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Why is Diversity in Higher Education Important

• Diversity enriches the educational experience. We learn from those whose experiences, beliefs, and perspectives are different from our own, and these lessons are best taught in diverse intellectual and social environment.
• It promotes personal growth-and a healthy society. Diversity challenges stereotypes and miseconceptions; it encourages critical thinking; and it helps students learn to communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds.
• It strengthens communities and the workplace. Education within a diverse setting prepares students to become good citizens in an increasingly complex, pluralistic society; it fosters mutual respect and teamwork; and it helps build communities whose members are viewed by the quality of their character and their contributions.
• It enhances America’s economic competitiveness. Sustaining the nation’s prosperity in the 21st century requires us to make effective use of the talents and abilities of all our citizens, in work settings that bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

-ACE