Achieving diversity: moving from rhetoric to action.(Last Word)

The term "diversity" is sometimes perceived as a controversial, uncomfortable and troublesome kind of word. After all, interactions with the unfamiliar force people to question long-held beliefs and the way they normally do business.

In the academy, we are accustomed to doing things the "traditional way." In institutions of higher learning, we admit students and recruit faculty and staff based on very focused criteria, often not questioning the effectiveness of such or exploring other options. Therefore, we get the same type of results and deem this "par excellence."

This description applies to a northern New England university located about 80 miles north …