ANN ARBOR— University of Michigan education Prof.
Michael T. Nettles will present the results of a new study
that outlines measures 11 college campuses have taken to
address racial tolerance issues on campus.

The study, “Models of Diversity: Pursuing Tolerance
in Colleges and Universities,” examines race, ethnic and
gender issues on 11 college campuses and the projects those
institutions adopted to encourage knowledge, understanding
and acceptance of other cultures.

“Colleges and universities recognize that diversity is
a desirable goal and an integral component of offering a
higher quality education, but they are finding that
diversity comes with a price. It needs to be nurtured in
order to be successful,” said Nettles, who co-authored the
study with Cynthia Hudgins, a senior research associate in
the U-M School of Social Work.

Nettles will present the study’s findings on Oct. 30
at a conference sponsored by the American Council on
Education. The conference, “Educating All of One Nation.
Diversity, Equity and Democracy: Optimizing Our Future,”
takes place in Albuquerque, N.M.

Colleges that participated in the study were chosen
from among 260 applicants by Philip Morris Companies, which
offered the colleges up to $100,000 to introduce programs
designed to foster racial harmony on campus.

The colleges were: Bethune Cookman College in Daytona
Beach, Fla.; Colby College in Waterville, Maine; Columbia
College of Columbia University in New York; Davidson
College in Davidson, N.C.; Duke University in Durham, N.C.;
Haverford College in Haverford, Pa.; Long Island University
in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Northern Illinois University in DeKalb,
Ill.; Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich.;
Occidental College in Los Angeles; and University of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Each of the institutions cited past racial, ethnic or
gender tolerance issues on campus ranging from racial slurs
to conflicts and misunderstandings between students and
campus police. The report documents how each institution
dealt with those issues.

Colby College, where minority students account for 69
of the 1,752 student body, produced a film called “Common
Ground,” a story about how a fictional college like Colby
dealt with issues of race, class and gender issues.
At Northern Illinois, where 82 percent of the student
body is white, the College of Business introduced a course
called, “Skill Development for Success in a Multicultural
Environment.”

Each of the Philip Morris projects tended to focus on
race, particularly Black/white relations. Nettles and
Hudgins found that some of the colleges didn’t devote
attention to class issues, women’s issues and gay, lesbian
and bisexual issues.

“In every case, these were excellent initiatives, but
this is just the tip of the iceberg. Much more work needs
to be done to ensure that tolerance is made a part of the
fabric of the institutions. Unless colleges and universities establish special interventions, communication
barriers will persist,” Nettles said.

“One important aspect of it is to be sure that people
within the academy and the supporters understand what
tolerance means. Another difficulty was overcoming
obstacles necessary to bring people together and in getting
their attention. One of the obstacles that every campus
faces is trying to broaden the level of interest to extend
to those who actually need to be involved.”

The projects successfully raised the level of interest
and dialogue over multicultural issues, but the challenge
now is to sustain the programs after the Philip Morris
grants expire, he said. “Once the grant runs out, people
tend to move on to other things. It’s very difficult to
sustain an initiative like this because even if you
continue it, there is always a need to create new ideas.”