The Death of a Diversity Alliance
When foundation funding dried out, so did a Florida college coalition’s diversity initiatives.
By Blair S. Walker
A decade ago, 11 eager Florida colleges and universities came together to form what was expected to be a shining example of institutional cooperation to advance diversity initiatives.
Fast forward to 2006, though, and the Central and South Florida Higher Education Diversity Coalition is a distant, unlamented memory. The lead institution for the consortium was Barry University in Miami. When Barry’s grant money for the coalition dried up, the impetus to move the coalition forward also evaporated.
With Barry’s funding gone, the other cohort institutions — Bethune-Cookman College, Florida Memorial College, Miami Dade College, Nova Southeastern University, Palm Beach Atlantic College, St. Leo College, St. Thomas University, the University of Central Florida and the University of Miami — simply let the coalition quietly wither and die.
“Barry lacked the critical mass of faculty and staff of color — and progressive White faculty for that matter — that wanted to make sure the program didn’t fall apart,” says Andrea Monroe, the former director of the coalition.
“I think that Barry’s failure just mirrors the diversity failures that we see in higher education in general,” says Monroe, who is now teaching at California State University-Monterey Bay. “I don’t see a lot of leadership in wanting to sustain thoughtful, meaningful diversity programs.”
A spokeswoman for Barry, a Roman Catholic university that had 53 percent minority enrollment in Fall 2005, says the school’s commitment to diversity has never wavered, despite the coalition’s demise.
