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Diversity: a corporate campaign.

Article Excerpt
THE TITLE OF THIS ARTICLE requires some explanation. The current trend is to use terms like "multiculturalism," "global citizens," or "interactive pluralism." This shift toward different terms reflects changes that have taken place as a result of the civil rights movement. Where once the focus was on racism, it has now been widened to include other forms of discrimination and, most recently, religious difference. I welcome this move toward greater awareness of all those who are marginalized because it helps expose the very narrow worldview that presumes to exclude. I have no argument with changes in the lexicon that sharpen how we talk about the full inclusion of all people. Yet I stick with the word "diversity" as a way to remind us that the work started years ago under that rubric is far from finished. This may be an obvious point to make, but I often hear it said that diversity initiatives have achieved their goal and that to go any further would be to go too far.

I call for a "campaign" because I believe we need to build upon the successes of diversity initiatives with renewed commitment, in much the same way as capital campaigns build upon past successes and refocus campuses on their work. Just as a capital campaign invests in financial stability by stimulating commitment to the future of the institution, a "corporate campaign for diversity" also would invest in a particular vision for an institution. And just as there is never a final capital campaign in the life of a college or university, a corporate campaign for diversity would remind us that, at this moment in history, the work is far from done. Diversity work requires a cycle of recommitment and planning that includes, every so many years, a campaign that takes stock of the work currently being done, builds on its successes, and focuses on the horizon of new and more ambitious goals.

Finally, in calling for a "corporate" campaign, I hope to draw attention to the Latin root of the word: corpus, meaning "body." This work-this campaign--is undertaken by the community, a living body that strives to be healthy, functional, and dynamic. A corporate campaign for diversity would renew our commitment to the well-being of the community as a whole.

Of course, the achievements and initiatives related to diversity vary from campus to campus. Some campuses are working to attract a diverse student population; others have achieved a level of numerical diversity and now seek to address new challenges that have emerged from this success. Yet regardless of the status of diversity work on our individual campuses, we all would benefit from a corporate campaign that creates the space to step back, reflect, and reimagine our vision for success.

A corporate campaign for diversity ought to begin by rethinking the common assumption that religious belief and persons of faith are anathema to liberal learning. The moral reasoning motivated by religious faith can move communities toward becoming more fully functioning, diverse communities. I refer here to intelligent religion, which I am confident is not an oxymoron. By "intelligent religion" I mean faith that is always and already informed by reason. Faith without reason is a cult. But faith informed by reason has produced leaders who have helped us overcome ignorance, injustice, hopelessness, and despair. Faith informed by reason has given us figures like Martin Luther King Jr.--whose birthday we, as a nation, recently celebrated.

I do not propose to replace the secular humanism that is so highly lauded within the academy but, rather, to invite discussion and consideration of the fact that secular humanism has not done so well in shaping ethical leaders or articulating a way forward for diversity work. While it has succeeded in...

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