“In diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” ~ Maya Angelou.

Diversity can be defined as a stew of cultures, races, genders, and ideas that advocate growth. By allowing diversity into a place of education, it gives students a chance to experience different religions, cultures, races, and beliefs. Institutions around the world are starting to understand the importance of a diverse student body. However, although it is crucial to have a diverse student body, it is also just as important to have a diverse team in the faculty. For years, there has been academic research on diversity in post-secondary; however, it was not until recently that individuals noticed how lacking diversity is on campuses. Although institutions may advertise and discuss for plans regarding diversity, there must be results for people to see, to ensure that they are working towards making diversity important on campuses. Lately, more institutions are being brought to attention of media due to their lack of diversity in both the faculty and in the student body. Institutions will articulate the value of diversity on campus; however, their words do not have as much value, if they do not put those words into actions. Diversity is a quality that every institution should have because it enhances education, promotes a healthy society, and strengthens the community in school, and out of school.

Why do students need someone to look up to?

As children and teenagers, many of us had a list of our favourite teachers. Maybe this was because they inspired us or had faith in who we would become. This process continues as young adults proceed into post-secondary. Professors have aspired to become motivational and educational individuals who may not notice how much inspiration they pass on to the students they are teaching. Students who can connect with their professors, value their relationship even further because they have a mutual understanding. In the past, most campuses were made up of white males; however, times have become progressive and changed that. Due to this progression, there is more than just white males on campus, there is females and students from all over the world walking about getting a higher education. Education is all about learning and having a larger awareness to cultures, which helps students with different backgrounds to feel motivated and comfortable in their environment. It is crucial that diversity is found inside the classroom, and outside the classroom. An institution must have different perspectives represented on campus. However, having long-term faculty members on campus who are diverse as well, can help shape an institution culture and make students better prepared for the real world. Sometimes, all students need is some inspiration to make the future seem bright. Being able to meet new people, surrounded by different cultures, can bring inspiration to current and future students.

Why should there be diversity on campus?

The world we are currently living in is not going to be the same one year, five years, or twenty years from now. In the last ten years, education has made a large jump in how students are accepted into institutions. There have been cases within the last ten years that have brought awareness to institutions mistreating applications and students based on their ethnicity. Diversity on campus is needed because:

• Going from secondary to post-secondary tends to be dramatic change for students. It can be even harder if students do not feel welcome on their own campus. Student may be coming from a same-sex high school, or there is the possibility that they came from a small town that is predominantly a certain race, religion, etc. This means a student could be limited to their experiences with others, which is why diversity is needed on campus. Students will be nervous and excited about being able to meet individuals of different cultural, racial, and political spectrums.
• Diversity on campus will intensify a student's self-awareness. It is understandable that a student will start post-secondary assuming they know who they are, however, they are still malleable. Although they may think they are secure in themselves, their exposure to a new environment and people can change their perspective. Diversity will help shape an individual.
• The real word is an extremely diverse place, and that is why students need to be immersed into a diverse community. Our world is becoming a lot more immersive, which means many jobs are becoming global based due to technology being so expansive. It does not matter what career a student chooses; it will most likely involve diverse circles which a student should already be adapted to.
• There has been research done that has proven that ideas and work completed by those in a diverse team have better quality. This is due to the different input individuals of different backgrounds can give because of different perspectives and experiences they have had. In many instances, those without a diverse background gave input that was not always correct or did not prove itself. Therefore, we need to have students experience differences because it will give us a full rounded team of individuals in the workforce.

How can we encourage diversity on campus and in classrooms?

A challenge that is faced every day in education, is the lack of diversity in classrooms and on campuses. This is a problem that needs to be addressed, although we understand it will not happen overnight. Speaking about why a diverse team is important, without doing anything about it, can only do so much. It is crucial that institutions implement diversity on campus and in class. There are a few things that institutions can do, to encourage diversity of campus which can benefit both students and faculty:

• Institutions should send out mass email surveys to find out how students are feeling. To give comfort to students, make emails confidential, and allow them to give their honest thoughts about how they feel about diversity on campus. Included in this survey, should be how students feel about the diversity in faculty. Being transparent to faculty and students is important because it portrays trust to those who are in attendance there.
• Institutions should implement diversity training in their workforce for faculty. This means there is training delivered to make the faculty aware of diversity in a respectful way. This will include teaching the faculty skills on how to interact, collaborate, and work with those who have different qualities than their own.
• Implement courses into the curriculum that can teach students the history of diversity. It is important that students understand why diversity is needed because it has impacted a myriad of individuals.
• If institutions are looking to drive diversity on campus, they should encourage both faculty and students to create clubs. Not only are clubs a great way for students to meet new people and give them experience for their resume; it also allows them to learn new things and become immersed into something they may have never been aware of. Clubs have been an ongoing part of post-secondary for many years and have proven to teach students new things they may have never learned inside a classroom.

At Worldwide College Tours, diversity is important to us. While working with institutions all over the world, we have been given the opportunity to meet many individuals, from various places. Diversity has become a crucial component to our daily lives at work, at school, and everywhere else. We want to work together to make diversity a common trait among communities.