Framing race and diversity in higher education

What is it about?

Perhaps one of the most contentious areas of debate related to diversity in higher education has been the use of affirmative action in admissions. As legal and legislative attacks on affirmative action continue, it is important to explore how institutional actors’ understanding of diversity. As colleges and universities take steps to encourage diversity on their campuses, legal decisions and state laws increasingly restrict the tools institutions have at their disposal to further this goal. This study explores the institutional framing of diversity in a post-affirmative action context and examines whether this framing reflects how campus administrators tasked with diversity-related responsibilities frame diversity in their daily work a decade after adopting a “race-neutral” admissions policy.

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Why is it important?

In a post-affirmative action context, we find that the diversity frames held by administrators are multiple, co-existing, and sometimes even contradictory. Numerous, divergent frames present multiple angles for seeing and communicating diversity’s value, but hamper its advancement through collective action gained with a singular frame.