DEI efforts have become a lightning rod for debate in American higher education. At the private Houston university, officials admit impact is heard to measure — but they also see progress from their work.
Alexander X. Byrd, the vice provost for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Rice University, poses for a portrait on campus.HOUSTON — It’s 10 a.m. on a Tuesday morning in September and Alexander X. Byrd’s daylong, meeting-packed marathon across Rice University’s lush grounds is just ramping up.
“You don't have to make people all of the sudden agree with each other," Byrd said."That can't happen. It doesn't have to happen.” Over the past few years, Rice’s DEI office has created new required courses on diversity and tailored freshmen orientation to students from underrepresented backgrounds. It has enhanced efforts to boost faculty diversity through fellowship programs. This month,the school add dozens of Black faculty and create a new space on campus for Black students as part of a four-year examination of the university’s racist history.
Alexander Byrd, the vice provost for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, meets with Brandy Edmondson, a postdoctoral fellow, at the Multicultural Center.Around 11 a.m. on that recent Tuesday, Byrd wrapped up his weekly staff meeting and headed upstairs to meet with one of the new members of his team, Brandy Edmondson.that supports aspiring professors and researchers interested in promoting equity in their research and teaching.
Edmonson is still finding her way on Rice’s campus, forcing herself to overcome the early awkwardness of showing up to events alone and meeting new people. It’s an introductory course intended to teach students how to have conversations — rather than debate — about diversity. Some sessions focus on how identity is a lens through which to view the world. Another talks about how seemingly small comments about someone’s race, gender or socioeconomic class can make them less comfortable sharing their perspectives or lived experiences. Students also learn how to respond when they witness racist or homophobic comments.
Texas’ top officials — and far-right Republicans nationwide — have portrayed any number of local, state or federal attempts to foster inclusivity as indoctrination. When Texas lawmakers this year targeted DEI programs at universities, Black and Latino legislators criticized Texas leaders’ priorities, saying they were using people of color as pawns in an appeal to the far-right GOP base.
Alan Russell, the executive director of the Disability Resource Center, speaks with Alexander Byrd, the vice provost for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, during a weekly DEI staff meeting at Rice University.Still, others are disappointed that the national conversation about DEI has largely homed in on the work these offices do to build and support racial diversity, ignoring other work done to include groups such as students with disabilities or military veterans.
Last fall, 28% of undergraduate students at Rice were white, a large decline from 16 years ago when white undergraduate enrollment was 52% Meanwhile last fall, 30% of undergraduates were Asian and 15% were Hispanic. Black undergraduate enrollment was 8%. As Johnson and Byrd discussed her proposal, Johnson appeared apprehensive and nervous about the prospect of developing a brand new course.
But Byrd remembers that apprehension well. A native of Houston, he attended public schools across the city before attending Rice himself. Its tree lined campus with its sweeping Mediterranean-style buildings were a stark difference from the neighborhoods in which he grew up. “It’s not just the students of color who are saying, ‘I need this,’” she said. “There are other students on campus who are saying, ‘we need to do this,’ or ‘I need to be better at that,’ or ‘how can we improve this because this happened to my friend?’ It’s becoming a community value.”At 7 p.m., Byrd popped over to another campus building for an evening class for low-income and first-generation freshmen. Rice pays to bring them to campus for 10 days over the summer.
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As Texas bans diversity and equity offices at public colleges, Rice University’s inclusion efforts march onDEI efforts have become a lightning rod for debate in American higher education. At the private Houston university, officials admit impact is heard to measure — but they also see progress from their work.
Leer más »