To the Campus Community:
I am writing to apologize for a remark I made at last week’s Campus Conversation forum with students that was reported in Monday’s Mustang Daily, a story titled “Three takeaways from President Armstrong’s student forum.”
Unfortunately, in trying to make a point about diversity and how seemingly innocent remarks can be hurtful, I inadvertently combined separate anecdotes into one and ended up painting an unfair caricature of the staff of our Health and Counseling Services. I am truly sorry and hope the staff will accept my apology.
In the spirit of Learn by Doing, let’s call this a teachable moment and let me try again to make my point about why I feel so strongly about the issues of diversity and inclusivity.
First and foremost, a better understanding of the issues around diversity will enable our students to be more successful throughout their lives.
To be sure, Cal Poly graduates are very successful. Recent data show that nearly nine out of 10 Cal Poly graduates from the past two years are either employed in their chosen discipline or in graduate school, and Cal Poly graduates are earning salaries well above the national average.
However, top executives of some of America’s most prestigious companies have made it clear that they want and need greater diversity in their workforces and expect universities like Cal Poly to provide and prepare that workforce. They also want all of our graduates to be able to function well in our multicultural and increasingly global society. Some of these executives have been very blunt, saying that our relative lack of diversity is Cal Poly’s Achilles heel.
What that means to me is that we need to accomplish a number of things to ensure that we have a campus climate that is welcoming to all, that we need to attract a more diverse student body, and we need to recruit a more diverse faculty and staff. Additionally, we need to make sure our students “learn how to learn” in an environment that reflects the world in which they will work. And part of that means knowing how to interact well with others from backgrounds different from our own.
The point I was trying to make last week was that often seemingly innocent remarks end up being very hurtful. Such incidents hurt our climate, and, in turn, can create a negative perception about Cal Poly as a place to learn.
The example I was attempting to cite last week is how so many students of color have told me that it’s not unusual for them to be asked, “Which sport do you play?” The underlying assumption is insulting, to say the least. Students tell me it happens so often that they are numb to it and, unfortunately, consider it a part of the Cal Poly culture. That’s a piece of our culture we need to change.
Students have also told me that if they respond that they don’t play a sport, a less frequent but not uncommon follow-up question is, “Then how did you get in?” Nobody is numb to the pain caused by that question.
My point: We all need to be aware of the different facets of diversity, including how our words can hurt others. And I will be more mindful of my own words.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey D. Armstrong
Cal Poly President
These top executives of some of America’s most prestigious companies seem to be a shadowy lot who were speaking broadly about their expectation for universities like Cal Poly to provide and prepare a more diverse workforce. How do we respond to their expectations if we don’t know who they are and what specific problems they are having with Cal Poly graduates? In my humble opinion, Cal Poly has made tremendous strides forward by achieving a better balance of male and female students. I’m sure if a more diverse profile of students wants to come to San Luis Obispo, the diversity of the student population will increase. We have to be careful though that Cal Poly’s motto doesn’t become: In Quam Habuistis (How did you get in?)
Just a couple reasons Armstrong is not to be trusted.
1. He said he’s for quarters but his track record tells a very different story beginning with his push to move to semesters more than a year ago. Not only did he actively voice a desire for semesters from the day he walked through the door, he hand-picked a provost that had in-depth experience converting universities from quarters to semesters.
Now, since 80-90% of faculty, students and alumni have supported staying the course with the quarter system because it works, Armstrong is back peddling like a classic politician. Fortunately, multiple interviews of his comments have been recorded and he can’t revise history by claiming his words were taken out of context.
2. In his comments about executives from prestigious companies sharing a desire for greater diversity in their workforces, Armstrong is twisting the feedback he’s likely heard from one or two sources to fit his belief that Cal Poly is not diverse enough. That’s not what these execs are saying. They’re saying they want greater diversity in their organizations not that Cal Poly has a problem.
Armstrong would be wise to contact the presidents of Stanford, Cal, UC Davis, Santa Clara, St. Mary’s, UCI, UCLA and ask what they’re hearing from executives. He should also reach out to colleges such as Wellesley, Smith and schools of their ilk where men are not allowed and people of color are scarce. One can only begin to imagine what those colleges are hearing. Cal Poly is the United Nations when compared to Stanford and universities/college that enroll only women.
3. In Armstrong’s story about the black student going to the health center (see below), he’s making it seem like this is a problem that’s occurred due to a lack of campus diversity in the student body. It not! It’s a problem that speaks to an insensitivity in his faculty or staff. That’s where he should be focusing his attention. What more, for every anecdote like the one he’s recounted, 10-20 can be shared where people of all ethnic and gender backgrounds are treated with exceptional respect and professionalism at the university.
If Armstrong took statistics classes as a student, he’d understand that feedback from one or two sources doesn’t comprise a meaningful sample size and therefore is not statistically significant. As such, he shouldn’t make highly-significant decisions based on such data.
More importantly – when something like Cal Poly isn’t broken, you don’t try to fix it.
From the Mustang Daily:
…Armstrong told the story of a black student who went to the Cal Poly Health Center with an injury and was immediately asked what sport he played. When he said that he wasn’t an athlete, the staff member asked: “Then how did you get in?”…
Drew, I don’t trust President Armstrong either, too much double-speak. If his lips are moving he’s lying.
With this beautifully composed letter President Armstrong is trying to motivate the unsuspecting reader to drink from the plentiful trough of Kool-aid of Political Correctness (Cultural Marxism) in order to appease corporate executives in the shadows.
Nuts!