Summer term Montgomery Fellow Manning Marable urged educators to infuse diversity as a main framework of higher education in a discussion at the Tucker Foundation lounge Tuesday evening.
Marable, a history professor at Columbia University and an eminent scholar of African-American studies, addressed the historically racist roots of American higher education and offered methods of moving away from such roots.
"We need to reach a stage in higher education where excellence means diversity and diversity means excellence," Marable said. "The minority -- Latinos, Asian-Americans, African-Americans -- can't be thought of as add-ons, but as part of the whole."
Marable pointed out that higher education historically began as an "elitist project" -- something that was designed to leave out a majority of the population, including certain classes of white people.
At the turn of the 19th century, only one percent of the American population had a degree in higher education, Marable said.
Marable said institutions must start "from the top" to create a diverse campus.
"Administrators -- the president, deans, provosts -- must take the initiative to set the tone for a diverse environment," Marable said. "The fish stinks from the head down; whatever the head does, it affects the entire body."
Marable said the purpose of higher education is not to learn "knowledge for knowledge's sake," but to be able to use the knowledge to understand others.
"Teaching is not just giving people information," Marable said. "You are not a good teacher if you are not transformed by the very students you teach."
Marable also stressed the importance of creating a social space for minorities for cross-cultural exchange.
"You need spaces where people of color can interact with each other but where it would also be welcoming to others," Marable said.
Marable stressed that "hate can be eliminated."
"People who are born male don't have to support patriarchy. People who are born straight don't have to tolerate homophobia," Marable said. "I know I sound like John Lennon singing 'Imagine,' but I really believe that."
