How would you assess race relations in higher education in the 12 years since NCORE?
If you read things like the Race Relations Reporter, you'll get a very discouraging picture. But a positive thing is that more and more institutions are sending not just token people but teams of people to NCORE and the commitment is definitely there among the people who come. The harder thing is getting the true institutional commitment to these issues.
Most of us who work on these issues, and I include myself in that group, wherever we are, work in isolation. There are just not enough of us, so real comprehensive, widespread institutional change is difficult. We are in a constant struggle. To renew ourselves and keep going is very hard. Many of us who come to the conference are in desperate need of a rich, diverse, vital, and positive forum where we can engage one another, not just at this conference, but on our own campuses as well.
One of the things that has kept this conference alive and vital is this sense of renewal and this has been true for faculty [members] of color and true for those committed to being allies to the cause of racial inclusion and understanding.
There is a lot that is positive that we can say about this conference and things going on at some college campuses, but we still have a long way to go to building inclusive environments that permeate entire higher education institutions.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
