Dr. Martin Luther King said, "There is no easy way to create a world where men and women can live together, where each has his own job and house and where all children receive as much education as their minds can absorb. But if such a world is created in our lifetime, it will be done in the United States by Negroes and white people of good will. It will be accomplished by persons who have the courage to put an end to suffering by willingly suffering themselves rather than inflict suffering upon others."
In our research on diversity, we find that Dr. King's insight was correct. Two principles emerge from our research: (1) The achievement of diversity is costly, economically and psychologically. (2) Strong leadership is required to make Dr. King's dream of a diverse yet inclusive society a reality. It is true that some whites and nonwhites will never accept a truly diverse society under any circumstances, because of their belief in the idea of innate, important and significant differences between the races. But rather than brand most of us as die-hard, intractable racists, we prefer to focus on the economic, psychological reasons which underlie the resistance, to moves to make our work and play environments more diverse. If we are honest with each other, we will acknowledge that fear, power and economics are at the root of most of the problems which we place under the heading of diversity.
Is it racist for a white person to experience fear at the prospect of working with a person of another race as an equal, when their experiences to date have not reinforced the idea of intellectual, social or cultural equality? Is it racist for incumbent members of an organization to engage in actions to protect their interests from outsiders of a diverse group, when property and control rights often attach to incumbent group affiliation? Is it racist for an organization to take into account race, sex or differences generally in the distribution of economic rewards and benefits? We don't know the answer to these questions but we do know that they must be discussed frankly, openly and continuously, if there is to be any real movement on the issue of diversity.
The Tuck School has made a number of efforts to make the environment here more diverse. Our School's commitment to diversity is evidenced by the admission of a larger number of minority students than at any time in Tuck's history. That this has occurred with no diminishment in the quality of the program is a testament to the rigor of our recruitment policies and the recognition of the benefit of taking into account differences in financial need. It is evidenced further by the School's long-standing association with the Minority Business Executive Program, the oldest and most important executive education program for minority entrepreneurs in the country. And under Dean of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration Paul Danos' initiation, it is further evidenced by the School's participation in the LEAD program, a program whose goal is to expose high school students to college life as well as to the benefits of a career in business.
Notwithstanding these accomplishments, we know from experience that these efforts will not survive and others will not be launched without sustained effort and support. Many questions still remain unanswered. Is the increase in admissions a one time blip or a long term trend? How diverse is too diverse for Tuck? At what price in terms of financial aid, GMAT scores, or other criteria will faculty, staff, students and alumni be willing to accept to move beyond current targets? Will the MBEP program compete with the LEAD program for limited psychological and economic resources , leading to the nonsupport or eventual elimination of one or both programs? Will new initiatives in the area of diversity be part of a long range, coordinated plan to address organizational issues here at Tuck, or will the programs simply buy time or serve as a substitute for true organizational change? Who among the faculty will stand up and lead the effort for organizational diversity? These are difficult questions which must be addressed, and which require a full accounting of costs and benefits as well as strong and wise leadership.
To us leadership means facilitating these discussions without avoidance, excuse or delay. Moreover leadership sometimes means making an investment, even if the expected returns are risky and as a consequence difficult to forecast. Finally, leadership often means, as Dr. King suggested, personally assuming the cost of diversity when others seek to shift them. Our true heroes on these issues were willing to "walk the walk, as well as talk the talk." We raise these questions here in the spirit of love, kindness and with steely resolve, so that we may boast of moving Dr. King's vision from the status of dream to the status of done.
