Episode 1: What is Diversity? examines social justice issues and inclusivity in higher education, centering on the perspectives of faculty, administrators, and graduate students from underrepresented groups. These groups include women, those who identify as LGBTQ, individuals from working-class backgrounds, and people of color. As the United States becomes increasingly diverse, graduation rates for advanced degree holders, management level staff positions, and faculty fail to reflect these changing demographics. Diversity is at the heart of our podcast, however, definitions vary. In this episode we will hear from scholars Whitney N. Pirtle, Assistant Professor of Sociology at UC-Merced, Dr. Jenny Kwon Special Projects Coordinator with the Office of the Chancellor at UC-Berkeley, and Henry Lem, PhD Candidate from the Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures at UC-Irvine, as we attempt to answer the question, “What is diversity?”
