Diversity Training Is in Demand. Does It Work?
One month before R. Bowen Loftin resigned as chancellor of the University of Missouri at Columbia, accused of not fighting racism on the flagship campus, he announced mandatory "diversity training" for faculty, staff, and students. Some hailed the move as overdue, but others were not impressed. An emeritus professor at the university criticized the training as a "Band-Aid." Jonathan Butler, a graduate student whose hunger strike later became a centerpiece of campus protests, said the gesture was "a good step" but "not enough." Others called it "meaningless" and "patronizing." The protests persisted, culminating in the resignations last week of Mr. Loftin and Timothy M. Wolfe, the system president.