The finding is hardly a revelatory one given the social unrest that hit campuses nationwide last fall, most notably with the student-led protest against racism that ultimately led to the resignation of University of Missouri System president Tim Wolfe, whose resignation came after Black football players at Mizzou threw their support behind the cause and threatened to stop practicing and playing until Wolfe was gone.
Be that as it may, the survey—titled “Racial Climate on Campus: A Survey of College Presidents” and conducted by ACE’s Center for Policy Research and Strategy—serves as a reminder of the fact that student-led efforts to root out racism and increase diversity on campus are likely to confront American college and university presidents for some time to come.
The survey found that 53 percent of presidents at four-year institutions and 87 percent at two-year institutions report students have organized around concerns about racial diversity.
With respect to how presidents respond, 86 percent of presidents at four-year institutions and 71 percent of two-year institution presidents say they have met with student organizers on more than one occasion.
The question of paramount concern, however, is not exclusively whether presidents respond but rather how adeptly they respond.
Eddie Comeaux, associate professor of higher education at the University of California, Riverside, said that, in order to make campuses feel more welcoming for groups that historically have been underrepresented or excluded, it will take more than just numerical increases in diversity among students, faculty and staff.
