Campus Climate and Inclusion

Recent events—both nationwide and on college campuses—have too often pitted values of diversity, inclusion, and freedom of expression against each other, when in fact they should be mutually reinforcing. While the majority of college students support the principles of the First Amendment, many are willing to entertain restrictions when they see conflicts with other values and beliefs.

Caught in the crosshairs are university leaders who want to do right by their communities and support all voices being heard, but without letting deep divisions affect the student experience or compromise the learning environment. This blog series aims to unpack the tensions between campus inclusion and freedom of expression through president and student survey data and commentary from higher education leaders, higher education administrators, First Amendment experts, and scholars who study these issues.

Today’s student body is more diverse than ever before. But students enrolled in science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) disciplines remains largely homogeneous. Women and underrepresented minorities often cite climate as a barrier to their persistence and completion in these fields.

This series on campus climate and STEM success unpacks the differences, similarities, and connections between STEM departmental climate and the climate of the campus at large to highlight approaches that can increase the enrollment, retention, and success of marginalized students. ACE is proud to partner with the National Center for Institutional Diversity at University of Michigan to bring you this series.

Colleges and universities across the country have grappled in recent years with incidents related to race on college campuses, bringing to the forefront issues that the higher education community needs to discuss and confront. As the postsecondary education student body continues to diversify, creating a campus that is inclusive of all perspectives and beliefs is increasingly critical to student success.

This blog series was sparked by student protests that began in 2015 and the subsequent national dialogue on diversity and inclusion. It aims to broadly inform college and university leadership about the multiple dimensions of racial climate and campus inclusion, and includes practical takeaways for leaders to consider as they continue to deal with these important issues.