Enhancing Diversity at Bates: The Benjamin Mays '20 Initiative

January 2007

History and Overview

In the past several years, many people at Bates have been striving to make Bates’ historic commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence a more concrete reality in the twenty-first century. We mention here just a few formal initiatives undertaken in the last four years.

In 2003-2004, the president convened the Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and Academic Excellence, and this group recommended the creation of the Professional Development Seminar on Stereotype Threat (2004-2005), in which the president and the deans of Faculty, Students, and Admissions participated with several members of the faculty and staff. Based on work undertaken in that seminar, the president named the first Special Assistant to the President for Diversity in summer 2005, Professor Liz Tobin. Professor Tobin sought the advice of members of the faculty and staff who have long been involved in issues of diversity at Bates, and she studied and summarized reports and recommendations from the seven committees and working groups that had focused on diversity since 1992 (leading to “The Report of Reports,” which outlines recommendations that have been implemented as well as those that have not). The Special Assistant to the President also initiated the Campus Climate Project, which attracted approximately 75 students, faculty, and staff and was subsequently organized into four working groups. The groups met throughout the winter semester and short term last year, brought speakers and consultants to campus, traveled to study more diverse campuses, and implemented a number of current programs. [The latest version of the Campus Climate Report will be available on the Website in a few weeks.] In the summer of 2006, Professor Sue Houchins replaced Liz Tobin as the second Special Assistant to the President.

In July 2006, the College submitted to the Mellon Foundation a proposal requesting $3 million and provided a fundraising plan for matching it with an additional $6 million for the “Benjamin Mays Initiative,” a comprehensive, multi-year program to build and sustain greater diversity at Bates. Honoring the legacy of alumnus Benjamin E. Mays, the aspirations and programs of the Mays Initiative emerged most directly from the Campus Climate Project and the deliberations of the Mellon proposal steering committee[1], which also solicited ideas from all members of the faculty, staff, students, and board of trustees. Our institutional commitment to this project rests on a clear need. Historically Bates had led the nation in providing an inclusive educational environment by welcoming under-represented minorities of the 19^th century – women and African Americans. Now we substantially trail our peers in several important measures of the comprehensive diversity that is critical to fulfilling our primary mission today and in the future: providing an outstanding liberal arts education for all students.

When the College learned two months ago that we had not been awarded the Mellon grant, we immediately began to develop a modified plan for the Benjamin Mays Initiative that will reallocate internal funds and raise new financial support, as outlined below. Its goals and strategies are consistent with recommendations coming out of the Campus Climate Project and the work of the Mellon proposal steering committee, and we have already begun to implement several aspects of this three-part plan (already implemented and current programs related to the major elements of the BMI are noted in italics in the outline below).

Goals

1. Achieve a substantially more diverse and globally aware community, with students from many racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds
2. Create and open, welcoming, and supportive campus environment for students from under-represented racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups.
3. Continue strong first-to-second year persistence of ALANA (African American, Latino/a, Asian American and Native American) students and improve the six-year graduation rate for ALANA students.
4. Create a community of faculty, staff and students who are prepared to be allies, advocates, and change agents dedicated to creating a more diverse Bates.
5. Develop and implement programs to teach all students the skills necessary for responsible global citizenship and cross-cultural learning.
6. Increase opportunities for faculty to participate in research around issues of difference and diversity and to learn pedagogies appropriate for an increasingly diverse student body.
7. Increase opportunities to learn how to respect and value difference when performing their roles and to participate in learning- and research-based initiatives whenever possible.
8. Build strong, geographically-based networks of alumni of color whose members interact socially and professionally, become alumni leaders, and also work with the College in programs to recruit and mentor new Bates students from under-represented racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups.

Strategies

Because the student experience remains our primary concern, we will pursue activities in all three phases of a student’s relationship with Bates simultaneously. The first phase concentrates on high school students from under-represented groups before they become members of the Bates community; the second on enrolled students’ on-campus experiences, both curricular and co-curricular; and third on engaging alumni/ae over the rest of their lives.

1. Recruitment and admissions with the new leadership of Marylyn Scott, hired summer 2006 as Director of Multicultural Recruiting, working with the entire admissions office staff.

High School and Program Partnerships. We will identify a small, manageable group of high schools and community based organizations with significant numbers of under-represented students for the purpose of building new, long-term recruitment relationships. e.g. Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice; Summer Search; Boys Club of New York; Squashbusters; Collegiate Directions.

Admissions Partners. Bates faculty and alumni will work with the admissions office to support diversity goals. Joe Pellicia, Faculty Associate in Admissions, 2004-06; Liz Tobin, Special Assistant to the President, 2005-06; Lavina Shankar, Faculty Associate Dean of Admissions, 2006-07.

Science Scholars Program. We will provide need-based aid, faculty mentoring, and summer research opportunities for up to three new scholars from under-represented groups in each entering class who show a passion for science. We will also continue the Hughes Summer Program, which starts in 2007 and provides opportunities for approximately ten incoming students to gain preparation in math and science.

Bates Prologue. We will expand the current Bates Prologue program to include students in their junior year of high school.

Ongoing fundraising for increased financial aid endowment building on $23.4 million in restricted funds for financial aid recently raised in the Campaign for Bates.

2. Retention, engagement and infusion of diversity into the curriculum and co-curriculum with leadership from the newly created position, Special Assistant to the President, held by Liz Tobin, 2005-06, and Sue Houchins, 2006-07.

Swing Dean – An Assistant Dean in Admissions and his/her counterpart in the Dean of Students office will rotate their positions annually so that they are able to mentor and support students from under-represented racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups through the transition to Bates and the critical first year.

Mid-year retreat for first-year students from under-represented racial, ethnic and socio-economic groups.

Peer mentoring and tutoring – Began with PALGs in 2004.

Curricular and Research Initiatives – Faculty development for GEC’s that incorporate issues of diversity (such as racism and social justice); faculty development to realize the educational benefits of diversity and improve the in-class climate; Knowledge in Action Program, sponsored by The Harward Center and Multicultural Center and providing competitive research grants for faculty who pursue community projects that explore and further the intellectual and social value of diversity; Pre- and/or Post- Doc Faculty fellowships to increase the presence of diverse faculty and curricular offerings; Diverse Colleges Collaborations. Professional Development Seminar on Stereotype Threat, 2004-05; Short term lecture series, 2006; Pedagogy panels, fall 2006.

Intergroup and Issues Dialogues e.g. 2006-07 program from DoS, including training for JCs and RAs and the controversial dialogues program; first “Chili Night” on immigration.

Staff Development Programs e.g. Spring 2006 diversity training for security and DoS; Facing History and Ourselves.

3. After Bates – Leadership, networks, lifelong engagement.

Bates will focus its efforts toward achieving goals in this area through the hiring of an Associate Director of Alumni of Color in the office of Alumni and Parent Programs. This new staff position, which start at full-time and then be maintained at half-time after three years, will strengthen relationships with alumni of color and oversee with Admissions programs to recruit and mentor students from under-represented racial, ethnic and socio-economic groups.

The College will also celebrate the accomplishments of our alumni of color, especially Benjamin Mays, by rededicating the Benjamin Mays Center and making it more central and visible to the campus and the world.