Institutional Commitment to Policies and Practices that Support Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Post-Affirmative Action Era: Examining Sense of Belonging and Diversity Engagement.

Abstract

This dissertation covers the following three topics: (1) how public and private institutions vary in their commitment to racial and ethnic diversity; (2) the connection between sense of belonging in college and interactions with diverse peers; and (3) participation in co-curricular diversity programs for African American, Latino, and White students. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, institutional commitment to policies and practices that support racial and ethnic diversity were characterized and relationships between students’ interactions with diverse others and college student outcomes were tested. This study found that public and private institutions differ in their articulation of commitment to racial and ethnic diversity and interacting with diverse others in college has implications for the transition to college and students’ engagement with cocurricular diversity programs during the first two years of college. These investigations have implications for three areas of significance for higher education practitioners: (1) administrators engaged in setting race-conscious policies in a dynamic sociopolitical environment; (2) academic/student affairs professionals concerned with the transition to college; and (3) student affairs professionals dedicated to facilitating meaningful cross-racial interactions on college campuses.