michael Jackson, whose leadership in student affairs and knowledge of the field
were such a great help and inspiration during this process.
I must also acknowledge some of my fellow Ed.D. students, Candace Rypisi, Susan
Sims, and Michelle Stiles, who supported me through all the good time and the tough
times.
Leaving the best for last, I wish to thank my husband for his loving support through
three and a half years of the Ed.D. program and my two beautiful boys, Alex and
Lucas, who were wonderful play-dates for me when I took a break from studying.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ii
Acknowledgements iii
Abstract vii
Chapter 1: Overview of the Study
Introduction 1
Statement of the Problem 1
Background of the Problem 4
Purpose of Study 7
Research Questions 8
Significance of Study 8
Definition of Terms 9
Methodology 10
Organization 10
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature
Introduction 12
Figure 1 15
Student Affairs and the Dean of Students 15
Student Development and Identity Development 22
Campus Climate 28
Racial Conflict on Campus 32
Organizational Theory 35
Conclusion 39
Chapter 3: Methodology
Introduction 41
Methodological Approach 41
Research Site 43
Participants 47
Data Collection Procedure 49
Data Analysis 50
Verification of Findings 52
Ethical Considerations, Assumptions and Limitations 53
Conclusion 55
v
Chapter 4: The Three Case Institutions
Introduction 56
Chapter Overview 56
Serenity College 57
Organizational Structure of Student Affairs 59
Campus Climate 59
Procedures for Handling Conflict and the Role of the Dean 63
Challenges and Student Development 65
Presence of Racial Conflict 67
Lack of Racial Conflict 70
Barriers to Change 72
Summary 73
Township University 74
Organizational Structure of Student Affairs 76
Campus Climate 77
Procedures for Handling Conflict and the Role of the Dean 81
Challenges 83
Presence of Racial Conflict 86
Lack of Racial Conflict 88
Student Development 89
Barriers to Change 93
Summary 97
Traditional University 97
Organizational Structure of Student Affairs 100
Campus Climate 100
Procedures for Handling Conflict and the Role of the Dean 104
Challenges 105
Presence of Racial Conflict 108
Lack of Racial Conflict 112
Student Development 113
Barriers to Change 117
Summary 118
Chapter Summary 119
Chapter 5: Conclusion
Introduction 123
Interplay of Structure and Challenges 123
New Majority and Relationship to Campus Climate 127
Role of Student Development 130
Presence of Racial Conflict 132
Silence Surrounding Issues of Race 135
Institutional Change 138
vi
Recommendations for Practice 141
Opportunities for Future Research 146
Summary 149
References 151
Appendices
Appendix A: Sample Interview Protocol for Dean of Students 158
Appendix B: Sample Interview Protocol for Student Affairs Staff 161
Appendix C: Sample Interview Protocol for Director of Campus
Safety
162
Appendix D: Sample Interview Protocol for Student Leaders 163
Appendix E: Sample Interview Protocol for Faculty or
Administrators in Academic Affairs
165
Appendix F: Documents 166
Appendix G: Sample Information Sheet 167
Appendix H: Themes 169
vii
ABSTRACT
There is a dearth of research in student affairs about how a dean of students
can most effectively negotiate incidents of racial conflict on campus. Since the civil
rights movement of the 1960’s, race and multiculturalism occupy a central position
in American higher education. Despite the gains of ethnic minority students in access
to higher education, equity in educational outcomes is far from reality. Students of
color report that campus racial climate continues to be challenging.
Through interviews with the dean, administrators, faculty and students, this
study identified the procedures, priorities, and challenges associated with managing
racial conflict. Understanding the role of student development and racial identity
development were also studied. The issue of institutional change as a result of racial
conflict was explored, including barriers to change.
This study found that deans of students and other administrators on campus
utilized traditional methods for receiving reports from students, briefing leaders and
meeting with victims and perpetrators. What was notable is the perception by nearly
all those interviewed that the campus racial climate was positive and that little racial
conflict occurred despite numerous examples offered, many of which took the form
of microaggressions.
Structures that were most clearly defined and communicated to students were
effective in managing issues that were reported. The student body on each of the
campuses studied was diverse, with over 50% of the students coming from
viii
historically underrepresented groups, constituting a new majority at each of the
universities. Despite this, there continues to be little critical dialogue around issues
of race, perpetuating the belief that racism and discrimination are no longer problems
for the university or society as a whole. The silence around racism may also be
attributed to a general reluctance to discuss such controversial issues.
Recommendations for practice include developing a clearly defined structure
for reporting incidents of racial conflict that is accessible to students, insuring
effective communication to all stakeholders involved in supporting students,
fostering a culture that is willing to engage in the difficult dialogues, and recognizing
the cumulative and damaging effects of microaggressions in order to seek ways to
reduce them or mitigate their influence.
1
CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
Introduction
Stetson University: A Halloween costume contest at an off-campus college hangout
ended with several Stetson University students capturing first place — and a visit to
the dean of students. Students from the university's predominantly white girls
softball team attended last week's event dressed as the Stetson basketball team — a
mostly black squad. Some of the girls donned various shades of blackface makeup,
cornrows, baseball caps, gold teeth and jerseys . . .In one of the pictures, a girl with
light brown makeup, cornrows and dark sunglasses flashes several gold teeth. In
another picture, the same girl is shown next to a teammate smiling in jet-black
makeup that covers her face, neck and arms. (Tolerance.org, n.d.)
University of Michigan: The AAPD reported that along with urinating on an Asian
man and woman passing by his apartment on Sept. 15, the 20-year-old male suspect
and his roommate threw objects and screamed racial slurs at the couple. University
President Mary Sue Coleman condemned the incident to the entire student body last
Thursday via e-mail after faculty members urged the administration to take action . .
."A lot of us are angry about these racial slurs - we're so focused on this issue of
urination and beer. It's beyond this issue at this point. This incident might have been
the catalyst, but we are trying to address why these incidents are possible and what in
this University climate makes it possible and acceptable for racial harassment to
happen," Kao said. She added that since the alleged crime was publicized, UAAO
has received numerous messages from Asian students who said they were victims of
racial harassment on campus before. (Kruer, 2005)
Statement of the Problem
Stories such as these make their appearance on the local news and in the
national media regularly. Reports of racial conflict, taking the form of parody or as a
result of combative exchanges, may raise eyebrows with the general public, but they
are not news to campus administrators. Few issues are as contentious as race in
American society, and these battles are played out on a daily basis on the nation’s
college campuses. Ethnic studies, curriculum, affirmative action, minority support
services, and most recently, immigrants’ rights are at the center of the debate around
2
race and identity. Conflict around such emotional issues is prevalent. In 2003, the
U.S. Department of Education reported 252 incidents of hate crimes on college
campuses. While the government breaks down hate crimes into several categories –
murder, sexual offenses, assault, and arson – all reported incidents must meet the
federal definition of hate crimes, which is a codified and structured standard.
However, many incidents of racial conflict go unreported (Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-
Pedersen & Allen, 1999) because the incidents may not meet the high standards of a
hate crime and victims of such incidents are reluctant to identify themselves
(Rayburn, Earleywine & Davison, 2003). Graffiti on residence hall doors, comments
made in passing, and tension between members of two ethnic minorities are an
unfortunate, but realistic part of everyday life for many students of color (Ancis &
Sedlacek, 2000; Klonoff, Landrine & Ullman, 1999; Sellers & Shelton, 2003).
Racial conflict can be overt, characterized by open hostility or physical
clashes between individuals or groups or it can take on a more indirect, subtle, or
anonymous nature. Tensions within a residence hall may peak due to a few verbal
exchanges between members of two ethnic groups, or students of color may
experience unease following a spate of anonymous hate e-mails. Termed
“microaggressions,” these relatively minor events accrue meaning and damage,
degrading the experiences of students of color and causing damage to campus
climate (Solorazano, Ceja & Yosso, 2000). Such overt and covert acts engender a
hostile environment for students of color that can significantly affect their ability to
3
succeed and participate fully in the life of the college. Torres, Howard-Hamilton and
Cooper (2003) report that students of color often feel disenfranchised, excluded and
marginalized from the dominant culture on college campuses. The news story about
alleged attacks against Asian American students at University of Michigan serves as
only one illustration of the regular and frequent acts of racial conflict that occur on
college campuses.
There are a number of individuals on campus who may become involved in
negotiating an incident of racial conflict. The student affairs staff are often the first
responders who meet with the students involved in the incident, whether they be
victims or perpetrators, and campus security may take an official report. However,
this study will focus specifically on how the dean of students prioritizes steps and
analyzes available information to determine the best approach in managing an
incident of racial conflict. While there is some research on crisis management in
higher education, guidance on how best to negotiate the emotional and political
waters of racial conflict is scarce. Most campuses have protocol to address issues
like student protests and unrest, student suicides, and other emergencies related to
natural disasters (Epstein, 2004; Swenson & Ginsberg, 1996; Whiting, 1998). But
there is a dearth of information on critical considerations for handling racial conflict.
For example, how did the campuses identified in the case examples at the beginning
of this chapter manage the numerous issues that must have surfaced after these
stories became public? At Stetson University, what role did the dean of students play
4
in meeting with the students who attended the party in blackface? How were
inquiries from media, parents and alumni handled? How does the student affairs staff
work with the student community, both students of color and White students, in
reconciling the complexity of issues related to racial stereotyping, the historical
implications of blackface and oppression?
Currently, a dean of students must work from experience, relying on other
models of crisis management to work through an incident of racial conflict. But the
nature of racial conflict is not the same as handling a building fire, the death of a
student, or a campus scandal. Racial conflict draws on the emotional and personal
instinct of individuals and groups; missteps can be politicized and also marginalize,
fragment, or threaten the full and healthy participation of a population of students.
The implications are both short-term and long-term, and the implications for changes
to policy and process in the future is critical.
Background of the Problem
The relatively rapid change in the demographics of college campuses has
created great opportunities in the area of diversity and education. The American
Council on Education (2003) reports that minority student enrollment in colleges and
universities has doubled in the last two decades, increasing from 2 million in 1980-
81 to over 4 million in 2000-01. Despite the gains of ethnic minority students in
access to higher education, equity in educational outcomes is far from reality.
5
The American Council on Education reports that African Americans and Hispanics
remain underrepresented in higher education despite significant gains made in the
last decade (Choy, 2002).
Campus climate plays a significant role in the retention and success of
students of color. Hurtado et al. (1999) conceptualize campus climate as an interplay
of a campus’ historical context and policy-based context, which includes such issues
as the college’s history, structural diversity, psychological climate and behavioral
dimension. Campus climate, as it relates to diversity issues, is most commonly
understood as the quality of support, availability of services and level of comfort for
non-majority students. Campus climates can be characterized as “warm and
supportive” or “chilly.” Hurtado et al. (1999) further note that “Central to the
conceptualization of a campus climate for diversity is the notion that students are
educated in distinct racial contexts where learning and socialization occur. These
subenvironmental contexts in higher education are shaped by larger external and
internal (institutional) contexts” (p. 4). Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh and Whitt (2005) report
that successful campuses are those that recognize the value of diversity and provide
an affirming and supportive environment for all their students, including racial
minorities. Smith (1997) cites evidence of isolation, alienation, and the potential for
lower satisfaction with one’s educational experience for minority students. Campus
climate is identified as one of the factors contributing to minority student attrition,
serving as not only an indicator of whether diverse ideas are welcomed socially but
6
also whether diverse academic and learning goals are embraced (Hurtado et al.,
1999; Smith, 1997; Torres, Howard-Hamilton & Cooper, 2003). One of the goals of
negotiating racial conflict must include developing or maintaining a supportive
campus climate for students of color, but little is known about how a dean of
students can ensure such an environment in the wake of conflict.
While there is substantial research on the topics of negotiating diversity and
racial conflict in primary and secondary education and from other sectors such as
business, it is not clear that these models are applicable to a higher education setting.
Literature on managing diversity in the business environment suggests that moving
beyond the perception that people of color must be managed differently and to a
place of understanding that there is room for everyone remains a significant
challenge (Williams and Bauer, 1994). But the higher education environment poses
different challenges than those found in business and industry. Sometimes
characterized as “loosely coupled,” colleges and universities have highly
independent systems operating within one institution. Though senior leadership may
have a strategic vision to guide the forward movement of the university, different
colleges and units within the university may function autonomously and often in
very entrepreneurial ways. The lack of a centralized function or focus can lead to
uneven implementation of goals across divisions. The presence of multiple bases of
authority also exists in higher educational institutions, creating an additional layer of
complexity in evaluating organizational change (Kezar, 2001). While a business may
7
implement strategies for managing racial conflict among its workforce, colleges and
universities usually face few problems in this area with staff and faculty, instead
finding that such problems exist among their clients – the students. Managing
adversity among students is an issue further complicated by the perception of today’s
students as consumers, with parents eagerly involved in all aspects of their students’
lives. Taken together, these differences between higher education and the business
world are significant enough to require theory and data that is education-specific to
guide managing diversity in colleges and universities. This study will address that
gap and attempt to develop guidance on the subject.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to understand the leadership role of the dean of
students in negotiating racial conflict on college campuses using a multi-case study
design. This qualitative research study explored the various priorities of a dean in
managing racial conflict on campus and seeks to understand how decisions are
prioritized and enacted. This study also explores how organizational change at the
college occurs with respect to resources, structure, or policies. For example, does the
college administration respond to a spate of harassment with the appointment of a
task force or by hiring a staff person to address diversity education? The following
research questions will guide this study:
8
1. How does the dean of students address incidents of racial conflict on a college
campus?
2. What is most challenging about working through racial conflict?
3. How does the dean of students work with students and other stakeholders when
racial conflict occurs?
4. How do decisions affect or change the campus climate? Campus policies?
Sub-questions that will also guide this inquiry include:
A. Are there barriers to organizational change related to racial climate?
B. What is the role of student development theory and racial identity
development in working with students involved in racial conflict?
Significance of the Study
This study contributes to both the theoretical base and functional practice of
students affairs, specifically related to the role of the dean of students. The research
presents a solid foundation for identifying key issues or steps to consider in the
negotiating or managing process. In the absence of such research, a dean of students
would quickly and intuitively act to address the conflict without the benefit of
thinking through critical priorities, identifying allies and stakeholders, and
conceptualizing solutions that address issues in the immediate and in the future. This
study also identified potential barriers to institutional change, whether those barriers
stem from the unintended non-alignment of purpose or mission, or an active
resistance to changing the status quo and power structure of the dominant culture.
9
It is important to note, through all of this, that ultimately, the goal of better
management of racial conflict is for the benefit of the students. Though conflict may
be unavoidable, successful handling of the issues could result in learning (both
immediate and latent) for the campus community, greater understanding of personal
and civic responsibility, more supportive educational environments that could bolster
minority student persistence rates, and an increase in dialogue and tolerance.
Definition of Terms
For the purposes of this study, racial conflict is defined as a discrete incident
or a set of incidents involving a negative interaction between individuals of
difference races or ethnicities. The term racial conflict is differentiated from hate
crimes, which is defined as “criminal acts perpetrated against individuals or
members of specific stigmatized groups, which express condemnation, hate,
disapproval, dislike or distrust for that group” (Rayburn, Earleywine & Davison,
2003 p. 1209) and many significant incidents do not meet the legal standard. Bias
incidents is another term that will be used; such incidents are harmful or racist acts
against an individual based on his or her membership in a racial, ethnic or cultural
group. Racial conflict is further differentiated from the broader phenomenon of
racism, which is defined as racist acts carried out by a group believing itself to be
superior (Solorazano, Ceja & Yosso, 2000).
10
Minority and people of color or students of color include individuals whose
racial backgrounds are African American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Latino
or Native American. Majority, or White students are those who are of European
descent.
Methodology
This study involved interviews with the dean of students at three four-year
colleges with residential programs. The colleges each have a diverse student body,
with over 50% of students identifying themselves as an ethnic minority. This study
also involved interviews with students, members of the student affairs staff and
representatives from departments that are involved in managing incidents of racial
conflict, such as campus security, the ombudsperson office and academic affairs. The
interviews focused on specific incidents of racial conflict that have occurred on
campus. The information gathered from these interviews form a rich and substantive
set of data, focusing on the direct experiences of the dean of students but also
capturing a 360 degree view of the conflict negotiation and management process
from other staff.
Organization
This chapter provided a brief introduction to the purpose of the study and its
contributions to the field. Chapter Two will offer a review of the literature relevant to
this study, including theories of organizational change. Chapter Three will cover the
methodology used for this qualitative study and offer more detail on the participants
11
of the study. Chapter Four will summarize the data collected and Chapter Five will
offer a synthesis of the information and recommendations for practice and future
study.
12
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Introduction
We know, empirically and experientially, that the challenge of educating a
diverse student body that will be ready to live and work together in an
increasingly complex and pluralistic society requires us to interrupt patterns
of social isolation. We must provide opportunities for students to practice,
opportunities to understand multiple perspectives as well as individual ones
during the college years. How, then, can we create campus environments in
which engagement across lines of difference is perceived as the norm rather
than the exception? How can we maximize the learning opportunities created
by the diversity of our communities? (Tatum, 1997, p. 214)
Negotiating racial conflict on college and universities campuses is no simple
task. The purpose of this chapter is to review literature in a number of areas pertinent
to the dean of student’s role in negotiating incidents of racial conflict. In the previous
chapter, I outlined the purpose of this study, which is to improve our understanding
of the leadership role of the dean of students in negotiating racial conflict on college
campuses using a multi-case study design. This qualitative research study explored
the various priorities of a dean in negotiating racial conflict on campus and seeks to
understand how decisions are prioritized and enacted. This study also investigates
how organizational change at the college occurs with respect to resources, structure,
or policies. For example, does the college administration respond to a spate of
harassment with the appointment of a task force or by hiring a staff person to address
diversity education? The following research questions will guide this study:
13
1. How does the dean of students address incidents of racial conflict on a
college campus?
2. What is most challenging about working through racial conflict?
3. How does the dean of students work with students and other stakeholders
when racial conflict occurs?
4. How do decisions affect or change the campus climate? Campus policies?
Sub-questions that will also guide this inquiry include:
A. Are there barriers to organizational change related to racial climate?
B. What is the role of student development theory and racial identity
development in working with students involved in racial conflict?
Chapter Two will begin with a detailed background on the role of student affairs on
college campuses and how the dean of students manages programs and services
related to student support. This section will also define the role of the student
judiciary on college campuses as it relates to violations of policy such as bias
incidents or hate crimes. Student development theory and racial identity development
theory and their relationship to the dean of student’s role in negotiating racial
conflict will also be addressed. This will be followed by literature related to campus
climate and the changing demographics of college campuses. Racial conflict and
how it manifests on college campuses will follow, and the last section will cover
literature related to organizational change, specifically the issues that inhibit the
ability of a dean of students to actively implement change related to campus climate.
14
Figure 1 offers a framework for understanding the relationship of the critical
areas that inform a dean of student’s decision-making process in negotiating racial
conflict. The role of the dean of students, student development theory, and campus
climate all form the foundation, or backdrop, to this study. I consider these three
areas the “backdrop” of the framework because the role of the dean, student
development, and campus climate are three relatively static conditions that exist on
any campus. Change certainly does occur in each of these areas, but they serve as the
basic, foundational elements of a college campus. When racial conflict occurs, it
triggers a response. This response is what is missing from the literature and serves as
the focus of this study. The outcomes of this study – what we learn about the
response to racial conflict – inform practice, which in turn supports the role of the
dean, fosters student development and supports campus climate. The central question
posed in the middle of the framework relates to organizational change and how it
occurs. This study seeks to examine these factors and to fill in the gaps of knowledge
highlighted in this framework.
15
Figure 1: Framework for Conditions and Decisions in Negotiating Racial Conflict
Student Affairs and the Dean of Students
The genesis of the role of dean and the evolution of the field of students
affairs into the twenty-first century reflects much of the growth and increased
complexity of higher education itself (Manning, 1996). The first dean of the college
for student affairs was appointed in 1890 by Charles Eliot, president of Harvard
University, who was known for his innovative contributions to higher education in
the nineteenth century (Komives & Woodward, 2003; Sandeen & Barr, 2006).
LeBaron Russell Briggs assumed this newly created role without the benefit of a
predecessor or model from which to work. Manning, Kinzie and Schuh (2006) note
that the first time a faculty member took the time to question the well-being of a
Trigger Event:
Racial Conflict
Outcome informs
practice
Dean of Students
Student Development
Campus Climate
Organizational
Change
Response
(GAP)
16
student outside of the classroom was the true beginning of the role of the dean of
students. Indeed, the early role of the dean was ill-defined at best and guided by
virtually no mission, theory or established goal other than to assist students in
transitioning to college life and to assist the beleaguered college president in his
work (Komives & Woodward, 2003; Manning, Kinzie & Schuh, 2006; Sandeen &
Barr, 2006).
The success of LeBaron in defining his early role as dean was followed by
the appointment of other such administrators, including Alice Freeman Palmer and
Marion Talbot at the University of Chicago and Thomas Arkle Clark at the
University of Illinois (Sandeen & Barr, 2006). The divergent roles of deans of
women and men remained the primary model for student affairs through the first half
of the twentieth century (Sandeen & Barr, 2006).
In 1937, the American Council on Education (ACE) published Student
Personnel Point of View that emphasized the holistic development of students in
higher education and the responsibility of educating civic leaders. This philosophy
led the way for the development of the student personnel specialization, moving
away from the model in which faculty served as house mothers and house fathers,
counselors, advisors, and coaches. The 1937 Student Personnel Point of View states
that students affairs exists “to assist the student in developing to the limits of his
potentialities and in making his contribution to the betterment of society” and “this
philosophy imposes upon educational institutions the obligation to consider the
17
student as a whole . . .It puts emphasis . . .upon the development of the student as a
person rather than upon his intellectual training alone (Manning,1996, p. 38). This
early document focused on the transactional, coordinating nature of student services
(Manning, Kinzie & Schuh, 2006), and it was not until 1949 that the second Student
Personnel Point of View was published and a new view of college students was born
(Komives & Woodward, 2003; Manning, 1996; Manning, Kinzie & Schuh, 2006;).
In this revised document, the processes and nature of student affairs was delineated
in this way:
1. Campus resources are interrelated.
2. Specialized functions should be organized.
3. Equal attention should be given to process as well as administrative functions.
4. Student affairs should participate in institutional administration, as should
students.
5. Men and women should be available in all personnel departments.
6. Programs should be evaluated.
7. Effectiveness is determined, in part, by institutional setting (Manning, Kinzie
& Schuh, 2006).
This set the stage for the more current age of student affairs, which began to view
student learning as a holistic endeavor, that services to students should be
coordinated, and that organization of these various student services can have
18
meaning beyond their purely functional or transactional nature (Komives &
Woodward, 2003; Manning, 1996; Manning, Kinzie & Schuh, 2006).
Deans as Disciplinarians
The role of the dean of students underwent even more dramatic changes with
the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. It was during that time that in loco parentis
faded from the American college landscape and students were viewed as adults
whose views of education were to be considered. Sandeen and Barr (2006) describe
the changing relationship of the student to the institution during this time of civil
unrest in American history. As student affairs professionals were called on to
manage the unrest and challenges that were taking place on college and university
campuses on a daily basis, their roles were elevated to cabinet-level leadership
positions by presidents who saw the worth of having such expertise on their staffs
(Gaston-Gayles, Wolf-Wendel, Tuttle, Twombly & Ward, 2004). While the dean of
students role experienced a new status, its unusual nature of serving the university
and also serving students placed a strain on the delicate balancing act. The
emergence of the dean of students as formal disciplinarian was accompanied by the
recognition of the need for campus administrators to be able to sanction students for
policy violations. The Association for Student Judicial Affairs (Association for
Student Judicial Affairs, n.d.) summarizes the role of campus disciplinarians by
describing their members in this way:
19
Members shall demonstrate and promote responsible behavior and seek to
enhance the responsibility that each student takes for his/her own actions.
Members support the principle of adherence to community standards and
when those standards are violated, the necessity of disciplinary interventions
that contribute to the educational and personal growth of the student.
However, it is understood in situations where the behavior of a student poses
a risk to self or others, members must take action consistent with applicable
laws and the general mission and goals of the employing institution.
Today, standard practice on most university campuses includes a student
code of conduct, which can simply take the form of an honor code, or it may include
a detailed listed of transgressions which are prohibited. Bias incidents, or hate
crimes, would fall under this code.
The dean’s leadership role can also pose challenges and personal conflicts, as
the demands of serving the college’s interests and serving students can sometimes
force one to choose between the role of student advocate and that of policy enforcer
(Gaston-Gayles, Wolf-Wendel, Tuttle, Twombly & Ward, 2004). Schuh (2002)
found that senior student affairs officers reported that dealing with difficult issues
was a significant part of their job. The student affairs staff, under the leadership of
the dean, typically sees issues of racial conflict first-hand as they are often more of
the “frontline” staff living in student housing as hall directors, program advisors and
informal counselors.
Current Accountabilities and Objectives
Today, the mission of student affairs is a part of the larger educational
mission of the campus, working seamlessly with academic affairs to provide a
teaching and learning environment for all students (Hirt, Amelink & Schneiter, 2004;
20
Manning, 1996). The dean of students typically serves as the chief student affairs
officer of the university, and may even hold a vice president title. The dean of
students may report to the president or chief academic officer, depending on the
structure of the university and the philosophy of the educational role of the student
affairs division (Sandeen & Barr, 2006). The student affairs division has also grown
significantly in recent years, with numerous functions such as judicial affairs,
orientation, first year programs, residential education and housing, student union
management, multicultural affairs, religious life, learning support services, disability
services, student activities, health services, counseling services, intramural sports,
student publications and career services. Some models also include enrollment
management – registration, admissions – as well as financial aid.
The role of the dean of students and student affairs staff in interfacing with
issues of diversity has evolved over the years as well. Today, the deans of students
on many campuses routinely engage in issues of diversity, multiculturalism and
intercultural fluency as part of their student programming and training. Student
affairs staff advise, support, and counsel students of color and minority student
support groups; they also mediate conflicts that surface in the residence halls and
among student organizations. At least two prominent researchers in the field (Baxter
Magolda, 2003; Harvey, 1998) highlight the important role of student affairs in
leading the difficult dialogues about ethnic identity, racial conflict, and other issues
21
that are systemically ignored by colleges and universities that fail to see the impact
of such issues on students’ academic endeavors.
Crisis Management
Despite the plethora of research about the field of student affairs, the
evolution of the role of the dean, and their impact on the success of students, little is
known about how a dean of students can best lead the student affairs staff and
campus stakeholders through incidents of racial conflict. Effective handling of racial
conflict by campus administrators is important; it can send a profound message about
the campus climate and the value of all members of the community, including
faculty, staff and students of color. Research on how deans handle other campus
crises, including psychological intervention for individual students in crisis, campus
deaths or other significant events, offer little guidance on best practices for
negotiating racial conflict. Swenson and Ginsberg (1996) offer some advice for how
crisis managers should not handle campus deaths; their criticism focuses on the poor
organization, lack of forethought and lack of coordination that occur on many
campuses following a tragic event. While these models may show some promise for
managing racial conflict, there are essential differences between racial conflict and
other types of campus crises. Racial conflicts are often characterized by complex
situations, with many differing viewpoints and factions; this is in stark contrast to
what often happens on campus when an unexpected death occurs. In the event of a
campus death, the community often comes together to mourn and to seek solace.
22
With racial conflict, there is typically little consensus and feelings of community
occur only in isolated pockets; it is impossible to predict what might happen and who
might be involved so planning a coordinated response would be difficult. Epstein
(2004) posits the view that crisis intervention on a campus following a tragic event
such as the attacks on September 11, 2001, should not automatically take the form of
a psychological debriefing, and that such approaches may appear helpful and
proactive but may not actually work for all students. Again, the assumption that any
sort of psychological intervention would be helpful in racial conflict would not
necessarily apply. With racial conflict, emotions may vary greatly and few students
may be prepared to seek counseling or support during this time. The research from
these two models of crisis management offer little help for the dean of students who
must manage the dynamic situations presented by racial conflict, which can pose
complex and emotional challenges that can change rapidly.
Student Development and Identity Development
The goals of affirming identity and building community are often perceived
as being contradictory, but they are in fact complimentary. Students who feel that
their needs for affirmation have been met are more willing and able to engage with
others across lines of difference (Tatum, 1997).
Forty years ago, few campus administrators understood student development
theory, which at the time was only emerging as a field of research. Today, most
practitioners in student affairs recognize the ubiquitous role of student development
23
theory in all facets of the field, from student activities to advisement. Understanding
student development theory is also a salient part of the student discipline process and
is a significant factor in negotiating racial conflict.
While earlier theorists such as Chickering focused on linear stages that
measure student progress and development (Evans, Forney & Guido-DiBrito, 1998),
others such as Baxter Magolda (2003) focus on the impact of issues such as a
multicultural learning environment and community standards on student growth and
change. Kohlberg’s theory of moral development has particular relevance to
understanding the source of racial conflict, particularly the motivation of the
individuals who commit hate or bias crimes. Kohlberg’s six stages of moral
development include:
Stage 1 Heteronomous morality: Avoidance of punishment and deference to
authority.
Stage 2 Individualistic, instrumental morality: Understand a sense of fairness,
while maintaining self-interests.
Stage 3 Interpersonally normative morality: Meeting the expectations of
others; approval-seeking.
Stage 4 Social system morality: Upholding laws and rules of society.
Stage 5 Human rights and social welfare morality: Societal laws are judged
by the extent to which they protect human rights.
24
Stage 6 Morality of universalizable, reversible, and prescriptive general
ethical principles: A much more complex understanding of morality as it
applies to universal rights for all individuals. All viewpoints are considered in
the decision-making process (Evans et al., 1998).
Assessing students’ understanding of right and wrong would inform the dean
of potential next steps in reconciliation, dialogue, learning, and resolution. It would
also set the stage for understanding where the students need to move in terms of
gaining a stronger and more complex understanding of morality and ethical decision-
making.
Another critical factor to consider in negotiating racial conflict is the role of
racial identity development. Examining the role of racial identity development is
important in laying the foundation for understanding the potential sources of student
conflict. Torres, Howard-Hamilton and Cooper (2003) note the importance of faculty
and administrators in shifting their thinking to include an understanding of racial
identity development, considering the significant impact of this phenomenon on the
everyday experiences of students. As students move though various stages or levels
of identity, from pre-awareness or early awareness to the opposite end of the
spectrum of advocacy or militancy, perceptions about the campus environment also
change (Evans et al., 1998). There are many models of racial identity development,
many of which are based specifically on race (Torres, Howard-Hamilton & Cooper,
2003). The racial/cultural identity development model (R/CID), developed originally
25
by Atkinson, Morten and Sue in 1989 and refined by Sue and Sue in 1990, is a
multicultural and multiethnic model that includes five stages (Torres, Howard-
Hamilton & Cooper, 2003):
Stage one: Conformity. The values and perspectives of the dominant group
are valued over those of one’s own minority group; the individual may be
embarrassed by his or her own culture.
Stage two: Dissonance. Conflict forces reconsideration of the conformity
viewpoint.
Stage three: Resistance and immersion. A strong and intense movement
towards one’s own minority culture and complete rejection of the majority
culture. An interest in learning about the minority culture is coupled with
anger over majority oppression.
Stage four: Introspection. Movement away from group identity to a personal
understanding of self.
Stage five: Integrative awareness. The individual has come to terms with the
majority culture and achieves a balanced perspective of majority/culture.
Students who are experiencing racial conflict may react very differently to various
situations depending on their stage of racial identity development. Students of color
in the Conformity stage may react very little to incidents of bias, while for others an
act of racism may serve as the traumatic conflict that propels them to the Dissonance
stage. Careful attention to racial identity development and a deep understanding of
26
how students of color may react to racial conflict can be critical in determining how
actions must be prioritized and which activities would best serve the situation.
Equally important in negotiating racial conflict is understanding the role of
White racial development theory. Janet Helms’ model includes six statuses that
move towards the goal of Autonomy, which is characterized by a view of race and
identity that transcends previous views of denial or racism. The six statuses are
defined in the following ways:
1. Contact: The individual is not cognizant of racial issues and does not
recognize White privilege.
2. Disintegration: Moral dilemma forces reconsideration of the previous
status and the individual must consider ignorance or respond to social
inequity.
3. Reintegration: The individual abandons thoughts of seeking equity and
returns to the comfortable zone of maintaining the status quo.
4. Pseudo-independence: The individual identifies White, racist behavior and
distances self from it.
5. Immersion: Seeking a positive model of White identity.
6. Emersion: Seeking inclusion in a multicultural community and separating
self from others who fail to recognize racism and privilege.
The students described in the Stetson University case study at the start of Chapter
One offer an interesting illustration of the various stages of White identity
27
development. The young women would likely be described as being in the Contact
stage, though the negative publicity surrounding their poor choice of Halloween
costumes and subsequent visit to the dean of students office may have served as the
impetus to move them to the Disintegration stage, where they face a moral dilemma
in struggling to understand what went wrong.
Research on racial identity suggests that an individual’s racial identity has
implications for the perception of racist acts, beliefs about of locus of control and
self efficacy, and also the ability to recover from hate crimes for those who
experience these acts (Aronson & Inzlicht, 2004; Carter, Helms & Juby, 2004).
Sellers and Shelton (2003) found that African American students who reported a
stronger racial identity also reported more experiences of racial discrimination than
students who identified themselves as less connected to a Black identity. Majority
students come to college at various statuses of identity development; it is important
that the dean of students recognize that the inability of a student to easily recognize
the implications or consequences of a hate crime may not be due entirely to
resistance or ignorance, but is evidence of a larger system of understanding, of the
lack understanding of one’s self, the role of White privilege, and the potential that
one’s innocent actions (a racial joke, some scrawled graffiti) can contribute to a
climate of oppression.
28
Taken together, student development theory and racial identity development
theories form the backdrop for the manner in which students perceive themselves
and others on campus. This sets the stage for discussion of campus climate, which is
addressed in the next section.
Campus Climate
Smith (1997) identifies campus climate as one of the integral dimensions of
diversity on college campuses. A standard textbook used in graduate education
programs for student affairs chronicles the changes in campus climate in the 1980’s
and notes that the college environment has been affected greatly by increased
scrutiny from politicians, the media and the general public over issues such as drug
and alcohol abuse, campus crime and race relations (Komives & Woodward, 2003).
This list of significant challenges on college campuses only partially illustrates the
issues related to changes in campus climate in the last two decades and what factors
have contributed to the conflicts.
The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) (2003a) reports that
the percentage of African Americans who enrolled in colleges and universities
increased from 19 percent in 1980 to 31 percent in 2000. As the number of college-
attending African Americans rose, the proportion of African American students on
college campuses also grew, from 9 percent in 1980 to 11 percent in 2000. The
proportion of Latino students on college campuses also rose, from 4 percent in 1980
to 10 percent in 2000. The population of Asian American students on college
29
campuses grew from 2 percent to 6 percent during the same period. Enrollment of
White students declined from 81 percent in 1980 to 68 percent in 2000. In sum, it is
clear that college and university campuses became more demographically diverse
over the course of the last two decades. The numbers related to increased access
illustrate only half the picture, however. While enrollment of students of color grew
between 1980 and 2000, graduation rates for African American and Latino students
continue to lag significantly behind those of White students. The number of African
American and Latino faculty on campuses in 2000 also remains relatively low, with
most faculty in these two groups holding assistant professor or lecturer titles rather
than associate professor or professor titles.
It is important to view the issue of campus climate from a purely numeric and
demographic perspective because it offers a simple snapshot of both the advances
and continued challenges for students of color. But campus climate can also be
characterized in a more general sense, with guidelines that define a model for the
optimum environment. Solorazano, Ceja and Yosso (2000) wrote that when a
campus’ racial climate is supportive of students of color, it can be characterized in
the following manner: 1) it is inclusive of faculty, staff and students of color; 2) the
curriculum includes voices and content representing many different peoples and
traditions; 3) there are programs and services to support the success of students of
color; and 4) the mission of the college or university supports diversity. A campus’
racial climate forms the backdrop for the educational and co-curricular experience of
30
all students and plays a vital role in not just the social support of minority students,
but can have implications on perceptions of belonging (Mounts, 2004) and
persistence (Hurtado, 1992; Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pedersen & Allen, 1999).
Research has shown differences in the way that minority students perceive campus
climate, often viewing the racial environment as far less supportive or welcoming
than White students (Chavous, 2005; Sydell & Nelson, 2000). Gonzalez (2002)
studied the experiences of Chicano students in their first and second year of college
and found that they reported a sense of alienation from the majority culture, feeling
as if they were not dressing, speaking or behaving to the expectations of the majority
population on the predominantly White campuses. The Chicano students in this
study felt that their Hispanic culture was not as valued as the majority culture.
Solorazano, Ceja and Yosso (2000) studied racial microaggressions and their
impact on perceptions of campus climate for African American students.
Microaggressions are defined by these researchers as “subtle insults (verbal,
nonverbal, and/or visual) directed toward people of color, often automatically or
unconsciously.” (p. 60) The accumulated effect of microaggressions within the
academic and curricular environment created a tense and disparaging campus climate
for the students in this study, fostering self-doubt, feelings of self-consciousness, the
impression that there were low expectations for their performance and a general
sense of discomfort, particularly when campuses were predominantly White. This
same study also found evidence of more subtle racism in academic settings, but more
31
overt acts in social settings. One student in the study shared that “It’s not fair on the
African American students. (I have) to be on my guard every time I go in to talk to a
professor, every time I go in and talk to the advisor, every time I go and talk to
anybody. I’m like, are they really here to help me or are they going to lead me down
the path I don’t want to go down?” (p.69)
It is clear from much of the research that a negative campus climate for
minority students serves as a barrier to equity in educational outcomes. Kuh, Kinzie,
Schuh, and Whitt (2005) found in their research that a supportive campus climate
was one of the requisite conditions for meaningful learning and success for all
students. This finding is echoed by Hamrick, Evans and Schuh (2002), who note that
the concepts of “mattering and marginality” are key components of students’ sense
of belongingness. Mattering includes the belief that one has an impact on the
environment and that one’s presence is appreciated; marginality occurs when the
student fails to connect with the academic and social units of the campus and
determines that s/he does not fit in. The issue of belongingness can be exacerbated
by the relatively smaller numbers of students of color on some college campuses.
Not fitting in or the feeling that one is not valued can become a salient aspect of
campus climate for minority students, and the consequences may involve academic
disengagement, social isolation, or even leaving the campus in search of a more
welcoming environment. In the University of Michigan case study cited at the
beginning of Chapter One, the Asian American students who responded with shared
32
outrage to the publicized incident of the male student who urinated on an Asian male
and female is an example what happens when an incident unleashes the collective
and unexpressed frustration of a community that had long felt the campus racial
climate was unsupportive.
Why is understanding campus racial climate relevant to understanding the
dean of students’ role in negotiating racial conflict? In a study of African American
and Latino college students, Hurtado (1992) found that a perceived campus
commitment to diversity was associated with low racial tension. Ancis, Sedlacek and
Mohr (2000) found that African American students in their study reported
significantly more racial conflict on their campuses than students from other racial
groups. The actions of the student affairs staff and the dean of students in negotiating
racial conflict signal commitment to fairness and equity in support of students of
color.
Racial Conflict on Campus
In the previous section, I discussed the concept of campus racial climate and
its direct impact on students. But how does racial conflict manifest on today’s
college campuses? This section will address the environment in which racial conflict
occurs.
In their longitudinal study of first year student attitudes, Astin, Oseguera, Sax
and Korn (2002) report a substantial decline between 1986 and 2001 in the number
of students who strongly agree with the statement that “helping to promote racial
33
understanding” is an important goal while in college, though the percentage of
students who expect to associate with individuals from other racial or ethnic groups
has grown significantly. In 2005, this same survey revealed that 21 percent of
freshmen at four year colleges agreed with the statement that “racial discrimination
is no longer a major problem in America.” This statement is in stark contrast to the
reports about continuing racism, chilly campus climates and barriers to success
found in studies by Hurtado et al. (1999), Smith (1997) and others outlined in the
previous section.
In a national a study of college students conducted by Levine and Cureton
(1998), students reported discomfort with discussing issues of race, and that tensions
surrounding race and ethnicity were pervasive. Conflicting reports about the
homogeneity of student groups persist, with some studies noting continued self-
segregation and a “retreat” (Altbach, Lomotey, & Rivers, 2002 p. 30) into safe
communities, while others dispel these myths, finding that ethnic minorities have
high rates of interaction with people from other ethnic and racial groups, and that
there is considerably more heterogeneity in the seemingly segregated groups than is
obvious to outsiders (Hurtado et al., 1999; Tatum, 1997).
What is emerging is a dichotomous picture of two stories that are unfolding
concurrently: one is the progress that colleges and universities have made in
enrolling larger numbers of students of color in the last four decades, with some
progress towards diversifying their faculty as well; the introduction of more
34
diversity-focused curriculum and ethnic studies; the appointment of directors or
senior-level staff to further diversity efforts; and the creation of minority student
support centers. At the same time, research is showing a divergence in the
experiences of majority and minority students, with White students typically
reporting a more equitable and positive racial climate than students of color (Sydell
& Nelson, 2000); continued acts of overt and covert racism on campuses; challenges
to affirmative action leading up to the Supreme Court, and the elimination of race-
based retention, admissions and scholarship programs. Altbach, Lomotey and Rivers
(2002) call this the “backlash” that is occurring on college and university campuses.
The backlash manifests itself in frustrations experienced by White students who
allege reverse-discrimination, minority students who continue to lack the support to
compete successfully in the academic and social life of the campus, faculty who are
reluctant to recognize the value of ethnic studies and the value of minority voices
among their ranks, and the continuing acts of racial harassment that occur daily.
These same researchers attribute the persistent racial conflict to a history of
oppression, coupled with the reality of limited resources and the inability to remedy
past deficiencies with any decisive or swift action. The multicultural milieu on
college and university campuses has grown increasingly complex, making it much
more difficult for a dean of students to negotiate racial conflict in any clear or simple
manner.
35
Colleges and universities that fail to recognize and address racial conflict
could encounter long-term consequences. Olivet College in Michigan offers a bleak
case study of what can happen when dysfunctional leadership leads to an inadequate
response to racial conflict. A history of ignoring racial equity issues in student
enrollment and faculty hiring, coupled with poor handling of a conflict between a
White student and a Black student, led to a public relations disaster at Olivet College
in 1992. The few minority students who were enrolled at Olivet at the time left, and
overall student enrollment suffered for several terms. The tuition-dependent college
faced financial ruin until new leadership was hired to address the problems
(McLendon, n.d.). Despite this bleak illustration of what can go wrong when racial
conflict is not addressed, the truth is that there are few tools available to a dean of
students and other campus administrators to guide them through the difficult
decision-making process. Are there such things as best practices in this area, as each
campus and each conflict can be so unique? This study may not provide an
exhaustive list of sure-fire techniques, but it does provide an illustration of how three
campuses chose to deal with racial conflict and how those decisions affected campus
culture, policies and future practice.
Organizational Theory
As a senior member of a college’s leadership, the assumption is that the dean
of students must have some ability to instigate change and create better conditions
for students. In the event of racial conflict, the dean may need to reallocate resources,
36
marshal support for new initiatives or develop new services to address educational
voids that may have helped facilitate the conflict. But studies of the organization of
higher educational institutions call into question the likelihood that instigating
change would be a simple process. While few would argue that any change is easy,
some researchers would claim that systemic change in colleges and universities faces
unique challenges. Colleges and universities are often characterized as “loosely
coupled,” meaning that functions are decentralized, flexible, and less predictable. In
loosely coupled structures, large-scale changes are difficult to achieve, and small
changes are likely to occur in a continuous manner rather than in discrete stages
(Weick, 1991 as cited in Kezar, 2001). Bolman and Deal (2003) emphasize the value
of clear roles and structures that delineate responsibilities, accountability, and
expectations. Without this, change will not occur effectively and organizations will
quickly revert back to their previous patterns.
Higher educational institutions are also known to have multiple bases of
power, reflecting the historical role of faculty in setting curriculum. The president
holds positional power to develop strategic vision, but must also contend with the
board of trustees, powerful deans, and other key leaders. The multiple players all
affect the ability to navigate towards a clear agenda (Kezar, 2001).
The concept of loosely couple organizations has significant implications for
the work of a dean of students. In determining the best course of action in
negotiating racial conflict, the dean must understand the multiple sources of power
37
on campus and understand how they might be invested in decisions related to the
management of this crisis. Various departments within the college or university may
also have different interests related to the outcome of the racial conflict. For
example, student affairs may be invested in the process of resolving conflict,
allowing the different parties to communicate, disagree, and work through issues
over the course of a few days, believing that such a process would yield more
meaningful and deeper learning and student growth. The public relations office,
however, might desire a swift and clear resolution that it can communicate to
external constituencies, fearing that a prolonged process would make the college or
university appear ineffective. The president’s office may also seek a quick
resolution, concerned that donors and alumni would view the process as
uncontrolled, prolonged and irreconcilable. These competing interests within one
organization would have a very real and direct impact on the ability of the dean to
prioritize and manage the racial conflict. The concept of ambiguity of success is
applicable as well. In managing such a crisis, how is success defined? Again, for
student affairs, success may be defined by the learning opportunity and in the
process of engaging students; for other campus administrators, success may be
defined only by the guarantee that such an event would never happen again.
The dean of students may encounter other barriers to organizational change.
In the absence of solid models for managing racial conflict, there may be a desire to
make decisions that show immediate results, but reflect only minor, first-order
38
changes. First-order changes represent superficial changes among some units or
individuals, but not the central operations or mission of the organization (Kezar,
2001). An example of a first-order change made during racial conflict may be the
decision to increase the operating budget of a club for marginalized students or plan
a special interest day promoting cultural awareness for one underrepresented group.
Second order changes represent deeper and more meaningful changes that are central
to the organization’s operations and identity (Kezar, 2001). Second order changes
may be facilitated by double-loop learning, characterized by learning organizations
(Senge, 1990), incorporating assessment and learning in the second “loop” of change
that allows for growth and progress towards goals. A second order change that a
dean of students may initiate would include a campus-wide dialogue on race and
ethnicity in the curriculum, with the goal of diversifying pedagogy and content to
include the works and voices of people of color. Another example of a second-order
change is a re-examination of the college or university mission, and decisions to
allocate staff positions, faculty, and resources to support an ethnic studies program to
enhance student learning outcomes.
Other theories of organizational change point to areas of resistance. Bolman
and Deal (2003) note that resistance to change can quickly disintegrate to individuals
taking sides, open conflict, a total disintegration of process and a return to status quo.
Ramaley (2002) cites conditions for change, including a clear mandate,
understanding the culture of change on the campus, determining if the campus is
39
ready to change, and determining a strategy for change. Without the right conditions
for change and little support from campus leaders, the dean may settle for superficial,
first-order changes to address the immediate situation rather than wage a larger battle
for second-order changes.
Conclusion
At the start of this chapter, I offered a framework for understanding the
relationship of the critical areas that inform a dean of student’s decision-making
process in negotiating racial conflict. This chapter has provided the background for
the three essential issues relevant to this study: the current leadership role of the dean
of students on college campuses, the importance of campus climate as it relates to the
retention and success of students of color, and the role of student development theory
and racial identity theory. This chapter has also discussed the current campus milieu
and how racial conflict persists. The literature has established that the dean plays a
critical role in managing student affairs on college campuses and can have
significant impact on the campus climate, which is essential to a healthy and diverse
community. It is also known that leadership in an environment that is slow to
change, with multiple sources of power and unclear missions or alignment can also
be challenging. What is not known from the literature, however, is how the dean of
students may best manage an incident of racial conflict and what steps are necessary
to develop or maintain a positive campus climate for underrepresented students and
40
where resistance to this process may lie. This study will close the gap on this
knowledge and offer some researched-based practices. In Chapter 3, methodology
for this case study will be discussed.
41
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS
Introduction
This chapter focuses on the methodology and research design that were used
in this study. In the previous chapter, I presented the rationale for the purpose of this
study, which is to explore the various priorities of a dean in managing racial conflict
on campus and seek to understand how decisions are prioritized and enacted. This
study also examines how organizational change at the college occurs with respect to
resources, structure, or policies.
Methodological Approach
This qualitative study was conducted using a multi-case study design and
involve detailed interviews with the participants. Yin (1994) defines a case study as
“an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-
life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are
not clearly evident” (p. 13). Yin goes on to state that case studies reflect
“comprehensive research strategies” (p. 13) that are characterized by situations in
which there are multiple variables to study, many sources of data, and draws on
theory to inform data collection and analysis. Drawing on many definitions, Merriam
(1998) concludes that the purpose of case studies is to develop a comprehensive,
deep, meaningful and rich understanding of a specific phenomenon, event or
program. This qualitative research method offers an additional advantage of allowing
the researcher to work inductively, using data to inform the development of theory to
42
explain or understand phenomena. Patton (2002) states that “Qualitative inquiry is
particularly oriented toward explanation and inductive logic. Inductive analysis
begins with specific observation and builds toward general patterns.” (p. 56)
This study is an interpretative case study, which Merriam (1998) describes as
a process in which the researcher “gathers as much information about the problem as
possible with the intent of analyzing, interpreting, or theorizing about the
phenomenon. . .Rather than just describing what was observed . . .the interviewer
might take all the data and develop a typology, a continuum, or categories that
conceptualize different approaches to the task.” (p. 38) In this study, simply
presenting the data would not be enough to make sense of the many different
responses that the participants may have to racial conflict. The interpretative case
study method allowed me to develop a deeper understanding of the ways in which
the deans approach racial conflict, categorizing the various considerations and
priorities, and perhaps even discovering a pattern or similarities in a multi-stage
process of decision-making. As I stated in chapter two, discussion of issues
surrounding racial conflict can evoke both personal and political responses from
individuals, so the proper methodology for collecting data related to this topic is
crucial. A qualitative, case study approach allowed for more open-ended exploration
of responses from the participants during the interview, producing much more
complex and nuanced data than can be achieved through a quantitative study or other
methods for data collection.
43
Studying the dean of students at three campuses was not intended to produce
data that will be comparative. Instead, I gathered data that will reflect not only
campus-specific phenomena, but also reflect some similarities in approaches,
strategies, and challenges among the different case sites. Yin (1994) notes that use of
the multi-case study model produces data that is viewed as more “robust” and
“compelling” because it is drawn from multiple case sources. (p. 45) Drawing data
from only one or two case sites may not yield the quantity of data necessary to
understand the potential range of responses that a dean of students may have to racial
conflict. Three cases allowed me to develop a richer understanding of the
experiences of not only one dean, but several, and this will yield a stronger
understanding of their practice.
Research Site
Patton (2002) notes the importance of purposeful sampling in finding
“information-rich cases” to discover the most central and meaningful data. (p. 230)
The process used in selecting the case sites for this study is both homogenous
sampling and typical case sampling. Patton defines homogenous samples as “the
strategy of picking a small, homogenous sample, the purpose of which is to describe
some particular subgroup in depth.” (p. 235) Typical case sampling is valuable in
obtaining “average-like” cases and helpful for the researcher in obtaining data on a
case that is in no way extreme, unusual or deviant (Patton, 2002, p. 236). These two
approaches suit this study well; first, it is important that the case sites chosen for this
44
study represent a small number of similar sites so that detailed and information-rich
data can be collected. Secondly, seeking typical case sites would preserve the
homogeneity of the sample, allowing more time to be spent understanding the
processes and decisions and less in trying to understand if certain anomalies in the
case site had unintended outcomes.
This case study was conducted at three independent, liberal arts colleges in
Southern California. The liberal arts colleges all award four-year degrees, have
undergraduate populations of 5000 students or less, have a residential program that
houses over 25 percent of the undergraduate student body, and have a student body
with at least 25 percent of its students who identify themselves as racial minorities.
These criteria were established for several reasons. As I mentioned in chapter
one, smaller campuses tend to foster close relationships among faculty, staff and
students, so significant incidents such as racial conflict would likely involve
stakeholders at all levels of the college, perhaps involving even members of the
faculty, the president and senior members of the administration. Small colleges were
chosen as the one of the criteria for the case sites because the relationships formed in
these smaller environments have implications for the process of student
development. Astin (2000) echoes this sentiment, noting that liberal arts colleges are
characterized by high levels of student-faculty interaction, student-student
interaction, a commitment to diversity, and an emphasis on a process of learning and
research that is more personalized and meaningful. In discussing the role of small
45
campuses and student involvement, Hersh (2000) wrote that “They do not occur by
chance but are heavily influenced by the size of institutions, the nature of their
residential arrangements, the faculty’s commitment to students . . .” (p. 183) Smaller
college communities, especially those that are residential, have a tendency for greater
saturation of news related to both problems and successes. This is in contrast to a
larger, decentralized university, where information may remain contained in one
college or unit within the institution, and communications may not be as efficient in
reaching all parts of the community. The residential nature of the campus is
important as well; interactions related to personal growth and development, even
those related to racial identity, happen in the residence halls. Taken together, these
are favorable arguments for using residential liberal arts colleges in this study.
Four year campuses offer the optimum time frame for student individuation
from parental expectations, personal growth, and change. Essentially, it is a time of
rapid development, offering the best opportunity for issues related to student
development and racial identity development to interact with the complexities of
living and learning in an independent and diverse community.
Lastly, the racial profile of the student body is an important criterion because
it is a salient component of campus climate. As discussed in chapter two, the racial
composition of the campus is one of the factors that sets the tone for campus climate
(Hurtado, 1999; Smith, 1997). A campus with only five percent students of color
would, ostensibly, have a very different climate than a campus with at least one-
46
fourth of their students identifying themselves as racial minorities. Regardless of
how committed the campus may be to educating its students about diversity, the
failure to provide access to students of color is a significant barrier to even beginning
the dialogue about diversity; therefore, a dean of student’s response would likely
reflect this difference in the campus’ racial profile and culture.
I gathered some data about potential case sites before approaching the
campuses for additional information. Much of the information related to student
body size, curriculum, residentiality, and racial profile can be obtained through
published information available to the public, such as the government’s IPEDS
website and on the respective college or university website. I also reviewed each
campus’ crime and safety statistics to assess whether any hate crimes were reported
for 2003, 2004 or 2005, which are the most current years available. Though a
campus may not report an incident of hate crime, it does not rule out the presence of
racial conflict or tension, as some incidents do not meet the legal standard of a hate
crime. After an initial review of the criteria, I contacted the dean of students at
potential case sites to discuss this study, assess whether the dean’s background fits
the stated criteria, and to ascertain whether incidents of racial conflict have occurred
while the dean was employed at the campus. If all criteria regarding the campus, the
dean of student’s professional history and the presence of racial conflict were met,
then the site was selected as one of the case sites.
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Participants
The primary participant in the study was the dean of students or someone in
the equivalent role on each campus. Only campuses in which the dean of students
has served for at least two academic years were chosen. A longer tenure suggests that
the dean will have developed a familiarity with the campus culture and climate,
established rapport with student affairs staff and relationships with students, and also
developed an understanding of the organizational structure, key players, and
processes on campus. It may not be possible to achieve this level of understanding
and familiarity in less than two academic years. The education level of the dean will
not be a factor under consideration, but he or she should have been a professional in
the field of student affairs for at least five years, and have served in a chief student
affairs officer capacity for at least three years. Establishing these minimum
guidelines ensures that the participants are familiar with the field of student affairs
and have a working knowledge of the position and its responsibilities.
Additional interviews were conducted with stakeholders often involved in
negotiating racial conflict, including students, the ombudsperson (if one exists on
campus), other student affairs staff, campus security, senior faculty, members of the
faculty senate or administrators serving in academic affairs. These individuals
offered a unique perspective on not just the racial conflict, but also the dean’s
handling of the situation, changes that occurred (or did not occur) and the conflict’s
impact on campus climate. The student interviews consisted of leaders of minority
48
student organizations or other clubs associated with furthering diversity efforts. It
was important to explore the students’ perspectives on the handling of racial conflict;
as noted in both chapters one and two, such incidents and their outcomes are a part of
the campus’ racial climate. Student leaders in minority support or diversity groups
have a stake in the handling of racial conflict, since their constituents are the ones
who are often subject to the adverse conditions perpetuated by racial conflict.
Campuses with an ombudsperson have the benefit of this individual being involved
in negotiating many different types of conflict, so her or his perspective on the
dean’s handling of racial conflict would be revealing. However, many small
campuses lack someone in this formal position. However, a senior faculty member, a
leader in the faculty senate, or faculty serving in administrative roles such as
assistant dean of faculty may be involved in negotiating racial conflict, advocating
for students or supporting movement towards a solution. For this reason, it was
important to identify individuals who are academicians on the respective campuses
who may also play a role in the process of negotiating racial conflict. The student
affairs interviews involved staff from minority support services offices, residential
life, the student judicial office, or an associate or assistant dean level administrator.
49
Data Collection Procedure
Strong qualitative research involves collecting data from multiple sources
(Patton, 2002). This study utilized both interviews and document analysis.
The sample interview protocol for the dean of students’ interviews is
enclosed, though I also allowed for the interviews to take on an emergent nature,
pursuing sub-questions and relevant topics as they were uncovered in the interview.
Each interview was one hour in length, except for the interviews with the dean of
students, which were up to two hours. In the interview with the dean, I explored
issues related to campus climate, the dean’s perspective on the college’s commitment
to issues of diversity, the student culture related to issues of diversity and minority
student support, and the college’s capacity for change. The second part of the
interview focused more specifically on incidents of racial conflict. The dean was
asked to describe the incidents in detail, provide documentation, such as a campus
safety report or resident advisor report, related to the incident, and to also detail the
subsequent approach to addressing the issues. As stated previously, the goal of these
interviews was to capture detailed, rich data that will offer a reflective,
contextualized understanding of the thought processes and the subsequent actions
taken by the dean.
I also conducted document analysis as another method of gathering data.
Official campus reports related to specific incidents of racial conflict, internal
memoranda or letters, newspaper articles or other publications related to the issue of
50
campus racial climate, printed guidelines or training manuals, and other sources of
printed or audio/video material were reviewed from each campus. I obtained some of
the documents listed in Appendix F prior to the interviews so that they could be
reviewed before the campus visits. I was not able to obtain documents that contain
confidential information, such as incident reports filed by the Campus Safety office
or student affairs personnel, since the identity of students are protected under the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), but administrators were
usually comfortable discussing the contents of the documents.
Data Analysis
Patton (2002) notes the significant challenge faced by every qualitative
researcher who begins the process of data analysis. Making sense of a large quantity
of data and organizing the information into a meaningful story is a task that requires
close examination of personal biases, revisiting the original purpose of the study, and
a structured approach to analysis.
In this multi-case study, I began by analyzing and coding interview data
within each case, using a system of discrete categories. Concepts were organized in
meaningful themes within each case, and I also identified patterns as they emerged.
Once I completed content analysis of each case, I applied a cross-case analysis
process proposed by Merriam (1998), who describes this second stage of analysis as
“ . . .qualitative, inductive, multi-case study seeks to build abstractions across cases.
51
The researcher attempts to build a general explanation that fits each of the individual
cases, even though the cases will vary in their details.” (p. 195)
Researchers advise caution with cross-case analysis, noting that too many
seek only superficial connections and themes among the cases, while more
meaningful data may remain unearthed. The potential for superficial treatment of
within-case analysis is also problematic, and researchers are advised to consider the
importance and contributions of each individual case, since a multi-case design
typically requires more investment of time and effort (Merriam, 1998; Yin, 1994).
Interview data from each case site was analyzed during the same time period
of time as the interviews. Merriam (1998) states that analysis during data collection
offers many benefits; not only is the researcher less overwhelmed by the volume of
accumulated data, but the quality of subsequent data gathering is enhanced by the
ability to thoughtfully review the material when it is still relatively new. This would
allow the researcher the opportunity to modify future interviews to seek deeper and
more meaningful information. Analysis during data collection offers the researcher a
hint of emerging themes or patterns that can guide data gathering efforts.
I applied the same process to coding and analyzing the content of the
documents, first organizing data from each case site into themes and patterns, then
applying the cross-case document analysis process to seek a deeper understanding of
convergent and divergent themes. Document analysis also occurred during the
process of data gathering for the same reasons noted previously.
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The goal was to produce the “thick description” that is typical of all good
qualitative research. The final narrative brings together the significant themes within
each case and those across all three cases, interpreting the findings within context of
the original research questions and theories.
Verification of Findings
Patton (2002) explores the topic of researcher objectivity in great detail,
writing that:
Quality and credibility are connected in that judgments of quality constitute
the foundation for perceptions of credibility . . .Thus, it is important to
acknowledge at the outset that particular philosophical underpinnings or
theoretical orientations and special purposes for qualitative inquiry will
generate different criteria for judging quality and credibility. (p. 542)
As a professional in the field of student affairs for some time, it is important
for me to examine my biases related to data generated from the interviews and the
document analysis. Without regular self-examination and reflection, it is feasible that
I could approach this project with preconceived views of how racial conflict should
be negotiated and the best course of action. Besides using two methods for data
collection, I also utilized member checks and peer examination as strategies to
enhance internal validity. Member checks involves contacting participants following
the interviews and sharing rough drafts of work, interpretations of data and analyses
to obtain their view of the accuracy and credibility of the data (Creswell, 1998;
Merriam, 1998). At the end of each interview, I asked the participant if I may contact
her or him in the near future to share my interpretation or analysis of the interview
53
for the purposes of clarification or verification. This third contact took place by
email and occurred as data was being coded and analyzed.
Peer examination is another method of verifying data that involves critical
examination of the data by a peer. The peer examiner not only questioned the
analysis of data, but also critiqued methodology, approach and process (Creswell,
1998; Merriam, 1998). The peer examination was conducted by another third-year
student in the Doctorate of Education program at the University of Southern
California. The peer debriefing sessions took place as data was being gathered and
analyzed.
Ethical Considerations, Assumptions and Limitations
I have worked in higher education for 13 years. During that time, I served as
director of a diversity program for five years and as a dean of students for the last
three years. In both positions, I was involved in many cases of racial conflict,
ranging from mild harassment from an unknown perpetrator to volatile situations
between groups of students. I am familiar with the intense emotional, political and
personal issues that are involved with issues of racial conflict. I approached this
study with the knowledge that I have opinions and biases related to this research
topic due to my personal experiences. However, I am committed to exploring this
topic in an unbiased and objective manner, seeking only to understand the
experiences of the research participants and to help identify some practices which
may assist others in negotiating racial conflict on a college campus. My experience
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with the field of student affairs is an asset in this study. I am familiar with the
context, operations and processes that take place on college campuses, so interviews
with the participants focused on the research questions and less on the background or
environment. It was also easy to establish rapport with the participants, particularly
the dean of students, since we share some professional experiences. Lastly, I am
accustomed to working closely with students in my current work, so interviews with
those participants were comfortable and informal.
Several assumptions that are important to note in this study include: 1) all
campuses experience some form of racial conflict, though conflict may be more
covert on some campuses; 2) because conflict occurs on all campuses, there should
be no value judgment made about the mere occurrence of such incidents; 3) as I
stated previously, incidents of racial conflict are often emotional, political and
personal, sometimes traversing the public and private spheres for both victims and
perpetrators. As such, a dean’s handling of such situations is likely to be situation-
specific and may not be generalizable to all such incidents; 4) college
administrations are complex organizations; the handling of such political and public
incidents may reflect such complexity.
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Conclusion
This chapter has outlined the process for data collection, analysis, and
interpretation of this multi-case study. Interviews and document analysis served as
the primary forms of data collection, and analysis took the form of coding first
within each case study, followed by a multi-case study process. Multiple data
collection methods, member checks, peer examination, and examining personal
biases are all strategies I used to verify data and to enhance validity.
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CHAPTER FOUR: THE THREE CASE INSTITUTIONS
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to understand the leadership role of the dean of
students in negotiating racial conflict on college campuses using a multi-case study
design. This qualitative research study explored the various priorities of a dean in
managing racial conflict on campus and seeks to understand how decisions are
prioritized and enacted. This study also investigates how organizational change at the
college occurs with respect to resources, structure, or policies.
Research questions guiding this study focus on how the dean of students
addresses incidents of racial conflict on a college campus, understanding what is
most challenging about working through racial conflict, exploring how the dean of
students works with students and other stakeholders when racial conflict occurs, and
lastly learning how decisions affect or change the campus climate or policy. The
study also examined campus barriers to organizational change related to racial
climate, and explored the role of student development theory and racial identity
development in working with students involved in racial conflict.
Chapter Overview
In this chapter, I offer a detailed description of the three colleges and
introduce data obtained from the interviews. For each college, there is narrative
relating to the campus’ location, student profile, a brief history, and other factors that
help to establish context. This is followed by a section describing the organizational
57
structure of the student affairs division. Campus climate, procedures for handling
racial conflict, the presence of conflict, and barriers to change are the sections to
follow. In each section, responses from participants are organized to create a
coherent picture of the respective campuses’ approach and challenges. This is
followed by a summary section to review key findings on each campus.
The colleges are: Serenity College, a small, private college primarily for
women; Township University, an independent liberal-arts university adjacent to a
bustling urban area with numerous satellite campuses across the United States; and
Traditional University, another independent, mid-sized university with a strong
religious history that has experienced a recent period of growth and development.
Serenity College
Serenity College has a long and distinguished history of supporting the
education of women at both the associate degree and baccalaureate degree level.
Enrolling nearly 2500 students each year, the college offers a traditional liberal arts
curriculum in the undergraduate program. The college was founded by a religious
order and continues to honor that religious affiliation.
The college has two campuses, each one devoted primarily to serving each
degree program, but the differences do not end there. The baccalaureate campus is
situated in an exclusive neighborhood, nestled in the hills among million-dollar
estates. The associate degree campus is located on a separate campus, in the heart of
the one of the busiest and most densely populated areas of this urban city. The
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associate, or two-year campus, is comprised of stately homes and mansions donated
to the college by wealthy benefactors years ago; a security fence now encircles the
grounds of the two-year campus, providing a quiet haven for the female students
who live and study on the premises. While both campuses have beautiful, stately
buildings, I was struck by the contrast of the two: the hillside campus offers views of
the city as you wind your way up small neighborhood streets through the canyon; the
urban campus requires a quick exit off the freeway and several sharp turns through
congested, gritty streets before entering the main entrance of the campus that bears
little signage and calls little attention to itself.
I was told during my visits that some parents have the false sense that
Serenity College is a convent: the cloistered and secure nature of both campuses, the
predominantly female student body, and the presence of the Sisters who still take an
active role in the teaching and leadership at Serenity make parents of the young
women feel like the campus is immune from all the temptations and ills of the rest of
the world. By profile, the students at Serenity appear to be anything but sheltered:
95% of the students come from this urban area, often from gang-ridden, high-crime
neighborhoods. Fifty-eight percent are first-generation college, 36% come from
families earning less than $30,000 a year, 98% receive some form of financial aid,
and two-thirds of the students come from public high schools. The college is over
40% Latina, making it a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Asian American and
White students each comprise over 18% of the college, and African American
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students comprise 10% of the students. Over two-thirds of the women live in the
residences halls on both campuses. While some courses on each campus allow open
enrollment, the majority of students take classes on their respective home campuses
and rarely venture onto the other campus.
Organizational Structure of Student Affairs
The chief student affairs officer is the vice president of student affairs and
reports directly to the president. The vice president supervises two associate vice
presidents, one for each campus, as well as several directors and staff managing
residential life, student life, religious life, learning support and career services. Most
of the student conduct cases are handled in residential life, and all others are
processed by the two associate vice presidents. The associate vice president of the
hillside campus recently left that position to assume another leadership position at
the college. I chose to interview her rather than her successor since she had served in
that capacity for over a decade and provided a better source of information.
Campus Climate
All participants in the study reported that the campus climate in general is
very supportive, positive, and relatively uneventful. The fact that the student body is
so diverse was noted in each interview, though experiences do differ depending on
ethnic group: “I think our campus is very welcoming for students of color and of
course that’s our predominate population.”
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One administrator noted:
I think it’s welcoming for African American students and students of
Hispanic descent. I think it’s tolerant of Asian Americans. And I don’t think
it’s very welcoming for Caucasians. Well, it comes from critical mass. It
comes from . . .you walk into a room and people are looking for people like
them. And when you look around and you see very few people like you, it’s
uncomfortable. When you go into the dining room and every meal has some
sort of Spanish offering - Spanish food item. It makes a statement. When you
sit down in a class or walk into a class and the majority of conversations
between students are in Spanish. And you don’t speak Spanish regardless of
your ethnicity. You’re excluded. And after a while when you’re excluded
from so many different environments you’re not comfortable.
Two participants noted that while the student body is diverse, many students
came from homogenous environments where their own ethnic group was often the
majority. One student interviewed reported her surprise when she arrived at Serenity
College, not realizing how diverse the student body was:
I thought it was really interesting when I first got here because I felt like there
was so many Latinas and Hispanics. And that there was such little . . .I guess
the White people. . .’Cause I didn’t visit this campus before I came here so
when I did there was a lot of minority people. Not very many White people. .
. .So, but I think it’s been good. I thought it was really . . .I didn’t feel left out
or anything so. I’ve heard some of my classmates actually talking about that.
They say that a lot of the different racial groups tend to stick together. But I
think it has more to do with that, but it also has to do with the majors that
they’re in. Because I’ve noticed that a lot of like the nursing majors are
Latina and a big percent has said that a lot of Latina people tend to stick
together. But it’s actually, they’re all the nursing students. . .I think the
instructors here are pretty, pretty good . . .with the different racial stuff.
Serenity College is a place where faculty welcome their involvement outside
of the classroom, and many take on additional responsibilities as advisors or
mentors. In general, there appear to be few examples of racial tensions within the
classroom, none of which was perpetuated or fostered by faculty. The vice president
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of students affairs did note that efforts were made through grant funding and other
sources to provide diversity training for faculty so that they were prepared to work
with minority students and also first generation college students in their classes.
And one of the things that we’ve done here to address that is to develop more
cooperative learning strategies and do workshops and collaborative teaching
and team building and so on and so forth, because we do know that these,
well all groups actually benefit, but especially these groups can benefit more
from a collaborative approach to education.
Nearly all participants also noted differences in climate between the two
campuses. The two-year campus is generally seen as much more nurturing and
developmentally focused, both personally and educationally. Students who opt to
attend the two year campus often do so because they lack the necessary test scores,
grade point average or general readiness to start a four year program on any campus.
The vice president of student affairs reports:
We have a difference in our 2 year campus . . .here because the student
(body) is so dominantly Latina. Yeah, we’re approaching the high 80
percentile for Latina population. (They are from) the immediate community.
This campus tends to be super regional. Most of the students in the 2-year
program are within a 16 to 20 mile radius. As opposed to the Baccalaureate
program, they are within a 60 to 90 mile radius. So that just makes the
difference. And so, the African American students on this campus for
example, they might report more of a struggle or an issue with comfort that
may be different than on the (main) campus. That has been something that
we’ve seen. We’ve had a higher attrition rate on our 2-year campus with
African American students.
Administrators use a very intrusive approach in advising the two-year student
and actively look for indicators to identify-at-risk students, such as looking at timely
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completion of registration each term, the submission of housing forms, and other
procedures. The new dean of the associate program had this to say:
After being here 6 months, I’ve sort of been converted. My perception was
that the staff and faculty at (the two year campus) were doing too much hand
holding. And they were lowering the bar unnecessarily. And if they would
just raise the bar the students would achieve. I don’t think that’s true. I think
it’s a level of readiness that these students don’t have and I can’t quite figure
out why they don’t have it.
One administrator felt that the baccalaureate campus is sometimes more
inviting to students who are not accustomed to the 75-80% Latino student population
at the two year campus. A faculty member noted: “. . . for as long I can remember
the students generally segregate themselves by ethnicity in class, at the (two year
campus) more than they do up here (on the main campus).”
Several administrators interviewed commented on the college’s commitment
to hiring more faculty of color and the challenge of offering enough same-ethnicity
staff mentors to students, even though it is not something that students are vocal
about. The dean of the associate program said:
So it’s, it’s very difficult for our students to find mentors and role models
among the faculty. So many of our staff step up and serve in that capacity. It
really happens organically. . . .the staff has taken it upon themselves to. . . I
mean they’ve identified the need.
A senior faculty member did note that the ethnicity of faculty and staff mattered to
students. She would often invite a staff member to her class to talk about learning
support and tutoring, but there was also a subtext to his presence in the classroom.
63
And I would have him always come to my class, my Soc 5 class and talk to
them their first year, you know, first semester session about, started out about
study skills. But what he ended up talking to them about was his issue of
don’t be afraid to succeed. And don’t be afraid that you’re being disloyal to
your community if you decide…that you want to go on and work in
Washington D.C. . . talking about the culture and he was especially, I think
talking to the, to the, a lot of the African American students. But he was
saying things that I could never say to them. I mean a lot of things, I know
that when I say things, they think, pfft, you know you’re an old White
woman. What do you know?
Procedures for Handling Conflict and the Role of the Dean
In nearly all the interviews, the participants identified the vice president of
student affairs or her associate vice presidents as the main facilitators of incidents of
racial conflict. Though the vice president was seen as a resource and as the
individual most knowledgeable about the handling of such issues, many of the
smaller incidents were handled, often on-the-spot, by faculty or other student affairs
staff without the intervention of the vice president.
Procedures for handling racial conflict included a report generated either by
campus safety or through the office of Residential Life. More serious violations of
the Community Standards, or code of conduct, would involve one of the associate
vice presidents, but most were managed by the assistant director of residential life,
the director of residential life, or by a faculty member if the exchange took place in
the classroom. In one example cited, the associate vice president had a conversation
with the director of the fundraising office because one of the female students being
harassed was related to a Board of Trustees member. However, no other examples of
briefing media, the senior staff or the president were offered. The most common
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procedure was a meeting with the individual students involved, floor meetings in the
residence halls, or other communications with students in general to alert them to the
issue and to denounce acts against the campus community. In a recent example, one
incident of anonymous graffiti on a residence hall room dry erase board was reported
to the resident advisor, who then notified the assistant director of residential life.
Though the perpetrator was not known, the residential life staff met with the student
who resided in the room, then issued a residence hall bulletin about the act that
reiterated community standards against graffiti and hate speech.
One administrator noted privacy issues as one reason why they limited
communications, but also said that the small and close nature of their community
meant that students knew anecdotally about sanctions and consequences of violating
community standards. Such sanctions have included apologies, educational activities
(writing a paper, for example) or removal from housing, and none have risen to the
level requiring suspension or expulsion from Serenity College.
The associate vice president offered a unique approach to handling racial
conflict that drew on the college’s history, traditions and respect for the religious
order that founded the institution. She would sometimes call the women who remain
in the religious order to lend support and a sense of weightiness to serious
conversations:
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Interestingly enough, one of the resources I would use at (the two year
campus) are the Sisters. And some of that is because a majority of our
students are Latina. And these are all just gross generalizations . . .and the
majority of Latinas are Catholic. There’s so much respect for the Catholic
Church. I mean that’s part of the reason why we don’t have much graffiti on
our campus is because there’s a lot of respect for the Catholic Church and
we’re a Catholic campus. And so, it’s like for me to go in and try to settle
some things by myself would be one thing. But to bring five Sisters in with
me…is another thing. So that would be, that would be one resource or one
strategy.
Challenges and Student Development
At Serenity College, the administrators felt that the challenges related to
facilitating racial conflict are directly related to the development level of the
students, especially those who are new to the college community. Several staff
commented on how unaware students were of the impact of prejudicial,
discriminatory or racially derogatory language. The Director of Residential Life
encountered this issue a great deal in her student conduct work and noted how
difficult it was to guide students in their understanding of why bias incidents had
hurtful consequences. Oftentimes, the director noted, students behaved in ways that
were meant to amuse, which made it difficult for them to understand why
administrators would react negatively to the pranks.
. . . the student said oh, I did it and it was a joke. She just said some not nice
things about me, really bad. And so this is how I’m getting back at her, but
it’s a joke. And then it was two other students and they said oh, we don’t feel
bad. It’s fine, it was a joke. And even though it was a joke, we said it’s
serious. And in our principles of community and our policies we state, we
can’t say it’s a joke . . It’s not just about disciplining them and giving them a
punishment. It’s about helping them understand and develop what they did
was wrong. And that it’s not acceptable anywhere.
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Because we’re… at (the two-year) campus we have more minority groups
and more diverse. And so they are from the surrounding areas. . . And they
have a different level of development. . . .And so when they come to college,
they get shocked a little bit that it’s not appropriate. And that’s when all the
programming that the resident assistants do and unfortunately when they
meet with us, that’s when we help them develop that. And that’s when we try
to develop them in those situations at (the two-year campus more so) than
here.
And I found that has helped them realize because they say okay, you are
serious. And I do need to know, I’m an adult. I need to go up to the level of a
college student and grow on the other levels that I didn’t know before.
While the previous examples highlighted ways in which students did not understand
the impact of irresponsible language and perpetuation of negative stereotypes, one
faculty member at Serenity College had different concerns related to student
development. She felt that many of their students came from sheltered, homogenous
environments where there was little exposure to issues of ethnic identity so the skill
or ability to recognize racial conflict or racism was not well developed. However,
this faculty member also noted that she saw students’ levels of understanding about
race relations change over time.
And we talk about discrimination and stuff in class and we’ll have people that
have grown up here . . .where I know it exists. That they’ll say no, I’ve never
experienced it. And I think it’s because they have been in an enclave, where
they have gone to either very local schools that are highly homogeneous. And
then maybe they’ve gone to a private Catholic school or something for high
school. But they have not been out and experienced that sort of interethnic
hostility that might go on. So it’s sort of a good thing they don’t get. And I
think the way we have framed some of the other …that any sort of
generalization thing they make are just, it’s developmental because they are
still on the cutting edge of learning about the world. And I think that we see
them change. It’s true. I know, well I do know that a lot of the, I see it more
in those first semester freshman at (the 2 year campus).
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The vice president of student affairs also spoke about the developmental level
of students and recognized that it is different on the two campuses. On the two-year
campus, she sees the increased likelihood of conduct violations, partially due to lack
of preparedness for college, but also because there are no older students to learn
from. This suggests, once again, that administrators believe that challenges lie
primarily with first and second year students, and that change and learning occur
after several semesters of enrollment.
Yes. . . this obviously being a 2-year program here you really see some
maturity issues that are fairly challenged here. A student on this campus, a
freshman is about 6 times more likely to have a conduct review than one of
them. . .having guys in the hall after the hours when they’re not supposed to,
it’s stuff like that. It’s like maturity issues, developmental, that first year
maturity. . . .I think these students are just not prepared for college and they
haven’t had the role models. Many of these students have parents who have
not gone to college, more socio-economically challenged. All of those things.
So that’s going to be a normal kind of expectation. The other thing is not
having the upper division students here to kind of temper the behavior.
Because when you have a senior see a freshman acting out, you know cut it.
And so they can role model those things and you know students learn more
from their peers than from anyone.
Presence of Racial Conflict
Every person interviewed at Serenity College – faculty, administrators and a
student – said that racial conflict rarely occurs at all and had difficulty identifying
any significant events to share with me. Inevitably, however, most participants were
able to share at least one or two examples of racial conflict, usually involving
students, and sometimes also involving a staff or faculty member. The vice president
of student affairs sees more separatist behavior than overt acts of racism. She cited
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an incident at orientation, in which she had an arts and crafts program for students
during a social hour. The African American students sat at one table and the vice
president felt they would not look at her when she sat at their table, avoiding her eyes
when she spoke. Following this incident, she talked with a group of African
American faculty and staff about this:
I guess they had a pretty heated discussion from what I heard about, amongst
themselves, about the various issues and why that happens and why it . . is it
appropriate, is it inappropriate. Why should someone have to look at
someone. . . so I think some of their own stuff came out as well.
The vice president also shared an incident in which some Latina students
hung ghosts on trees on campus to decorate for Halloween. The African American
students objected, saying it looked like lynchings. In a productive conversation that
ensued, the Latina students heard the feedback and removed the ghosts and it has not
happened again. Tensions between the largest group – Latinas – and the smallest
group, African Americans – occurs at other times as well. The vice president says
that there has been some discomfort voiced from African American students about
the use of Spanish at some of the Catholic services. The administration responded by
planning a special liturgy with more soulful music to reflect African American
traditions, and that was received well.
There were few examples of other incidents. The director of campus safety
reported knowledge of only “name calling” and use of racial slurs, none of which
would normally involve himself or his staff. A faculty member reported tensions in
class once over a discussion of Latin-American culture, revealing culturally-held
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biases within the group related to nationality, hierarchy, status, and other issues that
were hurtful and directly impacting the students present. The faculty member also
reported some conflict between students and food service workers several years
back, which was handled by the vice president of student affairs. This faculty
member went on to say that most tensions between students that she hears about
involve decisions about personal lifestyle choices – the decision to engage in pre-
marital sex, relationships with men or women, etc. One student interviewed could
not think of one example of racial conflict on campus that has taken place in her 3 ½
years on campus. She is an active student leader who is involved in more than one
ethnic minority support club and considers herself both well-connected and
knowledgeable of campus issues.
The associate vice president noted “We’ve been fortunate that we’ve had so
little (of) any kind of racial discord on campus.” She recalls hearing from students
occasionally regarding minor comments made in the classroom about single mothers,
immigration or English as a second language learners, but rarely anything construed
as racial. She recounted some examples of racial conflict, however. In one incident
during orientation at the four year campus, the words “White Bitch” were written on
two dry-erase boards in the residence halls. One of the women was Latina, though
she did not appear stereotypically Latina because of her light colored hair and
complexion. Ultimately, the issues were centered more around perceptions of socio-
economic status of both women rather than their race.
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A second incident involved an African American, male student. After several
minor interactions between this student and the department, he hung signs at
graduation saying the department was racist. The associate vice president met with
the student on several instances, but was not able to address the complaints to his
satisfaction. The male student had a loud voice and was large man with a significant
physical presence, which may have contributed to other administrators or faculty
feeling intimidated. Ultimately, there was no direct evidence of bias against the
student and he left dissatisfied.
Lastly, a boyfriend of female student was assaulted and battered on campus
following a student event; LAPD classified this incident as a hate crime, but it may
have been gang related. Since this incident did not involve any member of the
Serenity College community in any direct manner, it was handled by law
enforcement externally.
The Lack of Racial Conflict
At the start of each interview, I defined racial conflict to include a large
spectrum of occurrences, ranging from anonymous graffiti on someone’s door, a
harassing letter or email to actual fighting among individuals or groups of people.
Despite this broad definition, many participants said that racial conflict does not exist
on this campus and the conversation turned naturally to the question of why. Several
participants noted the religious nature of the college, the commitment to social
justice and the presence of the Sisters in setting the tone for harmony. Others noted
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the student body is predominantly female and that women have a tendency to resolve
differences in a non-confrontational manner, and two participants characterized the
student body as “passive.”
Others interviewed felt that the strong fit between the mission of the college
and the women who matriculate paves the way for shared educational goals and a
level of seriousness in their work at Serenity College. The sentiments expressed in
this one quote from an administrator were reflected in what others felt as well:
I think that the students who get drawn to this safe comfortable environment.
. . .don’t want to mess up. They already are looking you know, they already
know, I mean they feel really fortunate to be here. They don’t want to wreck
it. You know sort of the fear of messing up.
Another administrator felt that students at Serenity College have chosen to be in a
diverse environment and are therefore prepared to weather the challenges of
understanding differences:
I think a lot of the students that come here have self-selected to come to a
very diverse campus. We really look like Los Angeles. And so they come
here already knowing they’re going to be exposed to a lot of different people.
It’s also small enough that I don’t think you feel like you have to really take
care of yourself you know…that if, if you have to be defensive. Student
Affairs and everything tell students no, we’re here for you and we want you
to succeed. I think there was a bigger, not an issue, but I think students are
really appreciating that we are really making an attempt to get faculty now
that represent our student population. And working hard to bring in more
minority faculty.
The vice president of student affairs expressed a strong sense of purpose in
addressing issues of diversity in order to prevent racial conflict:
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But that doesn’t mean it can be unattended. We have to be very vigilant that
it is welcoming and that the welcoming aspect isn’t just assumed but
demonstrated specifically over again in every possible way. Well for
example, retaining African American students has been an ongoing challenge
of ours and goal of ours. Well actually, it’s interesting it’s African American
and White students are equally at risk -- as critical mass issues for both
groups. . .we have actually seen it with both. But with the African American
students we have a special admissions event for those students. And while
staff, a variety of staff invited will especially focus on our African American
faculty and staff to be there with the students and to mentor those students
from the very beginning of the admissions process and then on through the
first year. But it takes, it just takes ongoing work and attention. You can’t
pause on that.
The vice president of student affairs noted a historical commitment to cultural
fluency, expressed through the curriculum and dating back many years:
Even over the past 20 some years. . I cannot see that there has been an
incident that has brought us to that. I mean I do know we’re a very special
place. . .Students I think know from the very beginning that kind of
collaborative environment we are. We are primarily a women’s college. And
so that gives a certain advantage in terms of not having violence as a result of
conflict that there are other types of waits that’s expressed. But that’s a very,
I think we’ve been so vigilant for so long, we’ve worked so hard on this issue
from way back in the you know, the very, very beginning of the founding of
the college that it’s just part of who we are. If our commitment to putting
multi-cultural content in all of the curricula. Our goal is what we call cultural
fluency that we don’t want students to get somebody to be experts in any
culture. But we want them to feel fluent enough to walk across culture in
comfort.
Barriers to Change
Since all participants cited little in the way of overt racial conflict, there was
little conversation about any barriers to change as a result of such incidents. On the
general topic of organizational change, the vice president of student affairs said that
change occurs from both the senior leadership of the college and from grassroots
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efforts. Because the organization is small, changes can be enacted relatively quickly,
with input from stakeholders on many levels. Change also relies heavily on personal
relationships, which is another reflection of the small size of the organization. In this
quote, the vice president of student affairs discusses the various types of influence
exerted by administrators and faculty, suggesting that power is conferred often
through longevity and not necessarily by position.
. . . I think people know each other and can talk to each other. Along the same
lines then, does power influence come with position or does it come with um,
other, other factors. Like tenure, not in a literal sense, but longevity here…
affiliation. Well position is obviously, you know a given. You know, you
have certain kinds of responsibilities in decision making. You’re going to
have more power influence, but I think there’s, we work very strongly by
relationships. And I think that might partly be a woman’s college but,
relationship and trust and that is both been developed over time. And that’s
very much what can create influence. I think of some very senior faculty
members…that people just admire and trust and they may not be department
chair . . .they may just be a faculty member and they have a lot of influence.
Summary
The vice president of student affairs and her staff were seen by nearly all
participants as the primary individuals working with students on issues of racial
conflict. Concerns about students’ maturity levels and the lack of willingness to
engage in conflict were identified as possible reasons why students would be less
able or less willing to identify acts as racist.
The predominant message delivered by all participants at Serenity College
about racial conflict is this: it doesn’t happen here. In fact, half of the participants
were not able to identify even one example of a racial conflict. Those who had been
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on campus for 5 or more years and senior-level administrators were better able to
identify at least one example of an incident that was handled expeditiously in the
past. Participants felt that the nature of the student body (primarily female, first
generation college, ethnic minority, many who are from working class backgrounds,
religious) and the college’s active attempts to address issues of diversity were the
reasons why such little conflict existed. Rather than a sense of complacency, I had
the sense the administrators and faculty were rather vigilant about this issue in
particular.
Township University
Township University was founded in 1891 by members of a church seeking
to establish itself in a small, agricultural community in the West. When the town
changed its name in the early part of the 1900’s, the college followed suit. Township
University is now situated in a thriving suburban community that reflects much of
the same diversity as other cities in the region. The university established several off-
site campuses nearly forty years ago and now grants a sizable number of professional
and doctoral degrees in addition to their undergraduate degrees. Township
differentiates between the traditional-aged, undergraduate students on the main
campus from all of the students that enroll in their programs across the country. For
the purposes of this study, the focus was on the issues and experiences of the
traditional-aged, undergraduate students on the main campus.
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The traditional-aged, undergraduate student population at Township is nearly
1,400, with more females (63%) than males enrolled (37%). Over 53% of the
students identify themselves as African American, Asian American, Latino/a or
Native American. The two largest ethnic groups are Latino (37%) and White (34%).
Thirty-eight percent of the students at Township University are the first in their
family to attend college. Over 90% of students in 2003 were eligible for some form
of need-based financial aid. Students report a warm, engaged and involved faculty.
The traditional liberal arts curriculum offers special first-year courses aimed at
orienting and preparing students for the rigors of college life. Recent grants have
allowed faculty to revise course syllabi to include more material from minority
perspectives.
When I visited Township University, I was struck by the lack of boundaries
around the campus’ property. In fact, it was often difficult to determine when the
campus ended and when the city’s businesses, services and municipal offices began.
The campus occupies several city blocks, but it is surrounded by private residences
on one side, the old town district on another side, and the city police department on
yet another side. The fluidity of the campus communicates openness to the
community, which has had a long-standing relationship with this private, liberal arts
university. However, the physical identity of the campus – the boundaries, the
architecture, the lack of any main entrance or gate – is not distinctive and does not
communicate a strong presence. However, students and administrators reported that
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the compact and small nature of the campus lent itself to a close-knit and supportive
environment.
The university has been the beneficiary of a number of grants aimed at
supporting minority student populations, diversifying the curriculum and hiring
faculty of color. One of the more significant investments has been in the creation of
an intercultural support center, which has not only served as the lead on many of
these grants, but has also collected data related to student satisfaction and campus
climate, advised minority student groups and sees itself as the primary source of
support for students, faculty and staff of color. The director of this center reports
directly to the president of the university. Recently, this intercultural support center
has refocused its efforts on academic support for students of color and shifted its co-
curricular advisement to student affairs, where it had resided before the creation of
the intercultural support center in 2000. One year ago, the intercultural support
center was moved from an office in the central part of campus to a stand-alone
building on the edge of campus. Whether it was intended or not, I felt that the
location of the office signaled marginalization from the rest of the services on
campus, and administrators reported that students voiced this concern as well.
Organizational Structure of Student Affairs
The Dean of Students serves as the chief student affairs officer of Township
University. She has served in this role for over ten years and reports to the president.
The associate dean of students handles non-residential student conduct cases and
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other administrative functions. The dean has a staff comprised of directors of
residential life, student life, multicultural affairs, career services, and learning
support services. As I mentioned previously, the director of the intercultural support
center does not report through student affairs and there appears to be little regular
collaboration between these two areas.
Campus Climate
Every participant interviewed commented on the diversity of the student
body and spoke about it in a positive manner. However, participants had very mixed
views of how students would view the campus racial climate. The director of campus
safety felt that students were “genuinely glad to be in the presence of others” and that
they all got along well. He also noted that “ . . .we just don’t have any type of
negative interaction with the students.”
The director of the intercultural support center had a different view, stating
that “I’d say that there’s, you know there’s a lot of tension.”
The dean of students felt that generally, the experience for students of color
would be the same as for White students, but also noted that last fall semester the
African American student group held a retreat at a faculty member’s house and
discussed many of the issues affecting their community at Township University. The
retreat addressed issues related to internal and personal conflict, but also touched on
recent problems that African American students had with different coaches within
the athletics department, the lack of African American faculty and staff, and
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therefore the lack of advocates and mentors, and also the perception and treatment of
African American students in the classroom. In summary, the African American
student community had many things to be concerned with and found a mechanism
for communicating them. This can be contrasted with survey data provided by the
dean of students, in which 40% of White, first year students reported satisfaction
with diversity on campus. One administrator noted, however, that this response can
be interpreted in two different ways:
I think (the question) had to do with how much of a need (they had) to
receive multicultural services . . It wasn’t overwhelming and, and I think
sometimes they respond that way - either they’re comfortable with already
the interaction they have or frankly they don’t see it as important.”
One African American student interviewed had never experienced racial
conflict at Township University herself, and felt that the campus racial climate was
good. She reported hearing the occasional use of a racial slur, but nothing more
serious. This student felt that Township University worked hard to educate students
about multicultural experiences, citing ethnic food and movie nights in the residence
halls, international food menus in the dining hall, and other opportunities for
interaction among different student groups. This active student leader painted a very
positive picture of her experience at Township University. When I pressed her on
this issue, noting that she was an exceptional student who was clearly connected and
made good use of her resources, she admitted that many students at Township were
disengaged and did not enjoy being there.
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Another student, who is Latino, felt similarly about the lack of racial conflict
in general. His concerns were focused mostly on gender inequality on campus and
the lack of male representation and engagement among student leaders. This student
did comment on some minor issues related to racial inequity in the classroom,
feeling that the curriculum was sometimes geared towards White students, though he
could report no overt acts of racial conflict.
The director of multicultural affairs, which is housed in student affairs, began
the interview with the comparison of Township University with “Mayberry,”
jokingly referring to the campus as an idealized small town with lots of cheery,
friendly faces and little conflict. However, he experienced some resistance from
members of the Township community when he created different support structures
for the various minority student groups.
You know, it was as (in the) 50’s you know, we love each other. You know
there’s no real big issues. We don’t talk about these things so they really
don’t exist and people are not, you know we’re really all the same. You know
that people were not really able to express or feel that there was a real need,
to create different structures and support students in different ways.
His point was, ultimately, that he felt differences did exist, requiring different
approaches for student support. The friendly, small-town feel was not sufficient in
meeting the needs of the diverse student body.
The director of residential life offered yet another view of the complexity of
campus climate:
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I believe that students would characterize the campus climate as okay is what
they would say. And what I mean by okay is I think that a lot of students . . .
come here and they don’t necessarily feel marginalized, but they know . . .
there’s something underlying that is maybe working against me or not
working necessarily to assist me.
He went on to add that though people do not readily see any racial divides, they exist
just below the surface and can be easily detected when looking at the racially
segregated tables in the dining hall. The director of residential life cited as examples
of this sentiment the fact that there are only two tenured African Americans in the
faculty, the lack of concern for years that students of color recruited for the football
team would leave right after the end of football season, and the fact that the current
students are not activists.
Several participants interviewed echoed this frustration over the lack of
diversity in the faculty and administration. The director of the intercultural support
center discussed the advances they had made with hiring faculty and staff of color
through grant support, only to lose those individuals and also the funding lines once
the grant funding ended:
. . . as soon as we were done with that grant, the university picked up maybe
like two positions out of the grant. But the services were completely
removed. So since then we’ve been having a lot of the African American
population here on campus being uncomfortable. They feel that they don’t
have anybody on campus.
My review of documents provided by the university’s Institutional Research
office show that the number of full-time, African American faculty members
fluctuated between 2002 and 2006, ranging each year from 25 to 33, then down to
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23. Despite the assertion by more than one participant that the faculty is mostly
White, the Institutional Research data shows that again between 2002 an 2006, the
number of Latino, full-time faculty grew from 123 to a height of 156 and back down
to 138; during this same time, White faculty started with 104, grew to a height of 156
and ended up with 138 in 2006. An academic dean noted that they have difficulty
attracting faculty of color at Township University, despite requests from students for
more faculty diversity. He had thought that it would be easier to hire faculty of color
in the West than in the Midwest, where he had been, but that has not been the case.
Though he requires that each of the searches in his college have minorities among its
finalists, not every search has yielded the successful hire of a person of color. He has
been more successful in hiring international faculty, but he recognizes that this is a
different population.
The director of the intercultural support center also felt that some of the
African American staff have had a historical distrust of the center, but have come
back around when they realize they are advocates. She had offered an assessment of
the diversity of the staff to Human Resources ten months after she arrived and
nothing was done with that plan due to limited resources.
Procedures for Handling Conflict and the Role of the Dean
There were many different views of how racial conflict should be reported
and processed. What was striking was that none of the participants identified the
dean of students as the appropriate recipient of such reports, and even the dean
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herself did not identify herself as the primary recipient of the reports. This may be
due to a number of reasons. First, there are two staff people charged with supporting
students of color on campus; since these individuals, the director of the intercultural
support center and the director of multicultural student affairs, have formed
relationships with students of color and the minority student support groups, they are
the most likely recipients of complaints about racial conflict. Secondly, the dean of
students identified strongly with her role as a student conduct officer. She felt that
this could compromise her ability to be an impartial counselor to students who
experienced racial conflict.
The dean of students and the director of multicultural student affairs spoke at
length about a grass-roots group they called the Coalition for Diversity - a group of
concerned faculty and administrators “who cared about multicultural issues and
concerns.” The Coalition operates “under the radar” and its members would prefer to
keep it that way. The members felt that operating without being officially sanctioned
by the university would allow it the freedom from political pressures and other
limitations that hampered effective and direct progress.
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They’ve been able to advocate for individuals when there’s been kind of a
due process that has not been followed and they’ve called folks on that which
has been real critical.
The Coalition for Diversity really is pretty much a well kept secret actually.
See part of it is that they didn’t want to formerly advertise their existence.
And so it’s kind of like this, this catch 22 thing with them. Because at the
same time we’ve been trying to invite the student clubs leaders,
representatives to attend the meetings (so) they can express what’s going on
for them as well as you know, that they’re there and get to know them
because they didn’t know that they existed.
The director of multicultural student affairs felt that students still approached
individuals with whom they had a prior relationship, and the Coalition did not
replace this function.
I would say that generally students will approach the people that they’re most
comfortable with. For example, I know that in certain instances we’ve had
some things occur with athletics and often times they would go to the places
or staff that they are most familiar with already.
Challenges
Participants identified few challenges that made it difficult for them to
facilitate responses to racial conflict. However, I recognized some limitations that
could hamper effective facilitation. One issue may involve the various reporting
mechanisms and the lack of clarity or consensus on which one was most effective.
The dean of students had served on the Coalition, but she soon became aware of a
conflict of interest because of her involvement in judicial affairs. She would often
view incidents reported as policy violations, and she sometimes felt constrained by
student privacy rights. She removed herself from the committee and thus, the
informal conflict resolution process. However, staff continued to bring issues to the
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committee on behalf of students for informal action and resolution. The dean did
note that student conduct violations that occur in the residence halls were typically
handled by the director of residential life and his staff; conduct violations that fell
outside of the residential life system were handled by the associate dean, and those
that took place within the graduate student population were typically handled by the
respective department leaders and deans in those programs.
In contrast, the director of the intercultural support center said that her office
would be the primary recipient of any concerns about racial conflict, definitely not
the dean of students, and did not mention the presence of another outlet such as the
Coalition. It is not clear why she did not recognize the role of the dean of students or
was not apprised of the work of the Coalition for Diversity, but this may be due to
the fact that she did not report through the student affairs structure. As I mentioned
in the section on organizational structure, the director of the intercultural support
center position was funded through grants and reported directly to the president.
When she received reports of racial conflict, her role was to brief the president and
other senior staff, then engage the students or staff in dialogue about the situation.
Students reported using familiar and friendly resources when they
encountered any problems on campus, including racial conflict. Those resources
included student affairs directors, advisors to the minority student clubs, and other
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advocates. One student was knowledgeable of the Presidents’ Steering Committee on
Multicultural Issues and felt that was the most appropriate venue for sharing
concerns related to racial conflict.
Lastly, an academic dean reported that incidents of racial conflict that
occurred within the classroom setting were typically handled by the department chair
and would rarely come to him for direct intervention.
. . . generally, if racial conflict occurs primarily on this campus, the way that
it has occurred in the past, and not to a great extent, would primarily be
between students more often and faculty. In terms of students feeling . . . that
they are somehow being evaluated because of their race rather than their
performance…in a particular class. Generally the way that sort of thing is
handled, as Dean we like to handle that as close to a level where the incident
is occurring as possible. So if the incident is occurring in a particular
class…we first like to have it handled within the department. And
departments have handled incidents of racial tension within their program in
a variety of different ways including calling in outside consultants to come in.
The academic dean said that in his four years at Township University he has
not had to get involved in any resolution of racial conflict himself. The use of outside
consultants and mediators seemed to be an effective means of working through
issues with both the students and the faculty. He also spoke about the availability of
a campus mediation program that comes out of the religious tradition on which the
college was originally founded.
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Presence of Racial Conflict
The position of the participant seemed to influence views of whether racial
conflict was an issue at Township University. While each person said that very little
overt racial conflict occurred, this quote from an academic dean illustrates the critical
issue of vantage:
When you’re dealing with racial issues, I think the fact that I’m a White guy
is still going to influence what the perception over minorities would involve .
. .when I think about it. No matter what I do.
The dean elaborated on this further by stating:
Incidents of racial tension while they do occur… they do occur. They may
not be quite as highlighted on this campus as on other campuses where
minorities feel like they are minorities. On this campus it’s somewhat,
somewhat different. And so the conflicts that occur in class between faculty
and students. We have very little. I think before I got here there were some
conflicts between faculty and staff…maybe faculty and faculty. I’ve heard
rumors of it. But the conflicts that occur here tend to not be framed in racial
currents.
Each staff person of color who was interviewed spoke of personal knowledge
about racial conflict and expressed concern about those incidents and their impact on
student development. The director of the intercultural support center spoke about the
residual damage from a staff conflict that occurred before her arrival and the chilling
effect it may have had on recruiting or retaining future faculty of color: “He was
asked to resign. So he actually left. So I, that’s the only incident that I can think of.
And that’s been kind of like hush, hush you know, nobody on campus really wants to
talk about it.”
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As I interviewed more people at Township University, I began to hear some
redundancy in the incidents of racial conflict that had occurred in the last few years,
The dean of students offered some examples of conflicts that students of color have
had with athletics, specifically with the track and football coaches, and others raised
these issues as well.
One student interviewed had no knowledge of any incident of racial conflict
in his 3 ½ years at Township University. Another student had this to say:
I think the only part that we probably need help on is like with the whole
athletes, ‘cause that is like the major issue now all year . . .And like recently
with the basketball team. The majority of the basketball team was Black. All
of a sudden at one of the games, this past season the coach recruited a lot of
new freshman. Who were all Caucasian, and they all played, but nobody else
played. So out of the 7, 8… Out of the 9 Black players that we had, 7 of them
quit the team the other day. And they all stood together and quit. And so
now, like that’s one less thing that they’re doing at (our university). So that’s
one less involvement that they have. So now most of them are just
commuting to school, going to class and leaving.
Football…To me personally, I think they view the football players wrong.
Because they recruit all these Black players, like all of the players that they
recruit are always Black that are transferring in. And basically after football
season you kind of not see them any more.
The director of multicultural student affairs had similar knowledge of the conflicts
within the athletics department, adding:
There were a couple things I’m aware of. One instance it was an individual
being called out (by) a football coach . . .you know kind of a team thing
where, where someone is being called out as, as weak . . . being
degraded…you know as, as their own integrity and I think there may, there
must have been some calling of names that, that for him took him to a place
where he felt it was, more it was about race as well.
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He noted that sometimes students have expected the African American
coaches to be supportive of students of color and are surprised when the coaches are
not. He also had knowledge of the staff conflicts that took place several years ago, as
well as his view that internal conflict occurs within the large Latino community
because of its diversity:
I think oftentimes, I think it’s more around socioeconomics. I think I see a lot
of it really having to do with . . .we’re, like neighborhoods where folks grow
up. If they grow up you know . . .where their socioeconomics are not
as…aren’t necessarily middle class, you know strict middle class . . .because
you have a lot of folks here who are in fact quite wealthy.
The academic dean offered a few examples of conflict that have occurred in
the classroom, including a current incident that is typical of such conflicts:
I have one that’s coming up now . . .where somebody is saying that, that
they’re being discriminated against in class because of race. I have no idea
what the, what the parameters of that are right now. Within one of the
departments between faculty and a student. The student is saying that they’ve
been prejudiced against because of their race. I don’t know how you go… I
mean I will find out how you go about handling that. You do handle it with a
certain sense of trying to understand both sides of the issues and understand
why this person might think that race is playing a part in their grading, rather
than their performance in the class.
The Lack of Racial Conflict
What is apparent from all of the interviews is that few overt acts of racism or
racial conflict have erupted, but various incidents in recent history speak to concerns
over the campus racial climate. When asked why they felt that so little racial conflict
existed, most participants had little insight. One administrator noted that students
came to Township University to learn and that the small class sizes offered a level of
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attention and interaction from faculty that fostered this commitment to education.
The academic dean viewed the environment at Township as very liberal and
accepting; this is contrasted by the view of one of the students, who sees the campus
as “old fashioned” and has difficulty understanding the needs of gay, lesbian and
bisexual students. The academic dean also believes that the principles from the
founding church set a tone of peace, openness and mediation, though none of the
others interviewed raised this issue. The students who were interviewed did not agree
that there was any legacy from the founding church, believing instead that Township
University does a good job of recruiting students who are a good fit: “I don’t know,
like, it’s like (the university) has good ideas on who to target to bring . . . And the
people that they bring in are already well rounded people.”
Student Development
Administrators had a great deal to say about the student development levels
and its impact on how students perceive that racial conflict exists. In general,
participants expressed concerns about both student development and ethnic identity
development, wondering if enough was occurring on campus to guide students in
these processes. The director of residential life had concerns about students’ ability
to see racial issues when confronted with them, preferring instead to offer excuses
for others’ behavior rather than struggling to grasp the extent of what bias means to
them. In this quote, the director of residential life discussed the students’ desire to
make excuses for faculty members’ insensitive behavior rather than admit that there
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may be racism or a systemic problem. It was not until students began sharing
negative experiences with one another that they realized they were not alone. These
experiences often represent the turning point, or catalyst, in the student’s experience
that causes them to move into another stage of ethnic identity development.
What I was starting to hear was some disenfranchisement coming from the
students. . . And you should hear some of the things the faculty say in classes
. . . are just insensitive. You know but the students would excuse it away and
say, but nah, they don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s just Doctor so
and so and so and so. You know, they’d be like everybody.
But at the same time they would feel uncomfortable with it. But they, the
students weren’t wiling to challenge it but then as they began to cross talk,
they began to put one and one together and say wait a minute, maybe this is a
deeper issue.
The director of multicultural affairs offered other examples of his work with
student development issues, which ranged widely. He noted that some students in the
earlier stages of ethnic identity development will fail to understand the nuances of
racial conflict, preferring to excuse away potentially racist behavior; at the same
time, he would worked with other students who are activists, potentially at a stage of
development where they are still angry about race relations and unwilling to
reconcile society’s treatment of people of color.
Because a lot of the students, often times I would get from them that oh, these
are, these are not issues for us. You know, we’re, you know we’re all human
and we’re you know racism doesn’t exist anymore you know. You know so
that often times I would get a lot of that from some. On the other hand there
were some students that were, that were very aware of, of issues of
oppression and I think because they themselves had been impacted by it.
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He went on to say that it wasn’t until the student athlete issues surfaced that they
realized “I think that they then became aware that those issues were somehow
institutional.”
Another issue discussed involved generational differences in how racial
issues are perceived and processed by today’s youth. On this point, the director of
the intercultural support said:
. . .it came to me (that) with the students that we have nowadays . . .they
somewhat you know, have a vague understanding of the history. You know
they talk about inclusiveness and they talk about diversity that you know we
don’t really have to worry about that because that doesn’t happen any more.
So they haven’t really, it seems to me you know, that I mean some of the
students are coming from places where um, this is a safe haven for them.
Despite these examples of the challenges that administrators face in helping
students grow in both personal development and ethnic identity, positive change
does occur. The director of the intercultural support center felt that the diverse nature
of the student body allowed for meaningful interactions that help students develop
cultural competency and also gain sensitivity to the experiences of students from
different ethnic groups. She shared one story of how a White student came to
experience racial profiling while walking on the edge of campus with his friend, who
was Latino.
And so the Caucasian student said oh my god this never happened to me. And
the Latino student says well, this has happened to me way too many times.
So I mean I just don’t see it as you know, something weird . . .they were
questioned for a while and then the police then let them go.
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One student interviewed offered another example of how students who come
to Township University grow and change. In this quote, she shares the story of two
close friends who came to Township with little knowledge of what it meant to be in a
diverse community, and how their understanding of themselves and their ethnic
identity has changed over time.
. . . I have one friend. . . . I never thought we’d be friends ever. And I met her
at Spot Light weekend and she was just saying stupid stuff and she’s from (a
nearby county). Like she would, like she would call Mexican’s beaners. And
mind you she’s Mexican. And she’s like yeah, those beaners and we would
just . . .like what? But you’re Mexican? Yeah, so. But like where she’s from,
they do that. But I was like out here we don’t do that. And I think that’s
another cool thing, like everybody’s, even if somebody says something that’s
out of place. If you tell them, you can check them on it. They’re like oh,
okay. Sorry. So I haven’t heard (her) say that since we were freshman. That
was 3 years ago.
. . . So it all depends and I think a lot of people are um, willing to ask
questions. Like one of my neighbors . . .She’s Black, but she didn’t grow up
with Black people. She grew up with Hispanics. So like we’ll be talking
about something that’s like, like Good Times, which most Black people
watch. We’ll be talking about that and (she) will be like, what? And then
she’ll, well, what, who is such and such? We’re like . . You’re Black? She’s
like, well…And then we just explain it. And then she’s cool. Like they’re
willing to ask questions and that’s another cool part about students here. But
deep down, it’s like well, I have become a better person being here.
Students who have done little exploration in their own ethnic identity benefit
from training and programs offered at Township University. Two administrators
discussed the importance of diversity training in helping students find their voice and
the ability to not only identify racism, but begin to address it for themselves. The
first barrier they encounter, however, is getting students to value the training at the
start, because some students feel that race issues are over-discussed in society.
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. . .they always you know get frustrated because they’re like, why are we
talking about this? We don’t, people are just human. We all just you know,
we love each other. You know it’s just human nature, why do we do this?
You know, but by the end of that diversity training their eyes, their heart
begins to go off and their eyes get opened and maybe can say, just speak and
say you know, oh okay now I see the importance of this and I see why we do
this. . . what I hear is, is a lot of pain that they’re still carrying. You know,
they have not had an opportunity to talk about it.
Barriers to Change
Since all participants cited little in the way of overt racial conflict, there was
little direct conversation about any barriers to change as a result of such incidents.
However, I identified several issues that could serve as barriers to change.
Numerous Changes
This first item can be viewed as a barrier, but also as a potentially positive
opportunity. My review of documents revealed a timeline of activities related to
diversity grants, staffing, structural shifts and changes in mission dating back nearly
20 years. The timeline shows a commitment to diversity programs, but it should also
be noted that much of the impetus for changes appeared to be grant-driven. It may
well be that the grants simply offered opportunities for changes that the university
was ready to make. However, the more recent changes in reporting lines, renaming
of offices and changes in focus of at least one minority student support office
appeared to cause confusion that was the source of some tension. This shifting of
purpose and personnel, whether as a result of funding source or from natural
attrition, can be a barrier to forward movement and institutional change if there is
little consistency from year to year. However, the presence of the grant funding and
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the university’s commitment to seeking out funding for the purpose of improving the
campus racial climate and the experiences of students of color should also be viewed
positively.
Marginalized Conversations
The director of the intercultural support center voiced concern over the view
that her office was the sole instigator of institutional change related to issues of
diversity and that it was not viewed as a campus-wide initiative. She offered an
example of a recent issue regarding the university’s work on the new strategic plan.
She and her staff were not able to attend various campus dialogues related to the plan
due to their work on a grant project; as a result, issues of diversity generally did not
make it into the document. The director of residential life offered more to this story,
adding that the president immediately convened an ad-hoc committee of volunteers
to add language to the draft document to include issues of diversity. That draft
strategic plan, which now includes language about diversity, was forwarded to the
Board of Trustees for review and approval.
The Family
The director of residential life expressed the belief that the lack of candor in
addressing issues could be problematic in seriously addressing inequities around
racial climate. This echoes the previous quote from the director of multicultural
affairs that the university views itself as a small, friendly town. What both
administrators indicated in these analogies is that there is a reluctance to call out and
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identify racist behavior for fear of offending someone within the university structure.
For example, several participants mentioned problems with two of the athletics
coaches, indicating that there have been problems in the past, but no one was willing
to support the assertion that any of the behavior was racist, even though those were
the allegations of some of the athletes. This quote from the director of residential life
illustrates this point.
You will often hear. . .is we’re like a family here, we’re so small and you
know, we’re just all, you know it’s so close, we’re tight knit. And so if you
think about a traditional family structure you know, there are certain things
that happen in the family where you know family members are not going to
necessarily challenge and speak of because they’ll say oh, well that’s just
sister Suzy or that’s just brother Jim, you know being the way they are. And
so people you know, they excuse it away. . .it is easy to do that. Easier to do
that here.
In line with this belief is the denial that anything bad could happen at the university,
one administrator supported his view with this quote:
And the other part of it is like we refuse to recognize that it happens (here)
you know…so it’s just this mentality of it doesn’t happen to us. They just
rather keep it quiet and move on.
A Desire to be Different
The director of the intercultural support center voiced concern about the
desire of some at Township University to have a student body that is less diverse and
more White. She spoke about the belief that having more White students would bring
more wealth to the campus. If there is not a consensus about the kind of institution
that Township University wants to be, it would be difficult for alignment of strategic
missions for forward movement. This quote from the director of the intercultural
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support center describes her concerns about seeking a different kind of student
instead of looking to their local community for the opportunity to educate good
students.
I think there’s also the, the desire of being more Caucasian, more of a White
institution because you know, ultimately they bring the money. . . we work
very closely with Admissions. And we work very closely with some other
faculty that are really looking to fill up this place and in some instances the
decision making of where to go to recruit certain students. . . this is the kind
of students we should have here. . .and it’s just really falling in our laps
because you know, we are surrounded by this great diversity in the nearby
area, but the Admissions Office is going all the way to Colorado…to recruit
you know, Caucasian students.
Lack of Student Engagement
The dean of students shared an example of the lack of engagement of
Township students on issues related to race:
I remember the day of . . .I’ll call it boycott where . . don’t go to work
because you want to support the immigrants . . . so we actually we came to
work, but we said we’re going to have a sit in. And that’s, that’s what we
called it, we the administration called it. . .to talk about you know, the issues.
Yeah, we set out to have security in case you needed it. We set up to have
this. . .that was on the day, here it is, we’re going to have a sit in and we’re
going to have open dialogue and discussion by our peace pole. All the
(affiliated colleges) . . .have a peace pole. . .You know what, there was
probably . . .20. There was maybe 10 students in and out and then 10 faculty
and staff in and out. Of like a 2 hour period we sat there. It was, it was almost
as if it never happened.
Another administrator echoed this sentiment, saying that Township University
students are simply not activist, like they may be on other university campuses.
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Summary
Of all the campuses studied, Township University had the least centralized
response to incidents of racial conflict. Though relatively rare, participants offered
several examples of both significant and minor events that contribute to what
students of some racial groups would characterize as a less welcoming environment.
The director of one intercultural support office viewed her office as the primary
facilitator of incidents of racial conflict, while several administrators identified a
small, grass-roots group of faculty and administrators as being an effective vehicle
for hearing student concerns. Administrators noted that the students were not
activists; coupled with a relatively young population, the student body as a whole
was reluctant or unable to identify and name acts of prejudice or racism when they
occurred.
Traditional University
Of the three universities studied, Traditional University is by far the largest.
Founded in the early 1900’s, Traditional University has an undergraduate student
body of over 5000 students. Over half the students reside on campus. Much of the
undergraduate curriculum at Traditional University is focused on the liberal arts, but
it also offers several graduate and professional programs. Founded by Jesuits, the
university continues to be a Catholic university. Its proximity to a large, urban city
allows Traditional University to draw from diverse communities of students and
faculty.
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Three-quarters of the students who enroll at Traditional come from the same
state, and over 90% of the first-year students had a high school grade point average
of 3.0 or better. The student body is diverse, with 19% Asian/Pacific Islander, 9%
African American, and 26% Latino/a.
The region around Traditional University has experienced significant growth
and development in recent years. Large-scale real estate developments have
transformed this former bedroom community to a desirable, high-end and trendy
town for upwardly mobile professionals. The campus fared well with this
development. Acquisitions in the last decade have allowed Traditional University to
develop several commercial buildings into student service centers, student housing,
and other campus offices. The main entrance to the campus now features a long,
impressive road and an imposing gate, flanked by the large, three-story student
services and administration building. Once inside the building, visitors are greeted by
numerous signs identifying offices situated behind glass storefronts in what must
have been a shopping mall in its previous life. The building is connected to the
center of campus through a short bridge that takes visitors through the new housing
village, and finally to the center of campus where the student union, library,
academic buildings and other services can be found. I had visited this campus years
ago, before the recent construction, and was struck by the new impression that
Traditional University had established for itself. It was no longer the small, Jesuit
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university that I remembered, and now exhibited a sense of presence and pride that
was not previously apparent.
“Interculturalism” is a term used widely at Traditional University to
encompass its goals of education in a diverse environment. The university defines
the term in the following manner:
Interculturalism is sharing and learning across cultures with the aim of
promoting understanding, equity, harmony, and justice in a diverse society.
Our actions must be grounded in, and guided by, the following:
• (the university) is composed of individuals and groups who continue to
grow in knowledge of the historical contexts from which we emerged.
• Knowledge of self and others, inspired by a commitment to human dignity
and justice, is the hallmark of interculturalism.
• Promotion of the common good requires the recognition of similarities
within a common humanity, the appreciation of differences, and the
willingness to share cross-cultural experiences.
• Interculturalism is a dynamic and critical endeavor that involves the
acquisition of knowledge, ongoing examination of the way we view the
world, and purposeful action to promote a just and harmonious society at (the
university) and beyond.
The goals of the university related to interculturalism are to promote diversity
at all levels, support academic success for all students, support faculty and staff
retention, enhance curriculum and pedagogy, and promote education and
development for the entire university. Traditional University’s statements about
interculturalism can be found on the university website in two languages, as well as
in a professionally printed brochure distributed widely around campus.
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Organizational Structure of Student Affairs
The student affairs organizational structure at Traditional University is large,
encompassing athletics, campus recreation, career development, a center for social
justice, ethnic and intercultural services, an academic community center, first year
programs, judicial affairs, off-campus support services, international student affairs,
the student health center, counseling services, residential life, leadership and
development, and student media. The chief student affairs officer is the vice
president of student affairs. A dean of students supervises some of the departments
listed above, and the associate vice president for intercultural affairs supervises all of
the minority student support offices – Asian Pacific Student Services, Black Student
Services, Chicano Latino Student Services, and Intercultural Affairs. Based on the
unique structure and functions of this campus, my primary dealings were with the
associate vice president for intercultural affairs, who acted on behalf of the vice
president of student affairs in interfacing with students on issues related to racial
conflict. The dean of students does not take part of the handling of such issues.
Campus Climate
Participants’ views of campus racial climate varied widely. All commented
on the fact that the student body was diverse, though many felt that the university
had a long way to go in diversifying the faculty and staff. One difficulty in
characterizing the campus racial climate as simply good or poor may be due to the
fact that most of the participants in this study are directly engaged in managing this
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very issue. The administrators I interviewed are more aware than others who work at
the university that students of color face challenges in both academic and social
settings on a daily basis; this is contrasted with the university’s visible support for
issues of diversity, with the Bias Incident Task Force, published statements on
interculturalism, and robust staffing to support and advise the different ethnic
minority groups. The tension between these two points laid the foundation for
divergent views from several segments of the campus.
One administrator felt that diversity is a value of the university and was
committed to making sure his own staff was diverse: ". . . if one group is attacked,
how (do) the others feel? And I feel very strongly that they all react in support. I
think they call come together and, and support each other. I don’t care what
nationality you are. Nobody likes it."
Other administrators, particularly those who work closely with students of
color, were more critical and nuanced in their views of the campus’ racial climate.
The director of Black Student Services had this view:
. . .(students) feel a little immune to it. Because it’s like living in (a high
crime area) and hearing gunshots. You no longer hear them. So there’s been
so much, mostly graffiti. . . They’re no longer looking for answers, so
therefore they don’t see it. So they would, they would have little
characterization that the climate . . .they feel it’s a safe environment.
The director of Asian Pacific Student Services said that the average student
would say the university is trying to do a good job because they see diversity
programming and engaged faculty and staff of color. However, the reality is that
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Asian American students continue to face obstacles in the campus racial climate at
Traditional University, sometimes encountering barriers with their peers. These
abrupt experiences of feeling shut-out on their own campuses are a stark reminder
that people of color continue to feel invisible on university campuses. This quote
illustrates both points.
That we try really hard, but the faculty and the student affairs side are really
engaged when they come out. So students get a sense that you know, there
are things happening. And then we’ll do the receptions with the students,
with the faculty and staff. If the students were asked, they would think that
the university is doing a good job.
Their frustration lies in the fact that when they walk into where . . . there’s a
patio outside where just like every other campus, there’s an area where the
Greek students sit. And so students who walk out there to advertise for events
can say like hey, we’re having an event. It’s open to the whole campus
community. This is what it’s about and those students have on numerous
occasions completely ignored that somebody was talking to them. . .and you
know, they will completely shut them out. And the students then come back
and they’re like in this place, I’m at the school and this school supports all
these wonderful values and this happens to them. So I mean as much as
people want to deny that this happens, it happens. And it’s a really brutal way
for students to see how bad it can be.
The associate vice president for intercultural affairs had a similar characterization of
Traditional University’s campus racial climate as neither exceptionally warm or cold.
I would say that (the university) is not unlike any other campus in this
immediate area, or in the country . . . I think that there still remains a
difference of how people view the culture, the climate on campus depending
upon whether you’re an African American male versus a White male…but I
think that people would generally agree that there is a fair amount of . . .talk
around diversity. Interculturalism is directly connected to (the university)
much more strongly than it is at other campuses. . . and I think it has to do
with our mission. . . we still have a long ways to go in terms of getting the
campus to where I would like to see it.
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The director of Chicano Latino Student Services felt there were too few
faculty of color and the ones who do come to Traditional University leave after a
short while. She also felt that:
On the one hand I think that some of the white faculty have said that we’re
very progressive. You know but if you’re a person of color you have a very
different perception of that reality. And so bringing the two together was a
total disconnect. I mean same case for me as a staff member of color you
know. I know that our division probably thinks we’re right on point. But I’m
sure that there’s you know other colleagues as well as myself that feel that
there’s still some work to be done. You know there’s always room to grow
and so, you know which should be the norm then. Okay, we’re fine or should
we keep challenging ourselves.
The experiences also appear to be different depending on the ethnicity of the
student. One administrator spoke about the enduring view of Asian American
students as the model minority and several administrators noted that the most recent
acts of racism have been graffiti targeted at African Americans. One student echoed
the concerns about racist acts against Black students, adding that interculturalism has
been a hot topic on campus lately and has been on the front page of the student
newspaper for several weeks. The director of Black Student Services reported that
Black students have voiced concerns about racial profiling, and the director of
Campus Safety spoke about his sensitivity to this issue as well. On this issue, the
director of Black Student Services felt that students were beyond the point of
attempting to change or reconcile racial profiling:
. . .it’s amazing . . I was shocked that I didn’t hear more about it. The
students are so fed up where they’re focused to academically get out. (The
students say) you know, it happened. They wrote this. We know they’re
prejudiced. . .it’s a shame, but that’s where they are right now.
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One student interviewed felt that the campus racial climate had improved in the short
time she has been enrolled at Traditional University, and saw the student senate’s
creation of a new vice presidential position for interculturalism as a sign of progress.
Procedures for Handling Conflict and the Role of the Dean
Interviews with participants at Traditional University revealed several, multi-
layered response mechanisms for racial conflict. Several participants spoke about a
Bias Incident Committee, comprised of several vice presidents, senior cabinet
members and the president. The director of campus safety also served on this
committee, often serving as the “trigger” who notifies the committee of any race-
related crime as soon as a report is generated by his staff. Members of the Bias
Incident Committee typically convene within the hour. The role of the committee is
to review the report and recommend action. Follow up will frequently involve
programming through the associate vice president for intercultural affairs and his
staff, through the residential life staff, or communication with stakeholders in the
faculty. Though it was not said directly, one staff member believed that this
committee was created following a spate of hate incidents that occurred several years
ago, which resulted in the appointment of a task force:
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So after all these incidents happened the president of the university created a
task force. And I was one of the representatives. (I was) one of the two Asian
Americans on that committee. The other one was a faculty member and then
one of maybe three student affairs representatives. Everybody else was
faculty. . .we were doing an assessment of what other institutions were doing.
Trying to figure out a definition for bias incidents, hate incidents,
understanding the difference between hate crimes and hate incidents and then
making some recommendations for the university.
Another avenue resides in Human Resources, where a new staff person was
hired to hear complaints related to equal employment opportunity (EEO) claims,
including those involving racial conflict, harassment or discrimination against
student employees.
The associate vice president for intercultural affairs identified himself as the
primary recipient of student complaints related to racial conflict. Once he receives a
report, he would notify the vice president of student affairs, then reach out to the
students involved. If the incident took place in a residence hall, there might be a
bulletin posted to inform students know that senior administration are aware that an
incident occurred and were actively addressing it.
Challenges
Challenges noted by several participants related to the issue of
communication and reporting. Traditional University is significantly larger than the
other two campuses studied, and participants on this campus reported more problems
with communication. None of the three directors of minority support services
identified themselves as involved in such reporting, and all three expressed
discomfort with the lack of clarity associated with this function. What is clearly a
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communication problem is posing not just confusion, but real concern over the
ability to help students of color in all groups understand acts of racism on campus
when they occur. One director said she will often hear about incidents from students
before hearing from other administrators about it.
And so you know when we were introduced to those incidents…We kind of
heard about it from students before we heard about it in administration which
was a little bit unsettling for us. And I think that we just sort of had to play
with it in terms of like nudging the people above us to like give us more
information in a more timely fashion.
The director of Asian Pacific Student Services had a similar concern, stating that
when incidents come up that are not directly targeted at Asian American community,
she is given very little information.
The director of Black Student Services recounted similar experiences.
Students will talk to her not knowing that she doesn’t have access to the means to act
on these issues. The director would, however, be called upon to report on the pulse
of the African American student community.
If it’s related to the African American community many times I am called on
to say, to give a pulse of the community. How are students feeling about it?
What are they saying? Are they concerned? Are they going to take action?
Are they going to just remain sedentary? And they’re using me as mostly for
the pulse. And I say “use me” because it’s mostly reactionary. I am also used
in a capacity to pull key student leaders together.
She agreed that the process sounds almost transactional. “So in that manner just to
help communicate. Not much, not to understand more of the incident unfortunately,
but more to see a reaction of the students or to get a reaction from them.”
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The associate vice president for intercultural affairs raised this issue himself,
posing this concern:
Part of our dilemma is finding the right balance. On the one hand we want to
be as transparent as possible. We want to report on the campus when
incidents occur. On the other hand, we don’t want to empower the
perpetrators. Or to give an act. . .more weight than it deserves. (It's) very
tricky. And we’re grappling with that issue at the very moment . . .trying to
find that balance. . .and so let’s assume again in the same scenario N word. I
talk with my Director and then my expectation of that Director would be to
confer with whoever they think are the appropriate people in the black
community…And then there’s the issue of well, you informed her, but you
didn’t inform me. And that’s the cumbersome part. The information flow can
also convey value to the community as to whether you’re told or not . . it is
trickier because you have emotion that is a significant factor. And while we
have intelligent, logical, rational people, you have this wildcard emotion
coming in and people react to things differently. And they come from their
gut and that’s understandable. . .people you know, they’re reading different
kind of reactions along racial lines. Something could occur in the Latino
community that in the Black community is viewed much more passionately.
The associate vice president for intercultural affairs was also concerned about the
privacy rights of students and how much administrators can legally share with
members of the community:
Something happens and people hear about it, word of mouth. They don’t
have all the details. And depending upon the incident, we may not be allowed
to share all of the details. Our challenge is that once they go through the
judicial process, certain laws don’t allow us to share the outcome. So
everybody wants to know, what did you do? We can’t tell you.
The director of Chicano Latino Student Services sees this communication
problem as troubling in many ways. One is the way in which she is viewed as a
student advocate: “You know, should I be a person to counsel the student? That’s not
necessarily seen as my role I guess. You know, I, yeah, I have great issues with that.”
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The director also points out that some students who were involved in a campus
protest years ago felt that not enough was done, possibly because the university
could not tell them what it had done. The lack of communication could potentially
signal a lack of action.
One student asked about the process of reporting racial conflicts identified
the directors of the minority support services, residential life and campus safety as
the primary resources. She did not see the vice president of student affairs’ office as
welcoming, and did not mention the dean of students at all.
Presence of Racial Conflict
Despite the multiple examples related during the interviews, all participants
interviewed stated clearly that they knew of little overt racial conflict at Traditional
University. Nearly all of the recent acts that were given as examples focused on
graffiti, usually against African Americans. The graffiti was mostly in public areas,
such as restrooms, walls, and doors in various buildings. The director of Black
Student Services and other administrators mentioned a large student protest that took
place several years ago, in which students picketed with signs and wore t-shirts that
said “Say no to racism.” No one seemed to know what exactly brought on the
protest, though some felt the students were reacting to a lack of response from senior
administrators to acts of racism, poor racial climate and a lack of coordinated
response when acts did occur.
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Several participants spoke of a recent incident in which a student’s room in
the residence hall was ransacked, and anti-gay slurs were scrawled on the dry-erase
board. News of this spread quickly. Even though the victim declined for this to be
viewed as a bias incident, students were outraged and organized quickly for
community dialogues. Upon further investigation, the associate vice president for
intercultural affairs found that the act was committed by friends of the victim as a
prank. The slur was an attempt at humor and was not intended to communicate
violence against a gay student. The issue quickly became a student judicial case for
student affairs, involving all the usual traits of poor judgment on the part of the
student perpetrator, but the rest of the student body continued to believe that it was
an explicit act of hate that the administration refused to address or act on.
Microaggressions
Similar to other campuses, the more commonly reported incidents at
Traditional University are the microaggressions, or the small acts that students
encounter on a daily basis that either do not register as problems, or those they don’t
consider significant enough to report. According to one director:
. . .and my students haven’t really come to me with too many of those issues.
They always complain about some conversations. The daily frustrations of . .
.well, I’m tired of explaining myself. Or I’m tired of teaching someone how
to say my name or I’m tired of being asked in class how do you say this in
Spanish. We don’t all speak Spanish. You know, the stereotypes related to
interactions with peers. So I would say, just issues that haven’t escalated to
the point of being labeled a racial incident or bias incident of some sort. Just
the daily interaction with ignorance you know if you would. Definitely have
reports on that by students, but I have yet to receive an incident report.
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Even incidents that don’t involve students directly send messages about the
climate, the perception of people of color, and can reinforce stereotypes. One
administrator offered this incident as one example:
Well, I’ll give you one example of an incident besides a graffiti incident.
There were three or four African American young men who came on campus.
They were not students. . .they were pulled over by Campus Safety . . . they
weren’t driving, they were walking. And somehow (the police department)
was called as well. And instead of taking them to a location that wasn’t so
public. Right there on campus in the center of Residence Hall they
handcuffed them. . .where all the students looked out their window. I mean . .
.it was on the front of our newspaper, our student newspaper. And all you
saw were black men with handcuffs on by a (police) car. And I don’t even
know what the writing was about it, but just being a little bit more fair and
careful of what you’re doing you know.
The director of Asian Pacific Student Services offered two examples of
incidents that involved employees. In one example, two female, Filipino instructors
were leaving a meeting with the chief diversity officer when they encountered two
white male students, who started “ching chonging.” It was both shocking and ironic
that the instructors would encounter such a blatant act of racism, especially since
they had just left a meeting to discuss these very types of issues. Another example
involved another faculty member, an Asian American male, who was approached by
staff from the student TV station and asked, on camera, what he thought about Asian
men and small penises. The faculty member was upset and felt humiliated. After
relating this story, the director of Asian Pacific Student Services commented that
these events were not isolated, but merely the ones she was aware of:
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. . you know what I really don’t think that it doesn’t happen every day. I
think that kind of thing happens all the time. . . I really think that when we
hear something reported, there’s got to be like at least six others that we’re
not hearing.
The director of Chicano Latino Student Services reported similar incidents
involving Latino faculty:
I’ve also heard of faculty being disrespected by students. And particularly
faculty who have accents. Some of my students reported this. And we were in
one of our round table meetings. . . advocating that students . .encourage
courtesy amongst their peers towards faculty . . . whose English may be their
second language. You know, because there’s one Latino faculty member in
particular that was being taunted by students because of her accent. And I’m
like what, it just can’t. What do you mean taunted…when did that happen?
You know, when did that happen? How and what did she do and you know I
want to know if you beat it. Because I just can’t imagine it. But it’s
happened. You know and maybe it was an isolated incident. Whatever the
issue, but that has impact.
Another administrator recounted a past incident involving a coffee cart
vendor and a student, which was handled by administrators, and there are examples
of comments being made in the classroom by faculty. The director of Black Student
Services shared one recent experience:
A student just ran to my office and said a professor, it was the first week of
class . . .two students in a public speaking course. Two Black students walked
in and they kind of knew each other, but not really, but there was only 2
Blacks so they sat in the front and they sat together. The professor walked in
and said oh, well look at the sisters. Look at the sisters, there sticking
together. That happens all the time. So things like that, at that level constantly
is happening.
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Examples of microaggressions in the classroom were also cited by a student:
. . .because I’ve heard a lot of like incidences where things have happened.
Yeah and I myself I remember first day in this class, I was the only Asian
student in an entrepreneurship class and I walked in and the teacher was like,
you’re Asian shouldn’t you be on time? Right and they said that to me and I
was like oh, okay. Like, I took that as a joke honestly. And I didn’t really see
it as too offensive, but I’m sure that some of that is more like more of an
Asian ethnicity would be very upset. So it would depend on the person as
well and how, how much you take it so.
The Lack of Racial Conflict
There were two participants interviewed at Traditional University who felt
that there was little or virtually no conflict on campus. When I asked them why they
thought there was so little conflict, they offered these observations. Both focused on
the university’s efforts to live its stated mission and commitment to a well-rounded
education.
I haven’t been here long enough to really comment on this campus, but I can
tell you at least from a student perspective at the law school there is
something deep down about the importance of diversity and about doing
good work. It’s not what lectured is at you, but it’s there. So it must be so
much a part of like the, the tapestry or the culture. That it, it’s kind of its own
living and breathing thing.
I think because the University is proactive in, in the events that they schedule
and have on campus. They try and make it so that, that all people, all cultures
enjoy the same. And they plan things that help show all people certain
cultures. And then get a better understanding of it. They have the intercultural
awareness classes that the general population can attend.
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Student Development
Administrators at Traditional University were thoughtful in their evaluation
of students’ developmental levels and the impact on the campus racial climate. Like
their colleagues on other campuses, the directors of minority student services and the
associate vice president of intercultural affairs expressed concern about students’
general level of maturity and their apparent lack of awareness on issues related to
race and sensitivity, even among students of color. The participants I interviewed felt
that many students they worked with were at very early levels of racial identity
development, lacking in introspection or reflection on what ethnic or racial identity
means. This contributed directly to use of racial slurs and irresponsible use of crude
and derogatory language. Administrators at Traditional University also offered
examples of students who were unable or unwilling to identify racism when it was
witnessed or experienced, sometimes because the student believed that racism no
longer exists. Again, this issue is directly related to racial identity development in not
only how students view themselves and their racial identity, but also their
understanding of how society views racial identity. The director of Black Student
Services felt particularly frustrated about this issue, feeling that African American
students would often make the decision to distance themselves from racial slurs or
graffiti, believing that it simply didn’t apply to them and choosing to ignore it. The
director felt that students were more comfortable accepting the status quo and were
reluctant to raise concerns that might provoke objection from peers. This fits well
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with several vectors identified by Chickering, which addresses students’
development and mastery of a number of areas, such as establishing identity and
developing integrity (Evans, Forney & Guido-DiBrito, 1998). From an ethnic
identity development perspective, students who exhibit such denial are likely in an
early, or conformist stage, opting to defer to the majority standards and ignoring
obvious signs of racism and perhaps even feeling embarrassed by elements of one’s
own ethnic group (Torres, Howard-Hamilton & Cooper, 2003). In this quote, she
discusses examples of such incidents and how she helped students understand the
impact of bias incidents on minority communities even if the student does not
identify himself or herself as the target of the act.
It’s very difficult. . .you’re looking at more of an identity issue. . . Some
instances don’t identify with those, with the racial graffiti that we’ve had on
campus. Don’t identify as being a Nigger or a Nigga on the wall. So when it
comes to identity issues, sometimes we have to wake them up and say yeah,
you need to identify with this because they’re talking about you. Now what
are the other affects that will come out of this that will maybe hurt you and
maybe you should be concerned about. For instance if there’s a writing or a
graphic picture of a man eating a piece of watermelon on a men’s bathroom
wall and the word nigger is written next to it. That kind of affects you
whether you want to identify as being Black or not.
One incident that was particularly troubling to the associate vice president for
intercultural affairs involved an event that was initially reported as a bias incident
and later became characterized as a prank. One African American student drew a
depiction of the Ku Klux Klan on the door of another African American student as a
joke. When this came to light, the associate vice president opted not to refer the case
to the student conduct process because he realized that malice was not the issue, but
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truly a lack of awareness and understanding of the impact of such hateful words and
images. It was not clear whether he declined to view this as a conduct case because it
was a case of within-group bias, or because he believed that the unknowing
perpetrator could gain more insight and personal growth from meeting with a
mentor, such as the director of Black Student Services, than from being sanctioned
through the student conduct system. He shares the story in this quote:
A graffiti incident . . .on a door. A depiction of what we were told was a
picture of . . . having to do with KKK. I get a very upset African American
student come in and tell me about it. We walk over and I see this on the
door. This is before we had any of these other protocols in place. I go, we
tried to talk to the residents. Upside was turned out to be a student who had
carved this thing in the door to make a joke. And the joke was, here’s the
view of somebody in a well looking up and seeing KKK members with their
little hats on. And the irony and it was supposed to be funny in some way. I
never quite got it. The student who wrote it was an African American student.
Again as a joke. In that situation we could easily have taken it through the
judicial process. We didn’t, we deferred the African American community to
deal with it in terms of some education with that student. So again people
would like for us to have a one size fits all…We don’t subscribe to that.
Two administrators felt that some of the laissez-faire attitude related to racial
identity was partially due to the differences found in this generation of students.
These administrators described ways in which previous generations fought the use of
derogatory terms, sexist language and seem to have difficulty understanding why
their students would now choose to use these same terms so generously and freely.
One administrator offered this example of the term “gay,” which is used commonly
among young people to indicate that something is negative or deficient.
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Well you talk with the students (they say) . . .well, yeah I call my friend that
all the time. It’s the language of our students today. You know. Yeah, I call
my friend gay all the time, he’s not gay. I just call him that you know. That
chair is so gay, I mean. While those of us who are older, we shake our heads
at it. We also have to look at it from the lens of the perpetrators, if you will,
or that population of students and that’s very tricky.
Concern over the frequent use of derogatory sexual and racial language was heard in
several of the interviews. Participants noted that the student milieu was one littered
with oppressive language, raising their concern about whether students critically
examined their own identities and speech, and also the impact on students who were
aware of the power of negative imagery and were hurt as a result. Another
administrator also expressed concern about the commonness of such incidents and
noted that students seldom bother to report the incidents until they realize that
perhaps larger issues of racism may be at stake.
You know they (students) don’t want this pursued. Because they don’t think
it’s a big deal. And you know some of the incidents that happened, for
example some of the things that were written on peoples doors they just
didn’t, they didn’t report it right away. And then when the slew of the other
one’s started happening, then they started to report.
The overarching sense I had from talking with administrators from Traditional
University was that they take issues of student development and racial identity
development seriously, but they sometimes felt at loss as to where to begin when it
appears that students actively deny any opportunity to reflect on an incident and
learn from it. They felt that the environment was so largely accepting of negative
language and imagery that it had become part of the student vernacular, without
benefit of understanding the insidious role of racist language. What is not clear,
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however, is how this use of negative language affects the students. While some
administrators seemed to think that the racial slurs and crass language created an
environment that was inviting further acts of oppression, this point was not clear.
Another question also relates to how students of color actually feel about colloquial
use of racial slurs; in other words, is it the administrators who have a problem with
this, and are members of this current generation accepting of the superficiality of this
type of talk, or are there deeper and more damaging impressions that are made
through the tough talk?
Barriers to Change
Unlike Township University, Traditional University had few apparent
barriers to organizational change. Having experienced an incident of student unrest
in recent years, allegedly due to issues of racial conflict, the administration had
responded by creating structures for reporting and responding to bias incidents. The
barriers that remain related to communication and clarification on the role of student
affairs staff who work closely with students of color. The issue of reporting may also
be a problem as well. The director of Chicano Latino Student Services stated that she
has heard no reports from students that there are any acts of racism against the group,
but she does not believe that racist acts are not occurring on campus: “Great if
they’re not happening, but I can’t quite believe that they aren’t.”
Traditional University will soon be launching a web-based hate incident
report form. One administrator noted that there is concern that the number of reports
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will rise, and this could send the message that incidents are rising, even though most
administrators currently believe that there is significant under-reporting. A rise in
reports may be a more accurate gauge of what students are experiencing, but this
administrator notes that university relations may not like it. But without accurate
reporting and a feeling of transparency, the sentiments expressed by one student will
prevail: “A lot of students feel like the staff and faculty on this campus try to just
brush it underneath.”
Lastly, one administrator expressed concerns about representation of people
of color at the senior staff level:
. . .the Bias Incident Response Team. You may have heard of that. And that
response team consists of four Whites and one Black. And typically the
incidents are minority related. So I often wonder how are those people
making decisions if they can’t feel what we feel as people of color?
Summary
Traditional University has a very structured approach to managing incidents
of racial conflict, but problems with communication among the mid-level staff,
concerns about student privacy rights, and the lack of clarity related to the role of
key directors of minority support services offices fostered concerns about meeting
student needs and advocacy. The primary response team is comprised of senior-level
administrators, including the president, but implementation of any actions or follow-
up could involve student leaders, staff, and even faculty. Administrators wish to
avoid what happened in the past, in which a student protest of two hundred students
drew unwanted media attention and public scrutiny. Despite administrators’ efforts,
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reports are that there continue to be microaggressions that impact the quality of
student experience, both inside and outside the classroom, and the experience of
faculty of color. Administrators expressed concern over the low level of reporting
related to racial conflict, and some believed that the current generation of students
deny that racism exists and also unknowingly perpetuate oppression and racism
through colloquial use of slurs in everyday speech.
Chapter Summary
This chapter established the context for the three universities studied:
Serenity College, a small, private, liberal arts college serving primarily women on
two different campuses that actively works to maintain a bias-free environment;
Township University, an independent university in a thriving suburb with a diverse
study body and leadership dedicated to facilitating diversity, but with shifting
support structures for students of color; and Traditional University, a mid-sized
university in a revitalized community that has established goals for an intercultural
educational environment, but struggles to communicate effectively among its own
staff in addressing bias incidents.
Not surprisingly, each campus offered a unique approach to the way in which
racial conflict was reported and managed. At Serenity College, nearly all participants
interviewed identified the vice president of student affairs and her staff as the
primary facilitators of such conflict, and the process appeared to be simple and
straight-forward. At Township University, there appeared to be multiple reporting
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mechanisms, including an ad-hoc committee comprised of faculty and
administrators, but whose identity was so “underground” that its mission as an
advocacy body was known by few. The intercultural student support center also
viewed itself as a primary reporting body for racial conflict, and yet another, parallel
office in student affairs also identified itself as fulfilling this function. At Traditional
University, a very structured and multi-level approach to negotiating racial conflict
was in place, with the vice president of student affairs, the president, and other senior
leadership serving on a Bias Incident Committee that is apprised of every bias
incident within an hour of the reporting. The associate vice president of intercultural
affairs and his staff of directors usually assumed the role of facilitators following a
report, but poor communication channels and the lack of clarity on the roles of the
directors of the minority student support offices impairs more streamlined and
coordinated action.
The assessment of campus racial climate by nearly all participants was that
the environment was generally good on all three campuses. Most participants spoke
more about the differing experiences of students from the various minority groups on
their campuses, often determined by the size, presence or visibility of the group, the
campus racial climate for staffs and faculty of color, and the continued commitment
and remaining work that had to be done related to issues of diversity. On all three
campuses, racial conflict and microaggressions against African American students
occurred most commonly, raising concerns for many of the participants interviewed.
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Though all administrators expressed a sense of openness and commitment to
improving the campus racial climate, participants at two universities acknowledged
that students of color may not approach them and speak openly about their views of
the campus racial climate, perhaps preferring to speak to someone of their own
ethnic group. This was echoed by an administrator at Traditional University, who
questioned the effectiveness of campus-wide diversity committees that lack ethnic
minority representation.
The resounding message from all three campuses was that there were few
examples of racial conflict. However, nearly all participants were able to offer some
examples of racial conflict that they knew had surfaced on their campus, which
would be best characterized as microaggressions. These incidents ranged from
graffiti and anonymous messages to individual student or staff encounters with bias.
Participants from all three campuses cited significant concerns about students’ views
of racism, its prevalence, and the impact of derogatory language. Unlike the
generation that lived through the civil rights movement, some participants felt that
members of this Millennial generation deny that racism exists until they are
presented with evidence of persistent, prejudicial behavior that cannot be explained
by any other reason. The colloquial use of racial slurs, derogatory language towards
women, gays and lesbians, and other negative language was also viewed as troubling
for college administrators.
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Each campus studied also identified different challenges and barriers.
Serenity College, which sees itself as relatively conflict-free, identified few
challenges, but noted that maintaining a diverse, supportive and sensitive
environment was a constant task that required vigilance and proactive measures
through curriculum and programming. Because microaggressions are not viewed as
significant events, they were not addressed publicly on any of the campuses, despite
the fact that several administrators felt that even such small acts have a negative
impact on both the victims and campus climate.
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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS
Introduction
This study explored the leadership role of the dean of students in negotiating
racial conflict on college campuses. Through interviews with the dean, other
administrators, faculty and students, this study identified the procedures, priorities,
and challenges associated with managing racial conflict. Understanding the role of
student development and racial identity development were also important
components of this study. Lastly, the issue of institutional change as a result of racial
conflict was explored, including any barriers to change.
In this chapter, I will synthesize the data reported in Chapter Four to offer
some insight on the research questions. The analysis will also incorporate theories
and literature relevant to further contextualize and elucidate what was learned from
the interviews. I will also offer recommendations for practice and discuss future
opportunities for study.
The Interplay of Structure and Challenges
In reviewing the various structures and processes used by the three
universities in facilitating racial conflict, I found a relationship between each
institution’s organizational structure and how effectively incidents of racial conflict
are reported and processed. In Chapter Two, I opened with the premise that as a
senior member of the college’s leadership, the dean of students would be centrally
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involved in negotiating racial conflict. What I found was that though the dean was
indeed involved, this varied from campus to a campus and more administrators were
typically involved than just the dean.
Serenity College, with its smaller student affairs structure, had agreed-upon
reporting mechanisms for racial conflict, all of which involved the student affairs
staff, and the vice president of student affairs was typically involved at some level.
Those interviewed at Township University identified multiple sources for reporting
and facilitating racial conflict, each of which was housed in a different division of
the university. As a result, students and others interviewed rarely recognized any one
person or committee as the primary facilitator of racial conflict. At Traditional
University, there was a university-wide system for reporting racial conflict, but
communication to the directors who actually conducted much of the follow-up was
poor, which fostered role confusion and some level of distrust. In summary, the most
simple structures – that is, those that are easily identified with one or more staff in
one department and campus-wide agreement about the role of these staff facilitators,
appeared to be the most effective in facilitating racial conflict because students and
staff alike were likely to not only report incidents to one central location, but those
who were not involved and with concerns about issues also knew who to contact.
When there were many self-identified sources for reports, like at Township
University, there was not only a lack of consensus about who the primary facilitator
was, but also disagreement about how incidents were handled. On the issue of
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process, what actions occurred and how they were prioritized, there were few, if any
differences among the campuses. The standard procedure for facilitating racial
conflict involved meeting with students, both individually and in groups, briefing the
university leaders and key faculty, and also moving forward with student judicial
proceedings if relevant.
On all three campuses, the chief student affairs officer was typically not
directly engaged in working through acts of racial conflict. This finding came as a
surprise to me, as my original premise was the dean of students would be involved in
a direct and central way. Traditional University, with its large student affairs
structure, had both a vice president of student affairs and a dean of students, neither
of whom were involved in incidents of racial conflict, but an associate vice president
of intercultural affairs and his staff of directors of minority student support services
were engaged. At Township University, the dean chose to remove herself from
resolving informal reports of racial conflict due to concerns about student conduct
and conflict of interest. While the vice president of student affairs at Serenity
College was more engaged in the issues than at the other universities, she was still
not actively involved in any of the conversations or management of most minor acts
of conflict.
Though each campus had varying degrees of involvement of the dean of
students in facilitating racial conflict, all universities in this study reported involving
the president, academic deans, and other campus leaders in some stage of the
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reporting or resolution process. The involvement of senior level administrators was a
positive sign to me, indicating that the universities viewed racial conflict as
significantly troubling enough to command the attention of the leadership, as
opposed to having such incidents treated marginally and without notice. Traditional
University had a Bias Incident Committee that convened as soon as an incident is
reported; Township University had a presidential committee reviewing multicultural
issues that would also respond to concerns about systemic racial issues. At Serenity
College, the president or provost would be briefed of only major incidents.
Ultimately, each campus considered acts of racial conflict to be significant and
worthy of the attention of university leadership, including the dean of students, who
served on the president’s senior staff on each campus.
Regardless of the structure, however, it appeared that communication was the
key to effective handling of an incident. Communication among those receiving
reports, student affairs staff handling the incident, students who were involved or
affected, senior leadership, and faculty stakeholders was essential. Much of the
communication took the form of briefings, individual meetings, and reports or
documentation to convey the facts of what occurred. Effective communication
included all known facts, was conveyed in a timely manner, and included all
stakeholders who would interface with students or other constituents in working
through the issue. The associate vice president of intercultural affairs at Traditional
University supported this view in this quote:
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And then there’s the issue of well, you informed her, but you didn’t inform
me. And that’s the cumbersome part. The information flow can also convey
value to the community as to whether you’re told or not . . .in terms of
whether you’re in the loop or not or you know and it’s tricky. But certainly
you know, you’d have a conversation with the head of African American
Studies for example. . .or other folks who you know are actively involved in
the issues. But that’s part of our challenge and the information treated and
how that you know flows or not.
The New Majority and Relationship to Campus Climate
In Chapter Three, I discussed the reasons for choosing case sites with a
diverse student body, and it is apparent that student demographic indeed has an
affect on campus racial climate. All three campuses had student bodies with between
53% and 68% students of color. This was stated best by one academic dean at
Township University, who said, “They may not be quite as highlighted on this
campus as on other campuses where minorities feel like they are minorities.”
Students, administrators and faculty at the three campuses in this study all reported
that the campus racial climate was acceptable, partially due to the large number of
students of color. In a sense, they constitute a new “majority” population for these
campuses, which had enrolled predominantly White student populations in the past.
However, participants at all three campuses conceded that the experience for
students of the smallest ethnic group was likely different than the experience of
students in the largest ethnic group. There was also consensus from all three
campuses that the climate may be very different for faculty and staff of color, whose
numbers continue to be small despite some efforts to increase them.
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Administrators and students at each campus studied voiced concerns about
the campus racial climate for African American students. At Township University,
there was much optimism following a retreat organized by African American
students aimed at addressing some internal issues, but also attempted to discuss some
of the larger issues of climate, student success and graduate rates. There were similar
concerns at Traditional University, where much of the recent spate of hate-related
graffiti was targeted at African Americans. At Serenity College, lower graduation
rates for African American students continued to raise concerns about whether the
academic and co-curricular support systems were sufficient. On all three campuses,
African American students constituted the smallest ethnic group, and critical mass
was often cited as a potential reason for why the climate may be viewed as less
welcoming for this population than for Latinos, which constituted a larger group on
all three campuses. Though that would be an obvious explanation, none of the
participants discussed the larger context of systemic racism and how that affects the
daily and individual experiences of their students, particularly African American
students. Cornel West characterizes the greater challenges in this manner:
Under these circumstances black existential angst derives from the lived
experience of ontological wounds and emotional scars inflicted by white
supremacist beliefs and images permeating U.S. society and culture. These
beliefs and images attack black intelligence, black ability, black beauty, and
black character daily in subtle and not-so-subtle ways (West, 1993, p. 27).
It would be unfair to say that administrators failed to recognize the issues related to
racism in society and how this affected their students. Participants spoke about the
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troubled communities their students came from, concerns about low graduation rates
for students of color, and addressing diversity issues through curriculum and
deliberate programming. Only the directors of minority student services
acknowledged the real barriers that many of these students face on multiple levels,
and how being the victim of microaggressions and daily insults against their identity
affects African American students and other students of color. At Traditional
University, all three directors of minority student services spoke about the impact of
even rumors of bias incidents and how they erode the morale of the entire
community.
There was also a sense of realism related to this issue of campus racial
climate. At Serenity College, the vice president of student affairs and former
associate vice president of student affairs, who are both White, said candidly that
students of color may not approach them to voice concerns, preferring to talk with a
faculty member or another staff member from the same ethnic group or community.
This was echoed by an academic dean at Township University, who is also White.
Participants at all three campuses voiced concerns about the low number of faculty
and staff of color employed at their university, leaving unanswered the question of
whether it is necessary for administrators from ethnic minority groups would be
more effective in negotiating racial conflict.
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The Role of Student Development
The role of student development emerged as a significant challenge on all
three campuses. Faculty and administrators identified this as not simply a matter of
maturity, but also a problem with the lack of awareness related to the perpetuation of
racist language and oppression. Though it is common for those in the older
generation to cast doubts about the abilities of the younger set, these administrators
pointed specifically to the lack of critical dialogue available to these students,
therefore making it acceptable for them to use racial slurs and homophobic language
in their daily conversations. Administrators report that students are subject to
countless acts of microaggressions each day, so much that some become numb to the
experience. One administrator at Traditional University reported that some of the
African American students she works with are so tired of the small, daily insults that
they have stopped voicing concerns and are now focused solely on academic study
so they can graduate and leave the university. Another administrator at Serenity
College discussed a student conduct case at length, noting that the perpetrator of a
bias incident did not seem to truly grasp the problem with her use of derogatory
language against lesbians, not even when she was dismissed from housing as a
sanction.
From the characterization of student behavior offered by the administrators, it
is apparent that most of the students who do not identify the racial acts as
problematic are in an earlier stage of ethnic identity development, which is usually
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characterized by the absence of introspection and exploration of the meaning of
one’s ethnic identity. Because there is a low awareness of ethnic identity and its
ramifications, many in these earlier stages simply do not see the possibility that race
can afford privilege or provoke bias. The case is different, however, for those in
more advanced stages of ethnic identity development, who have moved through
stages of reflection, struggle, and potentially reconciliation in understanding the
relationships among people of different races and ethnicities. In one study,
researchers found that African American students who identified race as central to
their identity were more likely to report more experiences of racial discrimination in
the past year (Sellers & Shelton, 2003).
Despite the concerns voiced by administrators, there is also evidence on all
three campuses that students change during the course of their first year, and for the
next several years of enrollment. The associate vice president of intercultural affairs
at Traditional University spoke at length about students who arrive at his university
and discover their racial identity, often working through a great deal of internal
dissonance:
And then they come to (this university) and they find their Blackness and it’s
about you know, I’m going just belong to myself and I’m going to be much
more militant and all of that. . .and trying to work with them where they are
along that path.
At Township University, changes were even recognized by the students themselves,
who recall meeting friends from very homogenous communities during first year
orientation who had little understanding of the impact of racial slurs. These students
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quickly adjusted to their new environments and soon tread more carefully when
interacting with the diverse student body at the university. The director of residential
life at Serenity College also echoed this sentiment, noting that students on the two
year campus often violate residential policies early on, but soon understand the
expectations for behavior and adjust accordingly. The challenge for administrators,
therefore, is addressing the needs of a shifting and changing student population, with
nearly one-quarter of them arriving with different levels of development each year.
None of the administrators interviewed felt this was an impossible task, since all
were committed to helping students with their transformation and growth in college,
but the endless cycle of education related to campus racial climate was notable.
The Presence of Racial Conflict
As I mentioned in the summary of Chapter Four, nearly every participant in
this study stated that racial conflict either does not occur or occurs very rarely on
their campus. The potential reasons why this was stated in discussed in the next
section. This section will summarize the different kinds of racial conflict that were
reported on the three campuses studied.
The types of racial conflict reported on the campuses typically fell into one of the
following categories:
1) Anonymous notes or graffiti. These messages usually contained racial slurs,
derogatory language, profanity, and threatening drawings or symbols, such as
a figure of a Ku Klux Klan member or a swastika. The notes were often
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slipped under a student’s door in a residence hall, or written on a dry-erase
board found in a public area, such as a hallway or bathroom.
2) Colloquial use of derogatory language or racial slurs. This was fairly
pervasive on all campus and perpetuated by students who were seemingly
unaware of the impact of their words. Administrators reported hearing casual
conversations containing such language often, but also note its presence on
student blogs. The ethnicity of the student did not seem to determine whether
they were more likely to use the derogatory language. Students of color,
women, and other groups that have historically faced discrimination seemed
to have no problem using derogatory slang freely and without a second
thought.
3) Bias in an academic setting. This bias took many forms: at Serenity College,
students offered biased views of members of their own ethnic group, fueling
a heated discussion about inter-group diversity and hierarchy. At Township
University, allegations of bias from a student against the faculty member
were resolved with the assistance of both internal and external mediators.
And at Traditional University, African American students were singled out
for sitting together in class, and in a different class, an Asian American
student was chided for not conforming to model-minority expectations.
4) Unwelcome campus climate. Incidents which did not fall into one of these
categories usually related to concerns about campus racial climate. At
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Serenity College, White and African American students reported concerns
about feeling marginalized in the predominantly Latina student environment.
African American students at Township University reported an unwelcoming
environment due a number of issues including the lack of tenured African
American faculty and allegations of mistreatment by some coaches in the
athletics department. Asian American students at Traditional University
reported feeling racially invisible, lacking recognition as students of color in
the classroom yet feeling “shut out” from the students in the White majority.
If “racial conflict does not happen here” was the primary response from participants
on each campus, there was clear support for the argument that microaggressions
occurred routinely. Though the term “microaggressions” was not used by any of the
participants, the negative but relatively minor, daily reminders of race that students
of color face was a recurrent theme. Two administrators at Township University and
three administrators at Traditional University, all of whom work directly with
students of color, spoke about the significance of these microaggressions that further
marginalize and demoralize the students. One administrator dealt with this issue
carefully, noting that the political environment of her campus made her work
difficult and that she was discouraged from advising students to make the connection
between microaggressions and systemic racism.
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The absence of overtly racist acts that lead to conflict is consistent with
research conducted by Sydell and Nelson, who define “modern racism” as subtle acts
expressed indirectly that are less hostile and aggressive than acts of racial violence in
the past. These more covert acts of racism are harder to identify and detect, often
leaving observers and victims unsure of the nature of the act. This subtle form of
racism, coupled with the popular view that racial disparity no longer exists, sends a
powerful and under-cutting message to students who struggle to make sense of
incidents that seem racist or unfair, yet contradict the message that such things do not
happen in a university community.
Silence Surrounding Issues of Race
Discussions about the apparent lack of racial conflict was an unanticipated
line of questioning that developed on each campus. Based on my review of the
literature about campus racial climates, surveys, and reports from students, staff and
faculty, my assumption going in to the interviews was that some level of this
phenomena was occurring and known to administrators. However, this premise was
contradicted on several occasions by very engaged students, faculty and staff, who
sincerely believe that very few acts of racial conflict occur on their campus –
virtually none. As a researcher attempting to maintain some level of objectivity, I
could not challenge their premise, but pursued the inquiry about the presence of
racial conflict from a few different angles, then moved on to a discussion about why
racial conflict did not occur. Those participants who truly felt that racial conflict did
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not exist attributed this absence to the high maturity level of the students, vigilance
(curriculum and programming to address diversity), student focus and commitment
to being in college, and students’ self selection of a diverse environment in their
choice of a college campus.
Research on the issue of racism and silence suggests that there may be more
to the lack of dialogue about racial conflict. In his article about Critical Race Theory,
Lopez (2003) writes that that silence around racism is part of the larger culture of
oppression that seeks to devalue the struggles, voices and experiences of people of
color. He also notes that educators have an obligation to engage students in this
dialogue: “ . . .we cannot adequately prepare future leaders to achieve these goals if
we avoid exposing them to issues of race, racism and racial politics and demonstrate
to them how these issues continue to permeate the educational landscape” (p. 71). In
this same article, Lopez cites examples of civil disturbances in American history
between Blacks and Whites that have been labeled as simple conflicts, leaving out
the fact that racially motivated acts were the cause of the riots. He cites these
examples as evidence that there is a long-standing, historical reluctance to identify
racism for what it is. Harvey (1998) echoes this view, stating that colleges and
universities are simply not doing enough to engage students in an opportunity to
understand the pervasive and active role of racism in American society. Instead,
Harvey notes, American higher education is complicit in the perpetuation of racism
by distancing itself from these critical dialogues. The Ford Foundation has also
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identified the need for campuses to openly address these issues. In 2005, the
foundation launched a new grant program entitled “Difficult Dialogues,” aimed at
empowering campuses to create spaces for critical dialogues related to “contentious
political, religious, racial and cultural issues” (Ford Foundation, p. 1). Twenty seven
colleges and universities received $100,000 grants to create or revise courses,
implement new programs, develop new pedagogy, and to create infrastructure and
capacity for campuses to engage in conversations in the spirit of open inquiry in the
pursuit of not only increased interpersonal understanding, but also increased
knowledge. This two year project will likely yield much helpful information on how
other campuses can effectively engage in critical dialogues about race, oppression,
and equity in educational outcomes.
The literature about generational differences also lends some support to
administrator’s statements about traditional aged students’ views about race. Howe
and Strauss (2000) have studied the members of generation Y, also known as the
Millennial generation. Traditional aged students currently enrolled in college are part
of this cohort that is described as being markedly different in their attitudes about
relationships, success, work, and race than their predecessors. These researchers note
that Millennials view identity and race as both complex and normal; complex
because they recognize that race no longer simply means Black or White, and normal
because Millennials report more inter-racial interactions and friendships than any
previous generation. In their study, Howe and Strauss report that Millennials are
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prepared to “transcend” (p. 217) society’s racial issues and believe they can do a
better job than their parents did in this regard.
Despite the various theories offered by administrators at all three campuses as
to why so little racial conflict is reported, it is difficult to ascertain the true cause. It
is certainly possible that the racial identity development of students places them in an
earlier stage that makes it less likely that racial conflict would be viewed through this
lens. But it is also possible that despite the efforts of concerned and committed
administrators and faculty, the conversations about the presence of racial tension,
racial inequity in outcomes, and other serious issues do not take place. In the absence
of a critical, all campus dialogue, microaggressions and even more serious acts of
racism will continue to go unreported, but may not go unnoticed by the students who
are impacted by them each day.
Institutional Change
Bolman and Deal (2003) write that the structure of an organization must be
aligned to enable change. The structure defines parameters, sets expectations, and
communicates to personnel what their roles are. It would not be fair to say that the
campuses studied were not aligned in their mission or goals related to the handling of
racial conflict. All participants voiced concern about racial conflicts and discussed
ways in which the university was committed to supporting students of color. But it
was not always clear that each department in the university viewed racial conflict in
the same manner. Differing views on campus racial climate, inequities related to
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student experience and the diversification of the curriculum could have a negative
impact on the institution’s ability to make progress towards change. Though loosely
coupled universities can still be effective in making progress, the lack of agreement
on the relevance or application of diversity related goals can create inconsistent
experiences for students and faculty of color.
The larger institutions, Township University and Traditional University,
faced more significant challenges in regards to alignment, and this may be simply the
result of a larger administrative structure in general. Nonetheless, these two
campuses were more likely to encounter barriers to change because of the complex
structure, involvement of leaders across divisions and at many levels, and difficulty
communicating the function and role of the different players. However, it can also be
argued that these larger structures represented more robust options for reporting and
managing racial conflict, though other problems, such as communication, limited the
effectiveness of the multiple channels. At Serenity College, the relationship-based
nature of the administration meant that organizational change would come only from
relationship and consensus building; this can be contrasted with the multi-lateral
efforts that would need to be made at both Township University and Traditional
University, which would likely involve not only student affairs, but also academic
deans, campus security, the provost and the president, which represent the multiple
bases of power described in Chapter Two. As I noted previously, the larger structures
are not inherently problematic and may seem more complex simply because they are
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larger. If issues of communication can be addressed and if there is consensus about
the recipient of reports of racial conflict, then these larger systems would be more
effective. It is possible that strong leadership from the president and other senior
officers could mitigate non-aligned approaches to a campus’ handling of racial
conflict, and it may be argued that such changes would therefore be stronger and
more enduring since they involve representation from all segments of the university.
Mid-level administrators at Township University and Traditional University
had little to say about this topic, usually noting only that there was “a ways to go” at
their university before issues of diversity were truly integrated into all levels of the
campus. This confluence of two issues – level of the administrators and race of the
administrators – was clearly dichotomized. The mid-level administrators were also
people of color who spoke the most passionately about this issue. These individuals
were not in senior leadership positions, but they were the individuals with whom
students worked most directly. As front-line administrators, they heard the daily
chatter from students about the microaggressions; the racial conflict was therefore
much more real, present and problematic than it was for senior administrators who
heard only of significant incidents second-hand. These mid-level administrators were
more likely to recommend the deeper, second order changes to practice that were
described in Chapter Two, rather than the superficial, often symbolic changes that
are described as first-order. Listening to these different accounts on the same campus
brought to mind an optical illusion, in which one person sees one image while
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looking at a picture, while a second person sees an entirely different image in the
foreground of the same picture. In this case, however, the race and administrative
level of the administrators is often what determined what “image” or view of the
campus racial climate was his or her reality. For senior administrators, particularly
those who do not come from ethnic minority backgrounds, the ability to hear directly
from students about the campus racial climate would be a crucial step to developing
meaningful and coordinated responses to racial conflict. Kezar and Eckel (2005)
recommend that senior leaders at universities should interact more with students of
color to better understand their experiences and to hear about concerns and issues
first-hand.
Recommendations for Practice
This study revealed a number of practices that could improve the process of
facilitating racial conflict.
1. Develop a clear system for reporting racial conflict. The data from these three
campus suggest that a system of reporting and responding to racial conflict that is
simple may be better understood and accessible to students. Campus-wide agreement
that one office, for example, or several key administrators within one division are the
individuals who hear such concerns may be helpful to students who don’t
differentiate between the varying services and purpose of different student services
offices. Multilateral committees or reporting structures can be effective if staff
receiving reports and working with students have a collaborative arrangement. The
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staff who then conduct follow-up should also be identified in advance and receive
appropriate training to counsel, plan programs or mediate discussions as needed. If a
committee is designated as a reporting channel, its presence must be known and the
members must be available to meet frequently to address situations as they arise. The
effectiveness of a committee comprised of senior leadership might be limited if there
was difficulty bringing together the president, provost, vice presidents and deans at a
moment’s notice. However, it is not clear that any one model may work better for all
campuses; the question of structure and effectiveness is worthy of further study.
2. Insure effective and consistent communication. Student affairs staff should
identify and publicize the mechanisms for reporting incidents of racial conflict to
students, and develop a flow chart of other key administrators, faculty, student
leaders who would need to be apprised of situations as they develop. The chief
student affairs officer must work with staff to define the parameters of
communication and information sharing that preserves student confidentiality rights
without impeding the ability of necessary communication among facilitators.
While the aim of the Coalition for Diversity at Township University was to operate
on an ad-hoc basis without university sanctioning so that it was free from political
pressures, the effect of being “underground” meant that it was effectively unknown
to those who needed access to its advocacy the most. Mid-level administrators at
Traditional University felt they were put in a difficult position when students
approached them with news about racial conflict and they had not been apprised of it
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beforehand through administrative channels. This is contrasted with the
communication at Serenity College, where the staff meeting regularly to discuss the
challenges needs of individual students and to strategize on a unified approach.
Though none of the universities in this study experienced racial conflict to
the extent that parents, alumni and media were involved, an effective communication
plan should address the protocol for how much should be shared with external
constituencies and when that would happen.
3. Foster a culture that is willing to engage in the difficult dialogues that recognizes
the nature of systemic racism. This responsibility must be shared by administrators,
senior leaders, faculty and student leaders. The ability for a campus community to
grapple with a pervasive and insidious issue such as racism is critical to effective
handling of incidents of racial conflict. Campuses that choose to wait until racial
tensions are already high lose an opportunity to have all stakeholders at the table for
objective dialogue. When Traditional University’s African American students finally
held a retreat in 2005, it took hours to unpack the experiences of students and to
develop a long list of grievances that was then forwarded to the president. By that
point, many talented African American students had already left the university,
internal conflict was breaking the African American student organization apart, and a
sense of hopelessness had already settled in. Ironically, one administrator familiar
with the list of grievances presented to a presidential task force said that none of the
items on the list came as a surprise to the members of the task force. Had the campus
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been able to have on-going conversations about the campus racial climate, students
of color may have had the opportunity to raise these issues earlier. Some universities
have offices that focus on intergroup dialogue, offering multiple opportunities for the
campus to engage in controversial discussions in a safe setting. The Ford
Foundation’s grant programs on Difficult Dialogues would offer another avenue for
engaging students and other constituencies in conversations that should be initiated
by campus leaders and not by students who are desperate to see positive change
occur on their campus.
4. Recognize the cumulative and damaging effects of microaggressions. Senior
leaders need to recognize that much of the research about contemporary racism
describes subtle, covert and insidious acts that seek to undercut the experiences of
people of color in ways that are less socially damaging to the perpetrator. While
overtly racists acts are now prohibited by law and policy, little attention is given to
the daily insults that negatively affect the experiences of students of color.
5. Maintain personal contact with students of color, faculty of color and ethnic
minority support groups. Though it is difficult for the dean of students to attend
many student events or to seek out faculty of color on a regular basis, maintaining
these relations will not only improve the level of trust these individuals, but will
generate a great deal of information about the experiences of the members of these
groups. Relying on mid-level staff to serve as the recipient of all incidents, positive
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or negative, removes the dean from the ability to accurately observe and assess the
true experiences of people of color on campus.
6. Improve understanding of the role of student development theory and racial
identity theory. Few outside of the student affairs and counseling fields are
knowledgeable of the theories that help guide the growth and learning of students.
The dean of students can help senior leadership understand these issues so that
recommendations for response, organizational change, and prevention can be framed
in context of these goals for development. It would be important for members of the
president’s senior staff, administrators in academic affairs, senior faculty and other
campus leaders to learn to identify how students change and develop over the course
of their college career. Without these frameworks, desired outcomes can vary widely
depending on the role of the university leader. For example, the dean of academic
affairs or vice president for external affairs may have a very different perspective
from the dean of students regarding a desirable resolution to an incident if there is
not a universal agreement that student learning and development is a primary
objective.
7. Continue to address the campus racial climate and make progress in improving it
in tangible ways, such as diversifying the faculty, incorporating statements of
tolerance and diversity within strategic plans and mission statements, establishing
strong policies against bias and hate, and incorporating diverse voices in curriculum
and programming. While this last issue does not directly address the issue of
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facilitating racial conflict and the leadership role of the dean of students, it does
reflect a charge to all campus leaders to do more than convene after an incident of
racial conflict has occurred. Deliberately creating a positive and supportive racial
climate requires commitment from all divisions and levels of a university and is far
more proactive than deliberating a response to yet another bias incident.
Opportunities for Future Research
Though this study touched on many aspects of student affairs administrations
and explored the role of the dean of students in facilitating racial conflict, it also
opened up new lines of inquiry that are worthy of additional study.
The focus of this study was primarily on understanding the actions and
procedures of the dean of students. It would be beneficial to the field of student
affairs to explore how students view the facilitation of racial conflict on their
campuses and whether they view these processes as effective and supportive. This
would greatly inform how administrators view their priorities, services, and
responses in facilitating racial conflict. It is possible that how a dean of students
would approach an incident of racial conflict and the timeline that would be followed
could be viewed by a student as less than ideal. Time to process incidents may
require a longer timetable for follow up, so such inquiry through future study would
yield useful information.
Also from the student perspective, additional studies about students’
generational views of campus racial climate, how that is defined, and contemporary
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views about race relations would contribute greatly to the body of literature. The
impact of new media on how students interface with one another and how they gain
access to popular culture differs from previous generations. The pervasive role of
hip-hop culture on today’s youth may also play a role in how race, identity, and
culture are defined. Drawing on the comments from the participants interviewed, it
appears that this issue is not only important, but also complex. A better
understanding of the Millennial generation’s views of race and identity could re-
define the way in which previous researchers have viewed hate speech and campus
racial climate. Much of the literature that is published on this topic utilized small
populations, often convenience samples, and does not study views of racial conflict
and climate in context of other attitudes of the Millennial generation.
This study yielded only a superficial examination of the role of the dean of
students and this area is worthy of further study. What was clear to me in this study
was the complexity and the careful consideration of campus politics in working
through issues with potentially explosive results. A larger scale study, potentially
including survey data, would reveal more about the various considerations, conflicts,
strategic commitments and challenges that deans face on a daily basis in regards to
not only racial conflict, but other issues related to student support in general.
The conflicting characterizations of the campus racial climates would also
serve as a potential area of future study. Why was it that nearly everyone expressed
that their campuses were incident-free and that the campus climate was relatively
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good, but then went on to describe several examples of racial conflict? There were
times when I felt that I was asking the wrong questions, resulting in this seemingly
contradictory response. Perhaps a better question would be to ask participants what
they thought constituted a poor campus racial climate, and to see if there were
different characterizations between administrators and students. A different way of
approaching this area of study may benefit future researchers. It is possible that a
different methodology, such as ethnography, may offer better access to data through
interaction with those who are actually experiencing the phenomenon. An
ethnographic study would potentially allow the researcher to witness
microaggressions, see the racial conflict occur, then observe how participants
respond. This would allow for a more authentic and real evaluation of the
phenomenon as they occur.
Lastly, another opportunity for future study involves the role of
microaggressions and student development. Since a good deal of research confirms
the presence and corrosive nature of microaggressions, it would be helpful to better
understand their role in racial identity theory. For example, how many
microaggressions, or what kind of microaggressions, would likely push a student into
a stage of personal conflict, dissonance, or serve as the significant event that triggers
a serious and personal evaluation of one’s racial identity? Or do microaggressions
play any role in racial identity development at all?
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Summary
In describing the myriad challenges of analyzing mountains of data, Patton
(2002) writes that the only absolute rule about data analysis is “Do your very best
with your full intellect to fairly represent the data and communicate what the data
reveal given the purpose of the study.” (p. 433) This chapter brought together the
words and thoughts of participants from three campuses and sought to make meaning
of their opinions. Though the research questions were answered and some new
understanding of how racial conflict is facilitated, the question of what this all means
remains. The differing models used on each campus offered strengths and
limitations; campus climate varied, and that also interacted with the ability of staff
and faculty to negotiate the problems with silence around racial issues, under
reporting, and to counteract societal beliefs that true racial equity has been achieved.
The unstated question, therefore, is how students can best be served when incidents
of racial conflict occur, and do such incidents affect change to improve the
environment for all students?
The answers to the questions are mixed. Each campus certainly had protocol
for responding to racial conflict, and each seemed prepare to address such conflicts
with the recognition that these types of incidents can be particularly damaging to not
only victims, but also other students and the campus climate. But ultimately, most
people interviewed felt that either racial conflict doesn’t exist, or that the
microaggressions that do occur are so persistent and under-reported that they cannot
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be effectively addressed. Therefore, there is little impetus, or little ability, to enact
change to address the very issues that make the most difference to students’ quality
of life. Though every campus demonstrated its commitment to issues of diversity
through published statements, course revision, faculty training, student programming
and minority student support centers, one essential piece was not present. The lack of
critical, campus-wide dialogue about race, support systems and derogatory language
was, in itself, a barrier to change and it appears that each of the three campuses will
continue to struggle their dichotomous views of climate until such difficult dialogues
can occur. To address this, campuses may opt to participate in programs such as the
Difficult Dialogues initiative sponsored by the Ford Foundation, which offers grants
to campuses that are creating scholarly and safe spaces to encourage discussion on
controversial and divisive topics such as religion, politics or race. Other resources
offered through the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ (AAC&U)
Diversity Web may also help deans of students, faculty and students engage in
meaningful ways to exchange ideas and share experiences.
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158
APPENDIX A: SAMPLE INTERVIEW PROTOCOL FOR THE
DEAN OF STUDENTS INTERVIEW I
Research questions:
1. How does the dean of students address incidents of racial conflict on a
college campus?
2. What is most challenging about working through racial conflict?
3. How does the dean of students work with students and other stakeholders
when racial conflict occurs?
4. How do decisions affect or change the campus climate? Campus policies?
Sub-questions that will also guide this inquiry include:
A. Are there barriers to organizational change related to racial climate?
B. What is the role of student development theory and racial identity
development in working with students involved in racial conflict?
“Q” = Question, followed by the number or letter referenced above.
The purpose of this interview is to gain a better general understanding of your
position as dean of students and also to learn more about the college/university
culture.
1. I’d like to start by learning more about your professional background. Can
you tell me a little about the positions you have held prior to your position as
dean of students at this college? (Background)
2. Can you describe your current responsibilities as dean of students – which
offices report to you, what programs are advised out of your office, and what
responsibilities to the senior staff? (Background)
Follow up: What is the structure of the senior staff? To whom do you
report?
159
3. I’m interested in understanding the campus culture here. How would you
characterize the relationship between students and faculty? Faculty and staff?
Academic Affairs and Student Affairs? (Campus climate; Q4)
Follow up: what have been the “hot topics” recently? Any areas of
tension or disagreement?
4. What is the racial profile of the students, faculty and staff? (Background)
5. Are there any minority student support programs on campus? Are there clubs
whose mission is to support minority students? (Background)
Follow up: How does your office, or student affairs offices, interact with
the student groups?
Follow up: Are there similar groups for the faculty or staff?
6. How would you describe the campus racial climate? Is it welcoming for
students of color? (Campus climate; Q4)
7. How might members of the smallest racial minority student group
characterize the campus racial climate? (Campus climate; Q4)
8. As part of this study, I’m also interested in how colleges and universities
change. How would you characterize this campus’ response to change?
(Organizational change; QA)
Follow up: Who leads the process of change? Is it those with positional
power, faculty, or others?
INTERVIEW II
In this interview, I would like to focus on issues related to racial conflict, including
specific incidents that occurred and what actions followed.
1. Can you describe an incident of racial conflict that took place recently? (Role
of dean of students, Racial conflict; Q3)
Follow up: What were some of your immediate thoughts once you
learned of this event (or, once you witnessed this event)?
Follow up: What did you do?
2. How did you prioritize your responses? (Role of dean of students; Q1)
Follow up: Could you have chosen to respond differently – if yes, how?
Would that have been more effective?
160
3. How were other staff or faculty involved in handling this situation? (Role of
dean of students; Q3)
4. What changes occurred on campus as a result of this conflict and your
handling of it? (Role of dean of students, Campus climate, Organizational
change; Q4, QA, QB)
Follow up: Was there any resistance to these changes? If so, from whom?
Follow up: Do you feel these changes affected the larger campus
environment or culture, or do you feel they were mostly limited to
changes within student affairs?
Follow up: Do these changes persist today?
(Repeat questions with one or two more examples of racial conflict)
5. When you are working with students involved in racial conflict, how often do
you apply concepts related to student development theory or racial identity
theory in your assessment of the student’s involvement? (Student
development, racial identity development; QB)
6. Have you dealt with other crises or conflicts on this campus that helped
prepare you for negotiating racial conflict? (Role of dean of students; Q3)
7. Where do you look for assistance or guidance on issues related to racial
conflict? (Role of dean of students; Q2, Q3)
161
APPENDIX B: SAMPLE INTERVIEW PROTOCOL FOR THE
OMBUDSPERSON OR STUDENT AFFAIRS STAFF PERSON
In this interview, I would like to focus on issues related to racial conflict, including
specific incidents that occurred and what actions followed.
1. I’d like to start by learning more about your role on campus. How do you
become involved with situations of conflict on campus? (Background)
2. Is there a person who is viewed by the campus as the primary person who
takes the lead in handling an incident of racial conflict? (Role of dean of
students, Q1)
3. Can you describe an incident of racial conflict that took place recently? (Role
of dean of students, Racial conflict; Q1)
Follow up: What were some of your immediate thoughts once you
learned of this event (or, once you witnessed this event)?
Follow up: What did you do?
4. How were other staff or faculty involved in handling this situation? (Role of
dean of students, Q3)
5. When you are working with students involved in racial conflict, how often do
you apply concepts related to student development theory or racial identity
theory in your assessment of the student’s involvement? (Student
development, racial identity development; QB)
6. What changes occurred on campus as a result of this conflict?
(Organizational change, Q4, QA)
Follow up: Was there any resistance to these changes? If so, from
whom?
Follow up: Do you feel these changes affected the larger campus
environment or culture, or do you feel they were mostly limited to
changes within student affairs?
Follow up: Do these changes persist today?
7. Were you satisfied with the outcome of this conflict?
162
APPENDIX C: SAMPLE INTERVIEW PROTOCOL FOR THE
DIRECTOR OF CAMPUS SAFETY
In this interview, I would like to focus on issues related to racial conflict, including
specific incidents that occurred and what actions followed.
1. I’d like to start by learning more about your role on campus. How do you
become involved with situations of conflict on campus? (Background)
2. Is there a person who is viewed by the campus as the primary person who
takes the lead in handling an incident of racial conflict? (Role of dean of
students, Q1)
3. Can you describe an incident of racial conflict that took place recently? (Role
of dean of students, Racial conflict; Q1)
Follow up: What were some of your immediate thoughts once you
learned of this event (or, once you witnessed this event)?
Follow up: What did you do?
4. How were other staff or faculty involved in handling this situation? (Role of
dean of students, Q3)
5. What changes occurred on campus as a result of this conflict?
(Organizational change, Q4, QA)
Follow up: Was there any resistance to these changes? If so, from whom?
Follow up: Do you feel these changes affected the larger campus
environment or culture, or do you feel they were mostly limited to
changes within student affairs?
Follow up: Do these changes persist today?
6. Were you satisfied with the outcome of this conflict?
163
APPENDIX D: SAMPLE INTERVIEW PROTOCOL FOR STUDENT LEADERS
In this interview, I would like to focus on issues related to racial conflict, including
specific incidents that occurred and what actions followed.
1. I’d like to start by learning more about your leadership roles and involvement
on campus. (Background)
2. I’m interested in understanding the campus culture here. How would you
characterize the relationship between students and faculty? Students and
Student Affairs? (Campus climate, QA)
Follow up: what have been the “hot topics” recently? Any areas of
tension or disagreement?
3. Are there any minority student support programs on campus? Are there clubs
whose mission is to support minority students? (Background)
Follow up: How does student affairs interact with the student groups?
4. How would you describe the campus racial climate? Is it welcoming for
students of color? (Campus climate, Q4)
5. How might members of the smallest racial minority student group
characterize the campus racial climate? (Campus climate, Q4)
6. As part of this study, I’m also interested in how colleges and universities
change. How would you characterize this campus’ response to change?
(Organizational change, QA)
7. Can you describe an incident of racial conflict that took place recently?
(Racial conflict, Q1, Q3)
Follow up: What were some of your immediate thoughts once you
learned of this event (or, once you witnessed this event)?
Follow up: What did you do?
8. Did you feel that being involved in this incident (or by helping others work
through it) changed you in any way? In what way? (Student development,
racial identity development; QB)
9. Is there a person who is viewed by the campus as the primary person who
takes the lead in handling an incident of racial conflict? (Role of dean of
students, Q1)
164
10. How were others – students, staff or faculty -- involved in handling this
situation? (Role of dean of students, Q3)
11. What changes occurred on campus as a result of this conflict?
(Organizational change, Q4, QA)
Follow up: Was there any resistance to these changes? If so, from whom?
Follow up: Do you feel these changes affected the larger campus
environment or culture, or do you feel they were mostly limited to
changes within student affairs?
Follow up: Do these changes persist today?
12. Were you satisfied with the outcome of this conflict?
165
APPENDIX E: SAMPLE INTERVIEW PROTOCOL FOR FACULTY OR
ADMINISTRATORS IN ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
In this interview, I would like to focus on issues related to racial conflict, including
specific incidents that occurred and what actions followed.
1. I’d like to start by learning more about your role on campus. How do you
become involved with situations of conflict on campus? (Background)
2. Is there a person who is viewed by the campus as the primary person who
takes the lead in handling an incident of racial conflict? (Role of dean of
students, Q1)
3. Can you describe an incident of racial conflict that took place recently? (Role
of dean of students, Racial conflict; Q1)
i. Follow up: What were some of your immediate thoughts once
you learned of this event (or, once you witnessed this event)?
ii. Follow up: What did you do?
4. How were other staff or faculty involved in handling this situation? (Role of
dean of students, Q3)
5. When you are working with students involved in racial conflict, how often do
you apply concepts related to student development theory or racial identity
theory in your assessment of the student’s involvement? (Student
development, racial identity development; QB)
6. What changes occurred on campus as a result of this conflict?
(Organizational change, Q4, QA)
i. Follow up: Was there any resistance to these changes? If so,
from whom?
ii. Follow up: Do you feel these changes affected the larger
campus environment or culture, or do you feel they were
mostly limited to changes within student affairs?
iii. Follow up: Do these changes persist today?
7. Were you satisfied with the outcome of this conflict?
166
APPENDIX F: DOCUMENTS
1. Organization chart for both the college/university and student affairs
(Background)
2. List of student clubs and organizations with descriptions (Background)
3. College or university mission (Campus climate, Q4)
4. Mission or statement of purpose for minority student support services
(Campus climate, Q4)
5. Strategic planning documents and updates on progress towards
implementation (Campus climate, Organizational change; Q4, QA)
6. Official reports written about the incident of racial conflict (Racial conflict,
Q1, Q3)
7. Local newspaper or student newspaper articles about incidents of harassment
or racial conflict (Campus climate, Organizational change; Q4)
167
APPENDIX G: INFORMED CONSENT FOR NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
NEGOTIATING RACIAL CONFLICT: THE LEADERSHIP ROLE OF
THE DEAN OF STUDENTS
You are being asked to participate in a research study entitled “Negotiating Racial
Conflict: The Leadership Role of the Dean of Students” with Tracy Poon Tambascia,
a USC doctoral student, and Dr. Adrianna Kezar in USC’s School of Education.
Your campus was chosen as one of the research sites. You were selected for this
study because of your role in negotiating incidents of racial conflict on your campus.
Your participation in this study is voluntary. If you decide to participate, you may
stop the interview at any time without any consequence. Individual interviews will
last approximately 1 hour.
PURPOSE OF STUDY
The purpose of this study is to understand the leadership role of the dean of students
in negotiating racial conflict on college campuses using a multi-case study design. I
will be exploring the various priorities of a dean in managing racial conflict on
campus and seek to understand how decisions are prioritized and enacted. I am also
interested in understanding how organizational change at the college occurs with
respect to resources, structure, or policies.
Response to the interview questions will constitute consent to participate in this
research project.
PROCEDURES
You will be asked to share some experiences and personal reflections in an
individual interview which will last approximately one hour. Before the interview, I
will ask for your permission to audio-tape the conversation and take notes. If you
decline to be audio-taped, I will only take notes of the conversation. After the
interview, I will transcribe your words if it was audio-taped. Then I will contact you
again and you will have the chance to correct the transcription. Finally, the audio
recording will be erased and the transcription will be identified by code.
I would like to interview you at a time and place convenient to you. This can be in
your office or at an on or off campus location.
168
RISKS AND BENEFITS
You may sense discomfort responding to questions about an incident of racial
conflict took place on your campus. You may also sense discomfort from responding
to questions about the handling of this situation on campus. There are no direct
benefits to you, and you will not be paid for participating in this research study.
Indirectly, this process may provide you with the benefit of recognition for your
contributions.
169
APPENDIX H: THEMES
1. How does the dean of students address incidents of racial conflict on a college
campus?
• They don’t. Their staffs do, other committees do . . .multi-lateral committees.
• If judicial, then through that route.
• The DOS is not even often identified as the person to go to should an incident
occur.
• The multi-lateral committees are often appointed by the president or report to
the president.
2. What is most challenging about working through racial conflict?
• Who is involved and who is communicated to are central challenges.
• The fact that new students arrive every year also means a shift in population.
• The confidential, private and emotional nature of the topic.
• Students don’t see racial conflict for what it is. They think racism is gone,
that school is a safe haven – these things don’t exist.
3. How does the dean of students work with students and other stakeholders when
racial conflict occurs?
• Most commonly, one on one meetings or group dialogues. Again, not usually
DOS, but his or her staff.
170
• Sometimes there is a formal investigatory or crisis management team.
• Will advise or ask director of minority student services to get the pulse of the
student group . . .
• Will sometimes apprise or work with faculty.
4. How do decisions affect or change the campus climate? Campus policies?
• Usually reactionary – as a result of grant money or a riot, but not b/c of one
specific incident.
• The lack of communication about a specific incident can actually be
problematic. Makes it seem like the admin is sweeping it under the rug.
Sub-questions that will also guide this inquiry include:
A. Are there barriers to organizational change related to racial climate?
• Not lack of caring – lack of minority voices at senior level, lack of resources
is stated.
B. What is the role of student development theory and racial identity development in
working with students involved in racial conflict?
• Instinctive – very apparent when working with students. The role of SD is a
factor in addressing racial incidents. They don’t see it as a widespread
problem, or deny it exists.
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
There is a dearth of research in student affairs about how a dean of students can most effectively negotiate incidents of racial conflict on campus. Since the civil rights movement of the 1960's, race and multiculturalism occupy a central position in American higher education. Despite the gains of ethnic minority students in access to higher education, equity in educational outcomes is far from reality. Students of color report that campus racial climate continues to be challenging.
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Tambascia, Tracy Poon
(author)
Core Title
Negotiating racial conflict: the leadership role of the dean of students
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Education (Leadership)
Publication Date
06/05/2007
Defense Date
04/23/2007
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
campus climate,dean of students,OAI-PMH Harvest,racial conflict,student affairs
Language
English
Advisor
Kezar, Adrianna (
committee chair
), Allen, Susan (
committee member
), Jackson, Michael L. (
committee member
)
Creator Email
tracytambascia@yahoo.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m513
Unique identifier
UC1399156
Identifier
etd-Tambascia-20070605 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-504160 (legacy record id),usctheses-m513 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-Tambascia-20070605.pdf
Dmrecord
504160
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights
Tambascia, Tracy Poon
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Repository Name
Libraries, University of Southern California
Repository Location
Los Angeles, California
Repository Email
cisadmin@lib.usc.edu
Tags
campus climate
dean of students
racial conflict
student affairs