Eighteenth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

Many scholars have written about the benefits of diversity in education (Tanner Hermond, Vairez, and Leslie, unpublished; Tanner and Frank, 2013). Graduate schools have responded to these findings by hiring a diverse faculty and seeking a diverse student body. The current paper surveyed the graduate students of a small, accredited graduate university in a large city on the West Coast of the United States. The focus of the school is on management of organizations and consulting with profit and nonprofit organizations. This school prides itself on its diversity: More than half of the student body in this program identifies as other-than-white; more than half of the student body identifies as female; additionally, there is diversity of sexual orientation, religion, background, and political leaning. The faculty is diverse vis-à-vis the same categories as the students. Yet, it is unclear if the students see the faculty’s diversity as positively contributing to their educational experience. The current paper surveyed the thirty-three students in the program to determine their perceptions of the role of diversity in their learning experience. How students value the diversity among their co-students and faculty was assessed.