Diversity

In this essay, the meaning of diversity is explored as it pertains to senior underrepresented minority (URM) faculty experiences. The experiences of senior URM faculty were gathered through the URM Senior Scholars Histories Project to bring more visibility to racist and sexist practices and to the lack of diversity among faculty within research universities. This brings into question the use of the term diversity in higher education, a term that is often used, but falls short of a clear definition and plan for its implementation for better serving faculty, staff, and students. Through a brief overview of the use of the term diversity in higher education, it becomes apparent that it has been used as a pretty word for nearly 50 years, despite tireless efforts to make real, transformative structural changes within higher education institutions. The question now is: where do we go from here and what can we do to build and create new ways of being that embrace diversity as the norm?