A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute
A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™
A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ is a program of the Anti-Defamation League’s A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute, a full-service diversity consulting and training organization. Institute is a market leader in the development and delivery of diversity education resources and anti-bias training.
ADL’s A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ anti-bias and diversity training program helps create and sustain a campus environment that is respectful and inclusive of all of its students. The program is designed to combat racism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of bigotry and to build more respectful, inclusive college settings. College and university campuses must create environments where differences and inclusion are valued, and divergent points-of-views can be presented, while insuring the safety and respect for everyone on campus. Diversity training and education is a critical component in facilitating such an effort. Providing opportunities for educational programs and activities that effectively address the issue of diversity is an educational imperative for today’s campuses.
A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ anti-bias diversity training programs help participants increase their self-awareness and learn to celebrate diversity on campus. The training sessions are designed to enable college campus community members to build a stronger community and make proactive changes regarding the challenges faced on their campus.
The training programs provide practical, experiential, hands‑on training with skills to challenge prejudice and discrimination, to foster intergroup understanding and to equip students, faculty, staff and administrators to live and work successfully and civilly in a diverse world. The workshop sessions begin with awareness, incorporate experiential exercises, provide an understanding of diversity, explore cultural identity, and through action planning, promote the building of allies on campus. Training programs are available as a half, full-day training or multi-day training experience.
To date, more than 275 U.S. colleges and universities have been motivated to create more respectful and inclusive college environments through the Institute’s A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ program, while 500 more have used ADL anti-bias educational materials for the same purpose.
A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ has been designed to assist participants to:
- examine stereotypes;
- expand cultural awareness;
- explore the value of diversity; and,
- combat racism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of bigotry.
Goals of A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™
Many colleges and university campuses recognize that cultural diversity is an important issue facing their community. Campus leaders need to take a proactive role in teaching that “different” does not necessarily have a negative connotation. The A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ training program can provide students, staff, faculty and administrators with knowledge and skills needed to effectively interact in a culturally diverse campus environment.
The workshops allow participants to:
- examine the concepts of stereotyping and making assumptions;
- assess their perceptions about themselves and others with regard to differences;
- explore the idea of culture;
- experience interaction with people from different cultures in an effort to examine appropriate behaviors and attitudes;
- discuss issues related to discrimination and bigotry on campus;
- assist faculty, staff, administrators and students to be a part of the solution to campus problems;
- explore how diversity on campus enhances the environment and how diversity awareness can translate into a more productive campus environment and a higher level of satisfaction among faculty, staff and students; and
- prepare to integrate the concepts of the program into the campus community.
Responding to the Needs of the Campus Community
College campuses across the country are experiencing dramatic and exciting changes consistent with the demographic shifts in the U.S. population. The emergence of student organizations reflects the ever changing landscape of our country. Groups representing gender-based issues; students of every ethnic background; students facing physical challenges; gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students; and students with religious involvement are bringing visibility and voice to the needs and wants of the campus community. The campus mosaic continues to grow in size, shape and color creating a myriad of opportunities in education and development for all students.
Unfortunately, college and university campuses continue to experience growing pains. The consistent problems of decreased enrollment from students of color; dismal results in the attempts to recruit and retain a culturally diverse faculty and staff; continuing student segregation based on group membership on campus; the increasingly frequent appearance of controversial speakers on campus; a lack of adequate facility renovation to make the campus accessible to all students; and the escalation of reported bias incidents and hate crimes are just a few of the many challenges requiring immediate and substantive attention from all members of the campus community. Further complicating and confounding these problems is that major financial constraints dictate the identification of cross-departmental and cross-institutional programs.
For the campus to become a true community, the challenge of optimizing opportunities for growth and qualitatively addressing the difficult issues must be part of an ongoing strategic plan. Diversity education can provide the campus community with a positive approach to effectively dealing with these issues and can provide students, faculty, staff and administrators with the opportunity to negotiate and discuss proactive alternatives before a crisis. In order for the campus to become a cohesive community, addressing these difficult issues must be part of a campus strategic plan. Campuses today must engage in multifaceted approaches that involve learning in and out of the classroom. This effort requires unprecedented cooperation from all members of the faculty, staff, and administration as well as careful understanding and sensitivity to the needs of all students. In short, campus community members need to work together.
Students benefit in countless ways from living and learning with peers whose perspectives and experiences differ from their own. Diversity exists when people in a group of two or more see themselves as being different from one another. A diverse educational environment challenges all students to explore ideas, perspectives and experiences, to see issues from various points-of-view, to rethink their own premises, and to achieve the kind of understanding that comes only from testing their own hypotheses against those of people with other or differing views. A diverse environment can also create opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds, with different life experiences, to come to know one another as more than passing acquaintances, and to develop mutual respect on which the health and prosperity our college and university campuses depend.
A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ explores strategies to achieve:
- Increased Staff and Student Initiatives, Camaraderie and Morale
An enhanced feeling of understanding and trust, more open opportunities for dialogue about diversity issues, and the witnessing of organizational attitude change can increase faculty, staff and student initiatives, camaraderie, morale, as well as a solid commitment towards speaking out against and combating hate on campus.
- Improved Opportunities for Recruitment and Promotion
Improved “talent radar” will help to more effectively recruit, train, assign, evaluate, mentor/coach and promote the most qualified faculty, staff, administrators and students.
- Better Cooperation, Increased Productivity and Decreased Absenteeism
A campus environment that is conducive to good cooperation and communication can increase loyalty and help students to identify with the college community. This provides a sense of being part of a cohesive team, invested in the campus’s success.
- Better Student Relations and Improved Campus Loyalty
Increased student-to-student, student-to-faculty/administrator, faculty-to-faculty/ administrator sensitivity can translate into better relationships among students, faculty, staff and administrators. Policies and practices, which focus on the value of diversity, can lead to increased loyalty.
A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ Offerings
A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ is available in four formats. Customized to meet the needs of all audiences, program agendas not only incorporate the campus’s values, needs, and educational mission, but also promote the best practices needed for administrative, teaching, and student success.
Half-Day Workshops provide an introduction to exploring the value of diversity, personal identity and the harm of bias and prejudice. A focus on identity, cultural competency, and cross-cultural communication provides a solid foundation for increased personal growth and understanding.
One- or Two-Day Workshops offer greater exploration of issues of diversity, identity, cultural competency, and awareness of personal and institutional bias and discrimination on campus. Additional emphasis is placed on the necessary skills and strategies needed to effectively confront and combat bias, conduct personal and institutional assessments, and plan for the future.
Five-Day Train-The-Trainer Workshops assist the campus in integrating diversity training and education into their institutional planning and programming. Through an intensive five-day training process, select members of the campus community are prepared as trainers to deliver ADL’s diversity workshops on an ongoing basis.
Specialized and Customized Programs of any length can be designed to meet the specific needs of the campus. ADL has expertise in delivering student retreats, orientation programs, as well as campus-wide events to large numbers of students, faculty, and staff.
A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE AT…
Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, New York, NY:
“The annual workshop from the ADL continues to provide valuable skills and tools that prepare our MBA Graduate Honors Students to successfully live and work in a diverse world. Every time the program exceeds our expectations in terms of content, delivery, and organization.”
Bernard M. Baruch College, CUNY, New York, NY:
“Participants were engaged in the A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ program and stimulated by their interactive experience with the trainers. By the end of the training, students were moved and underwent a process of self-reflective they did not think possible.”
California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA:
“As a result of the A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ program, we have learned that diversity is not a problem that needs to be solved, but rather an asset that needs to be utilized. The level of communication on our campus has improved greatly, and we have made great strides toward achieving a hospitable campus environment.”
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA:
"ADL did a wonderful job putting together a program reaching 2200 students. Each interactive workshop asked students to think critically about their own assumptions [and]…they discussed ways that students and faculty could be part of the solution to campus problems."
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL:
“As a result of the A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ program with our entire Resident Life Staff, our student leaders have become valuable resources and effective advocates for student success on campus.”
State University of New York, College, Alfred, NY:
"The programs helped us move forward as a campus community at a very important time in our evolution. The ADL has provided well-developed training materials… experienced gifted facilitators, and superb planning and coordination. A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ has become part of our campus culture."
University of Minnesota, Morris, MN:
"From the first contact with ADL, A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™ supported us, gave us common language and understanding, helped us to better know ourselves and those around us, and called people to action."
For more information please contact:
A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™
Anti-Defamation League
10495 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-446-8000
E-mail: campusdiversity@adl.org
www.adl.org/education
Contact: Click Here
Other Resources:
|
