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Welcome to The EDU Ledger! We’ve moved from Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

Section: Opinion

Victory for Natural Black Hair Benefits All of Us

California just became the first state to recognize by law that discrimination against natural hair can be discrimination on the basis of race. That was the result of years of advocacy. New York State just followed.

July 12, 2019

What Beyoncé Can Teach Us About Race, Identity and Social Justice

In higher education, we talk a lot about diversity, but all too often students, faculty and staff can find themselves at a loss, and ill-equipped to talk openly, constructively and authentically about issues of culture, privilege, power, gender and race.

July 11, 2019

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Culturally Responsive Graduation Ceremonies: Opportunities and Considerations for University Leaders

Many minoritized students participate in graduation ceremonies that are not reflective of their cultural heritage or social experience. Though many institutions provide culturally responsive graduation ceremonies (CRGCs), their legitimacy and relevance have been challenged in recent years.

July 5, 2019

A Summer Teaching Reflection: Can Black Faculty Afford to Curry Favor with our Students?

During the summer months, I spend time rethinking both my teaching methods and the learning goals I seek for my students. Usually my mind will rest upon occurrences from the classroom or discussions with students in my office. This summer, though, is different. My mind continues to be drawn back to a conversation I had with several White male professors.

July 2, 2019

Tearing at my Heart: The First Year on Tenure Track

I reached for the tissue box and it was empty. The tears trickled down my face at a faster pace than usual. I rushed to the bathroom to replenish my tissue box. I slowly slipped into an uncontrollable sob. I felt like I was an infant again overwhelmed with emotions but left without the words to explain the depth of what I was feeling. Were these tears of joy, happiness, sadness, restlessness, exhaustion or hurt?

July 1, 2019

Asian American Pacific Islander

Kamala Harris Has No Problem Being Black, But Why Doesn’t She Say Publicly She’s Part Asian?

Kamala Harris likes to say she’s American. Of course. But she’s not generic. Her racial subtext is this: On her father’s side she’s half-Jamaican, and on her mother’s side she’s half-Asian Indian. Harris should say it proudly and often. Because there’s a lot of misunderstanding out there. Just ask Donald Trump Jr.

June 30, 2019

Asian American Pacific Islander

Fitting In Doesn’t Fix Discrimination

I have been studying the internment of Japanese Americans ever since I have been a professor. Yet I have had the most important insight, personally as an Asian American albeit not Japanese originally, only recently. To explain why the mass incarceration during World War II of 120,000 individuals on the basis of heritage, two-thirds of them native-born citizens of this nation, was wrong requires pointing out that the people who are most offended about the violation of civil rights are those who subscribe in the ideals of the United States.

June 27, 2019

The Future of Research and Practice about MSIs

Today, there are more than 700 Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) designated by the federal government that represent 14 percent of all degree granting institutions of higher education. These institutions enroll nearly 30 percent of all undergraduates in the U.S. and carry the heavy load of ensuring the success of a student population that is majority Pell Eligible and students of color, two populations that are often overlooked.

June 26, 2019

DeShawn Preston

Faculty & Staff

If You Want to Diversify the Professoriate, Don’t Scare Us Away

If life as a tenure-track professor is so miserable, then why do you continue? As a doctoral candidate working on my dissertation while preparing for the faculty market, I have sought out thought pieces, attended early-career faculty programs, and paid special attention to what academics are saying on Twitter about life on the tenure-track. Does it get better after tenure?

June 25, 2019

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Faculty & Staff

Let’s Retire Ageism in Academe

Now in the middle-child position between scores of retiring senior colleagues and recently hired junior faculty members, I mourn the unintentional ways we may be complicit in higher education’s growing problem with ageism.

June 24, 2019

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African-American

Prejudice ‘Strikes’ Again: Corporal Punishment is Hitting Black Students the Most

As Black scholars who have succeeded in spite of educational inequities that existed when we were students and still exist now, we are acutely aware of injustices in school settings from personal experiences as former P-12 students and current Black scholars working to also advocate for family members, friends, and those who seek our guidance and assistance. We recognize that their experiences as African-Americans mirror our own from earlier decades.

June 23, 2019

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Why Does Harvard Have a Police Force?

In April and May, student protesters at Johns Hopkins University engaged in a civil protest against the establishment of a police department on their campus. As the university moved towards rolling out the police force, they quashed the students’ protest with the help of the Baltimore Police Department. While Johns Hopkins may have won the battle against the student protestors, the students’ activism has opened the door for other students around the country to attempt to preempt the establishment of police forces at their own universities.

June 19, 2019

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How Do We Persuade People About Casual Racism and Sexism?

As a teacher of advocacy, I wonder what is the most effective means of persuading people they should not engage in offensive speech and objectionable expression. I mean that sincerely, not rhetorically: what will prompt people to choose not to use racial slurs or sexist images, not because they felt coerced but from a change of heart? For me, the issue is not whether they possess the right to utter the word or display the picture — for I would not hesitate to support them against censorship. The issue is whether it is right to do so.

June 18, 2019

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What if Western Illinois’ Jack Thomas Were White or Asian?

As a lonely adjunct, a Filipino American teaching at a state school, I am but a wee voice in higher ed. But what if I were Jack Thomas at Western Illinois University, the school’s very first Black president?

June 17, 2019

NCAA’s Discriminatory APR Scores

A few weeks ago, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released their annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores for each Division I team. While the annual announcement of these scores typically generates headlines that APR scores are improving, these headlines are disturbingly misleading.

June 16, 2019

Divulging into Systematic Oppression

An entire month of teachings on systematic oppression have unfolded right before our eyes; many will miss its intended lesson, however. If you have not heard about the recent plot to remove the first African-American president at Western Illinois University, Dr. Jack Thomas, by the incumbent Board of Trustees, listen closely.

June 13, 2019

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Ignoring Race and Privilege: How The College Board’s SAT Adversity Score Missed the Mark

Adverse experiences and social privilege are both life circumstances that can alter a test-taker’s score on standardized tests. However, the College Board, with their recent announcement of an “adversity score,” highlighted the disadvantages of adversity, while ignoring the advantages of privilege. In doing so, the College Board treats adversity as a handicap to be accommodated, while missing an opportunity to address a myriad of noncognitive factors that make SAT scores either lower or higher than they should be for different racial and ethnic groups, and socio-economic statuses.

June 11, 2019

Not Enough Black Males Qualified to Work in Higher Education – Cliché?

For years, there has been continuous conversation surrounding the scarcity of Black male professionals working in higher education. Often the narrative related to the cause of the shortage refers to the low number of Black males who attain a college degree.

June 10, 2019

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