College and university campuses are places for progress. The nation’s youngest minds and most educated adults work together to not only better their individual lives, but to improve society. This comes in the form of medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, advancement of the arts and more. College and university settings are the birthplace of much of the nation’s innovation.
Academics are not the only area that benefit from the collaborative and ambitious natures of higher education populations, though. Advancements in social thought also take place on these campuses, creating the mold of behavior that the rest of the country should, and often, follows. Diversity programs on college campuses, both school- and student-sponsored, should be about more than cashing in on a perennial buzzword. These initiatives make a difference, from impacting immediate communities to influencing public policy and laws.
In my research, I read about a lot of different schools doing tremendous things in the areas of promoting diversity, on campus and beyond. Here’s a look at a few of the strongest programs I’ve come across recently:
California Community Colleges
As reported on this site, the California Community College system recently announced a partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities that will link two-year achievements at the California schools with furthering that education at nine of the nation’s HBCUs. Students who earn a transfer level associate’s degree and at least a 2.5 GPA will have priority status for admissions, housing and even financial aid at HBCUs.
What I like so much about this program is that it is actually boosting diversity on HBCU campuses, particularly when it comes to California’s relatively large Latino/Latina college student populations. It is not just Black students who will benefit from this program; other minorities, and even White students, will also have greater opportunities beyond their two-year degrees.
College of William and Mary
