Diversity will help nation avoid crisis, group says
By RON NISSIMOV
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

In what is being called the first joint declaration of its kind, a group of leaders from U.S. businesses, universities and museums are warning that the country faces a crisis unless it achieves greater diversity in education and the workplace.

"Diversity is an invaluable competitive asset that America cannot afford to ignore," said Stephen G. Butler, chairman and chief executive officer of KPMG consulting company.  
Two local university presidents, Malcolm Gillis of Rice University and Arthur K. Smith of the University of Houston, are members of the forum based in Washington, D.C. Gillis served on the diversity task force that prepared the report.

"These are not just a bunch of people from higher education," Gillis said. "These are also captains of industry -- people concerned about the bottom line -- saying diversity is not only important for them but for the country."

Gillis said the report was not written in response to an increasing hostility toward race-based college admissions policies. Courts have declared such policies to be unconstitutional in Texas, Georgia and Michigan, and many legal experts believe the U.S. Supreme Court will resolve the issue in the coming years.

The report called on colleges to continue to use affirmative action programs where possible.

Minorities are projected to increase their numbers at a much greater percentage rate than whites in the Unites States in the near future, the report said. The study pointed out that minorities graduate from high school and college at a lower rate than whites, so the country would face an increasingly uneducated population unless the trends are reversed.

The report cited studies that purportedly show that students who "are exposed to people with a range of backgrounds and ideas" gain better education than students exposed to less diversity.
Critics have questioned the validity of these studies, saying they use flawed scientific methods with the aim of propping up affirmative action policies. The critics often ask: If the theories are valid, why do universities offer preferential admissions policies to ethnic minorities but not to members of religious minorities who are white.

The report also pointed out the purported benefits of diversity to the economy. It said university graduates educated in a diverse atmosphere exhibit greater "creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills," and that "employees of different racial and ethnic backgrounds" can help to better develop products for "an increasingly diverse marketplace."

The report added that stock prices of businesses went up when those companies experienced "positive" news about diversity, and went down when they had "negative" news.

Gillis said Rice has done a remarkable job in attracting minorities despite the 1996 Hopwood decision that bans Texas universities from using preferential admissions policies. Rice suffered a dramatic dip immediately after the decision, but its minority enrollment has climbed to pre-Hopwood levels of 7 percent blacks and 11 percent Hispanics.

This fall, 41 percent of UH students are white, 18 percent Asian, 18 percent Hispanic, 14 percent black, 7 percent international students and 1 percent Native American.

Screw diversity!!

Again _____88 rears his ugly [:K] head.

Truly a strange and alien concept you have there.

Post from EdAvilaSr. -

Yes, but then those liberal POSs would be out of the 'poverty pimping' business and would have to get a real job in the real world, for which their umpteen years of post-graduate studies have not yet prepared them!

Eric The(Would[u]You[/u]HireSuchIdiots?)Hun[>]:)]

What the hell are you thinking in asking liberals to use logic? Have you lost your mind? >evil grin<

Yes, businesses will be more productive and efficient if everybody looks different.

Where does this logic come from?

It's a Forest/Trees thing. Or maybe a Forrest/Gump thing.

Funny thing my wife were talking about this on the way to work.  She works for one of the largest financial businesses in the world.  She is a senior consultant.  The people there are usually the best and brightest.  She says that there are very few minorities.  This company recruits heavily in New England where it can be heavily diverse.  It also happens, one of our dearest friends is a black man from Nigeria who works there.  One thing he did not have to overcome (according to him) was the stigma of the American black.  He has absolutely nothing in common with American blacks and cannot relate to them.  As a consequence, the people he has the hardest time dealing with are American blacks.  His culture puts serious importance on not fouling the families good name.  
As to more minorities advancing to college, there have been a number of studies that indicate they drop out at an alarming rate.  I understand that blacks are even more prone than other minorities to excuse themselves from graduating.  Of course, this is blamed on their pre college training.  This I do not doubt.  Many bright kids are stuck in school systems that are so bad, that even the ones that want to do well are hard pressed from influences they have no control.
Just going to college does not make one educated and more valuable to society.  I believe that college should be for those who are able to grasp readily subjects meant for more serious minds.  College should not have to deal with students that lack the necessary skills or tools.  Why should colleges be required to do remedial classes for those who do not have those skills.    
Considering diversity a cure for business is pretty optimistic.  Now if you want to talk about the critical importance of minority food in american culture, I am a very optimistic.