CCCU President
LEESBURG, Va. -- The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities sponsored a Consultation on Racial Harmony July 13-15, 2001. The three-day event, held in northern Virginia, included 17 "people of color" and 10 "Anglos."
One of the first challenges was how to dialogue with such different perceptions of commonly used terms such as "race," "people of color," "diversity," "multicultural," etc. The group agreed that there are several interpretations of these words and that words alone can lead to misunderstanding, making our call for biblical unity even more challenging.
The goals for the Consultation were (1) personal growth and development to provide leadership in this area and (2) identifying areas of consensus about how the Council and its campuses can advance in reflecting the biblical mandate for unity and the educational advantages of diversity.
Rev. David Anderson, founder and pastor of Bridgeway Community Church, a multi-cultural church community near Baltimore, was the primary facilitator. He gave the group a biblical/historical rationale for multicultural ministry. In personal stories from campus representatives, everyone was struck by the common pain, frustration and loneliness most minorities feel on their campuses. What keeps many of them positive in spite of the difficulty is their sense of God's call on their lives to serve in Christian higher education. "I think of the 'cloud of witnesses' which have been present in my experience and I 'call the roll' whenever I get discouraged," said Timothy J. Johnson, professor of social work, Roberts Wesleyan College (N.Y.). "I know I need to continue to run the race and keep my eyes fixed on Jesus." Still, the turnover is too high.
The group agreed that, with notable exceptions, many on our predominantly white campuses do not acknowledge the continuing sin of racism in society. Or they feel that since racism is not an issue on their campus there is no urgency to become more concerned or to become more diverse in their student and faculty mix.
The spirit of the Consultation was wonderfully supportive, open and worshipful. Participants shared information about campus programs, explored barriers to muticulturalism, discussed recruitment and retention challenges and many related topics. Some people of color are experiencing the weariness which comes when other people assume that they are the only ones interested in or able to lead whatever multicultural activities are happening on campus. Other minorities feel that their best contribution to racial harmony and respect for their ethnic group is to empower others and to pursue excellence in their assignments. Whether Black, White, Latino or Asian, the urgent need is for people of like mind to see the potential for a richer educational experience and work prayerfully and thoughtfully toward their shared goal of a truly "kingdom view" of learning.
One clear area of consensus was the need of campuses to intentionally to recruit a "critical mass" of students and faculty and administrators from minority groups as the start to experiencing the richness of a truly Biblical model of multicultural education. No one felt this is possible with fewer than 10% from minority groups. While numbers alone do not reflect the biblical model, they are an essential element of success. When individuals are among only a few of their ethnic minority, they often have to live bi-ethnic lives: their heritage off campus with friends and then conform to the majority culture on campus.
Common barriers our campuses face include denial of a problem, ignorance of other cultures and how to incorporate them into the curricular and co-curricular life of the campus, lack of vision and leadership from the top, the need for more financial resources, and the limited time and energy of people working on so many other things. Board member Herma Williams, associate provost at Gordon College (Mass.), acknowledged that campuses need people and examples to look to for help: "The community wants to be led."
The Consultation ended with expressions of great gratitude, renewed hope, and personal renewal. Everyone agreed that "this is the time" for the Council to assist interested campuses (not all will be) in moving significantly toward a more multicultural education. This kind of campus not only addresses the global economy and prepares students for working and living in a pluralistic society, but more importantly it moves Christian education closer to a truly biblical model. As Sam Barkat, member of the CCCU board and provost at Nyack College, expressed, "Our campuses have to be as intentional in their pursuit of justice in this area as they are in integrating faith and learning."
This was one of our most important meetings in several years. Our board has made this area one of our top priorities. Although the challenge is awesome, I returned personally blessed and confident God will lead our trustees, presidents and many campus leaders to redesign their plans for a truly multi-racial, multi-ethnic campus experience based on the oneness we have in Christ. Several ideas for additional program initiatives were discussed during the Consultation. The board, staff and advisory groups will begin the process of putting them into Council plans and priorities.