The Tenuous Link Between Academics and Diversity

We often hear that there's some kind of linkage between racial diversity and academics. But is there really any linkage?

"There is no clear linkage between educational quality and diversity," according to a Nov. 1993 letter to WASC's Dr. Steven Weiner from Assistant Government Professor, Judith A. Merkle. (See p. 115 of The Ups and Downs of Affirmative Action Preferences by M. Ali Raza, A. Janell Anderson, and Harry Glynn Custred. Note they spell Merkle's name "Merkel.")

The timing of the letter is important. Merkle represented Claremont McKenna against a particularly strong statement from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) that called for diversity standards. Colleges that failed to comply could risk losing their accreditation. The WASC wanted the power to decide for all colleges what level of diversity they would have on their own campuses.

Claremont McKenna and a number of other colleges stood up against those standards. Times have certainly changed.