Helping students find their place in the Augustana story

At the beginning of the 21st century, just 7.5 percent of Augustana’s enrollment was what we would today describe as diverse. Put another way, 12 of every 13 students were white, in a nation that continues to grow dramatically less so.

There are many contexts in which to consider the themes of diversity and inclusion. At Augustana, the most important context is mission. When the college adopted its Authentically Augustana strategic plan in 2005, it accepted a bold challenge: to develop a student body that more closely reflected America’s diversity.

In the years since adopting that goal, Augustana has seen its diversity grow in three ways. Diversity within our enrollment now stands at 23 percent, a threefold increase. International students, with total full-time enrollment now at more than 5 percent, likewise add to the diversity on our campus; and the number of Augustana students gaining firsthand experience of our diverse and changing world continues to increase, as more than half our students now engage in meaningful international learning experiences.

Imagine where Augustana would be in the highly competitive landscape of higher education if we were still where we were 15 years ago. Today we attract students from across the country and around the globe in no small part because they and their families appreciate that the ability to thrive in a diverse world requires meaningful engagement with people, experiences, attitudes and ideas other than their own.

Which leads to the importance of inclusion. To ensure that all of our students gain the maximum possible benefit from a diverse campus, we must think deeply about inclusion at several levels.

First among these is equity. By surveying our students and listening to their experiences, we learned that a significant gap exists between white students and students of color when it comes to persistence and sense of belonging. Students are able to achieve more when they know that they are a part of—not apart from—the campus community. We have worked hard in recent years to help all students find their place in the Augustana story.

As a more vibrant array of people add to that story, tension naturally arises as competing ideas come into close contact with one another. All across the country, colleges and universities are grappling with questions related to political expression, academic freedom and the quest for that necessary amount of common ground needed to live and work together creatively and constructively even as we send forth our assumptions into the marketplace of ideas.

Doing this is not easy, and so another facet of inclusion involves lifting up our community principles as guides to respectful, open discourse and freedom of expression that demand accountability to our own values and responsibility for the well-being of all members of our community.

I’m proud of Augustana for the manner in which we have navigated these sometimes turbulent waters. The ties that bind us are far more substantial than the views that divide us. But that can’t be taken for granted. Consideration must be given to how we can cultivate and care for this web of community.

If you would like to learn more about the college’s approach to diversity and inclusion, I encourage you to visit the web page of the Office of the President via augustana.edu. There you will find both the Statement on Diversity and the Statement on Freedom of Expression. You’ll also find a Diversity Inventory that enumerates the steps we’ve taken to make Augustana a community that is not only more diverse and inclusive, but also strongly positioned for continued success as a 21st-century institution of higher learning. You’ll even find a “suggestion box” where you can add your perspective. 

I look forward to hearing from you.

Steven C. Bahls
President