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Photo by Andres Piacentino
Diverse Opinions: Panelists B. Joseph White, Norman Howard, and Sue Rasmussen addressed issues pertaining to affirmative action in the workplace and in academia during last week's forum.
By Mark Giles, MBA1
Dean White's assertion that "affirmative action is dead, but diversity is not" offered one of several highlights from a panel discussion on affirmative action in the workplace and in academia. The Black Business Students Association organized the forum, held last Monday in Assembly Hall, as part of the ongoing celebration of Black Awareness Month at the B-school. Panelists included Dean B. Joseph White; Sue Rasmussen, U-M Associate Director of Affirmative Action; and Norman Howard, Manager, Recruiting & Workforce Analysis, Ford Motor Credit.
Dean White summarized his core beliefs about affirmative action, noting that it is an important, challenging topic that is difficult to address. His strong belief that racism and sexism are deeply ingrained into our culture and will persist into the future are balanced by his conviction that affirmative action just doesn't work. Dean White cited the approval of the California Civil Rights Initiative (Proposition 209) in November as one of several strong messages from society that affirmative action is no longer acceptable.
One reason the panel identified for the demise of affirmative action is that class is replacing race and gender as the primary cause of the opportunity gaps in America. Individuals and families from poor neighborhoods, regardless of race, have fewer chances to improve their lives than minorities with upper-class backgrounds.
Commenting on the impact of affirmative action to their organizations, the panelists all agreed that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sharply scaled back their audits of affirmative action plans in the early 1980s. Rasmussen stated that federal EEOC investigators spend very little time reviewing the university's affirmative action goals. Instead, they focus on determining if a pattern of discrimination is present in hiring and admissions practices.
Affirmative Action At
U-M
Regarding affirmative action at the B-School, Dean White stated emphatically that the school's Office of Admissions & Student Services sets no quotas or goals for any group. He stressed the role of universities as key gateways to opportunity and remarked that the so-called gate keepers are morally obliged to manage fairly and effectively. To meet this obligation, the Admissions staff goes beyond an applicant's GPA and GMAT scores to look at a number of factors, including evidence of achievement, character, integrity, leadership, and obstacles that a candidate has overcome.
Rasmussen made it clear that deciding admissions by quantitative factors alone is impossible. She explained that if undergraduate admissions relied strictly upon GPA and SAT scores, nearly all students at U-M would be women from the East coast. Although this would open the gateway to opportunities of a different nature for the resulting minority of white males, it is clear that subjective factors must weigh into the decision.
The Future Of Diversity
Taking the Dean's assertion that affirmative action is dead as accurate, what can be done to ensure that diversity is not thrown out with affirmative action? Panelist Norman Howard of Ford Motor Credit offered one approach: "Ford has an appreciation that to be the best, Ford needs a diverse workforce."
As an example of the importance of diversity, Mr. Howard related how a group of engineers designing the Ford Expedition nearly missed an opportunity. An engineer from a Middle Eastern country pointed out that people in the region often make religious journeys in groups of nine, while most Ford vehicles only carried seven or eight passengers. Realizing the value of this observation, Ford was able to adapt the expedition to seat nine and gain an advantage in the region.
During the Q&A session following the panelists comments, one student echoed the concern that the stigma associated with affirmative action would hurt the case for diversity. The panel agreed that the positive aspects of diversity must be stressed, especially the fact that diversity does not mean quotas or goals. One minority student shared her experience as an affirmative action hire. After taking the job, she discovered she had been hired to fill a quota. With no meaningful work for her to do, the experience was unpleasant and short-lived.
As people and organizations begin to recognize, as Ford Motor already has, the undertapped pool of talent in minority communities, the good experiences will overcome the negative perceptions of diversity.
To summarize the closing advice from the panel: diversity and excellence are intertwined. Get out of your comfort zone. Get to know people who are different from you. Make friends with someone from a different race, country, or background. It will improve your approach to life's challenges.
by Erin Markey, MBA1
"Shaping the Welfare
Debate: The Press, Policy and Public Perception" will be discussed
by a panel of nationally known journalists and welfare experts today in
Hale Auditorium from 1:30-5 p.m. Panelists will focus on recent changes
in federal welfare reform and the media's role in shaping public perception
and policy.
"Welfare has become a nebula of our most explosive political issues--race, wealth and education," says Charles R. Eisendrath, director of the Michigan Journalism Fellows. "Its coverage is no less controversial, and is seldom discussed beyond journalism reviews. For the first time, we are bringing together a carefully balanced selection of major players from the trenches, the classroom and the newsroom."
Today's panelists include Sheldon Danziger, U-M professor of public policy and social work; New York Times correspondent Jason DeParle; Kevin Fobbs of the Wayne County Family Independence Agency; M. Gasby Greely of the National Urban League, Washington Post reporter Judy Havemann; columnist and former welfare recipient Rita Henley Jensen; social policy writer Mickey Kaus of the New Republic; the Atlantic Monthly's Nicholas Lemann; New York University politics Prof. Lawrence M. Mead; Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza; and Wendell E. Primus, former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This event is sponsored by the Michigan Journalism Fellows, the U-M School of Public Policy and School of Social Work, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Journalism FellowsModerator: Michigan Journalism Fellows Director Charles D. Eisendrath will moderate this afternoon's conference on welfare.
Because of exams, the MSJ will not be published on Feb. 24. The next issue, which will be dated March 10, must be produced prior to Spring Break. Therefore, all articles and advertisements are due no later than Monday, Feb. 24. Thank you--and have a terrific Break!
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