Maintaining Inclusive Campuses After Affirmative Action: Educators Discuss Pathways Forward 

Educators say campuses can maintain multicultural, supportive environments in the aftermath of mandates eliminating affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices. 

That was the message shared by Robert H. Vela, president of Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Michele Minter, Princeton University vice provost for institutional equity and diversity, and Lorraine Hastings, vice president of the College Board at COE’s annual conference in New York in September. 

“It’s about having an educator’s heart,” Vela told the 1,700 conferees assembled for the plenary session entitled “Who Belongs on Campus Now?”  He’s taken the research-based Caring Campus framework, which he called “transformational” for community colleges, to his Hispanic-Serving Institution of 4,845 students.  

“If you’re doing everything you can by your mission and encouraging students’ voices,” Vela said, “you’re going to see tremendous results. ” Caring Campus research has demonstrated that students who feel more connected to their campus environment are more likely to persist and graduate. 

We’ve learned a lot about how to support students, especially low-income and first-gen students…in the last decade, and we’ve learned a lot from TRIO professionals.

Minter said that Princeton, an Ivy League institution with an undergraduate enrollment of 5,671, hadn’t seen any immediate impact on its enrollment of students of color. However, she acknowledged that “it’s way too early to tell” the long-term effects of the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling. She fears that it will have a chilling effect on applications from students of color. And she expressed concern about “the spillover impact” of the Supreme Court’s ruling on student support programs and scholarships dedicated to underrepresented students. 

To better assure that all students are adequately prepared for college, the College Board is working hard to expand access to AP-level classwork, said Hastings. Almost three-quarters of the 11,000 students recently taking the African American Studies exam scored three or higher on a 5-point scale. It was the first AP course for almost a third (29 percent) of the test-takers. 

When asked to specify which practices make campuses welcoming for low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities, all panelists spoke about the importance of elevating students’ voices. 

Minter stressed the importance of civic education, and Hastings agreed. “We can redirect students to organize and advocate for what they believe in,” Hastings said. Minter noted that students can play a vital role in their education and that of their peers. She said programs such as “near-peer” mentoring are powerful. “It doesn’t have to all be done by us [faculty or administrators].” 

Added Minter, “We’ve learned a lot about how to support students, especially low-income and first-gen students…in the last decade, and we’ve learned a lot from TRIO professionals. We’ve always tried to keep broadening and looking for new ways to support all students.” 

Previously president of San Antonio College, Vela said he “grew up in TRIO”:  his first post-graduate job was as an Upward Bound coordinator. He urged TRIO professionals to seize campus leadership roles, saying more should become college presidents. “We need more people to step up and do this. … The more, the better, especially in inner-city institutions that need strong leadership. Don’t lose sight of the fact that each of you has something in you that may not have been challenged.”