Back when I taught at a predominantly white, selective liberal arts college, I came across a book called “Acting White? Rethinking Race in ‘Post-Racial’ America.” In the book, legal scholars Devon Carbado and Mitu Gulati argue that in the “post-racial” era, white-controlled organizations prefer to hire “‘good blacks’ who will think of themselves as people first […] … learn more→
Tag Archives: diversity

Black student activists face penalty in college admissions

Identity politics destroying science?
“Theese eeese pure eediocy!” –a German professor’s response at a faculty meeting regarding accreditation recommendations to put an outreach program to attract female STEM students inside of an outreach program to attract female STEM students. The previous sentence is typed as intended. While people “on the inside” of science can quickly answer the title of […] … learn more→

Diversity statements aren’t enough to combat implicit bias
As we grapple with regular reminders that the America available to whites is still different from the America available to people of colour, one environment that must be examined is the university classroom and gradebook. Most US universities distribute standardised policies, to be included in all course syllabi, assuring students that their educational environment will […] … learn more→

The ridiculously high value of diversity
I’ve mentioned quite a few times the insanely high administrative pay of higher education. Even the most irrelevant Dean can now command a salary well past $100,000 a year, and this is all quite public information. It isn’t just the salary that is ridiculous, it’s the sheer number of administrators on campus now. If there’s […] … learn more→

Sex matters: Male bias in the lab is bad science
When I first started doing experimental biology, I noticed that we only looked at males. I was in a fly lab — a very good one — and we could have looked at males or females, or both, but we didn’t. We collected female flies to mate, of course (flies need males and females to […] … learn more→

Why children’s books that teach diversity are more important than ever
If you think back to your childhood, what sticks with you? For many people, it’s those cosy times when they were cuddled up with a parent or grandparent, being read a story. But bedtime stories aren’t just lovely endings to the day or a way to induce sleep, they are also a safe way to […] … learn more→