The protest movement spurred by the killing of George Floyd aims to dismantle not only instances of overt racism and violence but also institutional racism in every sector of American life. Higher education will not be immune from this reckoning. Whether colleges end up operating in person, online, or in a hybrid format this fall, they will have to confront structural racism head-on.
For students, who have made clear their dissatisfaction with the status quo, empty gestures from administrators will not be enough. They will demand meaningful change. They will demand leadership that is proactive, not reactive. Here are some concrete steps colleges can take to combat structural racism in higher education:
Require implicit-bias training for anyone involved in admissions. Admissions workers are the gatekeepers of institutions. They must understand the importance of their role, as well as the biases they bring to it. All application readers should undergo training to recognize their unconscious biases before every admissions cycle. In her decision upholding affirmative action at Harvard University, Judge Allison D. Burroughs advised implicit-bias training for its admissions team. This valuable and necessary intervention should be adopted at all colleges, even when a federal judge doesn’t recommend it.
Guarantee financial aid beyond the first year. Stop front-loading financial-aid packages to lure first-generation and underrepresented students to your institution. This includes the practice of offering merit-aid scholarships with preconditions for continued funding beyond the first year. A bachelor’s degree is a key way for this population to improve not only their lives but also the lives of their immediate families. If students are increasingly burdened by the stress of making payments, it can affect their academic performance, including their ability to stay enrolled. Those who do manage to graduate are likely to become disaffected alumni.
Require de-escalation training for public-safety officers. The physical safety and well-being of students are core responsibilities of all colleges. Public-safety officers should be required to undergo racial-bias and de-escalation training annually. Further, public-safety administrators should make an effort to participate in student town halls and student-government meetings to build trust. Students shouldn’t hear from the campus police only during a crisis. At Barnard College, for example, a community-safety group is “charged with discussing broad issues related to campus safety, including concerns about racial and other forms of bias and their consequences.”
Adopt a transparent student-protest policy. At public colleges, students are guaranteed their constitutional right to free assembly. At private institutions, there should be a well-defined process to allow students to organize on campus. Make all processes for student protest transparent and accessible. At Middlebury College and the University of Southern California, for example, student-demonstration policies are embodied in student handbooks, and a single student or a recognized student club can request event space on campus for a demonstration. This differs from many private institutions, where demonstrations require a sponsoring department or group, a policy that can discourage and suppress enthusiasm.
Conduct a campuswide review of building and school names. Colleges have existed in America since colonial times. The names on all buildings should be examined for potential links to the country’s dark history of slavery, Jim Crow, and white supremacy. Princeton University’s recent announcement that it will remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from its public-policy school is a reminder that reviews should not be limited to Confederate names. Colleges are better off using an independent third party to investigate and provide recommendations. It’s not easy to tell a benefactor that his or her money is not welcome at your institution, especially if the benefactor is a trustee or someone else with close ties to the college. Using a third party makes the decision easier.
Punish racial profiling on campus. Just as we’ve seen in the larger society, students of color have been forced to engage with campus safety officers or the local police because employees or other students reported them as suspicious. Race-based calls to public safety should be an infraction punishable under the rules governing student and employment conduct.
Create a strategic plan to hire a diverse faculty and staff. Recruiting to hire a more diverse work force should not be limited to the equal-employment-opportunity statement in a job ad or an additional statement on the value of diversity. Institutions must think creatively about and invest money in hiring and retaining full-time professors and administrators of color. Administrators should ask themselves the following: Have we developed a faculty pipeline to recruit, hire, retain, and tenure full-time faculty of color? Does campus leadership resemble the student body? How diverse is our faculty-tenure committee? Should the chief diversity officer be a standing member of the tenure committee? How often are professional-development opportunities given to administrators of color compared with their white counterparts?
Diversify health and wellness personnel. After a disturbing national or local event, leaders often urge students by email to take advantage of the college’s health and wellness services. But how diverse is that staff at your institution? If your college is like most, the answer is “not very.” For too long, we have asked minority students to enter a health and wellness space staffed by professionals who do not resemble them. Hire diverse psychologists, physicians, nurses, social workers, and nutritionists on your campus.
Expand the scope of your chief diversity officer. If your campus does not have a chief diversity officer, now is a good time to hire one. If your campus already has one, take a closer look at the role. Is it a one-person job? Is there an office dedicated to the work of inclusion? Will the officer’s work also encompass faculty development? It should.
Engage in proactive dialogue. Speak often about race, privilege, diversity, equity, and inclusion. The model and philosophy of proactive advising should not be limited to academic advising. It can be applied across campus. And regardless of the frequency of extracurricular dialogues on campus, students will be looking to further conversations of diversity and inclusion in the curriculum and in course readings. Faculty members should be pressed to show that they are incorporating these ideas into their courses.
Those recommendations are not exhaustive, but they are a start. The time has come for higher education to identify and dismantle all echoes of institutional racism in its midst. Statements disavowing the murders of black men and women are not enough. Sooner or later, the spotlight will be on your college. Will people like what they see?
