Education

Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the university are increasingly valorized, but have we made progress in supporting diverse faculty and students? Synthesizing contributions in this issue that advocate for meaningful faculty diversity and genuine forms of care in the university, this essay reflects on why, even after decades of such diversity initiatives, higher education still struggles with the underrepresentation of minority scholars. Even as legal frameworks such as the Government Issued Bill (GI Bill) (in its seven iterations to date) have shifted toward greater inclusion and the Civil Rights movement opened new pathways that continue to expand today, we must go beyond counting diverse bodies in the academy toward meaningful practices that allow diverse scholars to thrive. Drawing on Moten and Harney's notion of the undercommons urges us to reflect and take action in our own teaching and research roles in the system to build spaces of radical refusal and collective dissent that challenge traditional ideas about the role of the university in society. Such a project requires centering students in their own learning, putting higher education within a larger late capitalism neoliberal context, and holding administrators accountable for their leadership and support of diversity initiatives. Collectively, such actions have the potential to move the university toward the sustained and genuine diversity and inclusion efforts we need to remain relevant.