Multiculturalism, the University, and Economic-based Solutions - Research Paper Example

Dr. Martin Sabo Economics 202 November 10, Multiculturalism, the and Economic-based Solutions Introduction Univeristies have a long history in the United States, and much of that history is mixed up with the multiculturalism that the United States enjoys and also some of the economic-based problems and solutions that exist there. Since their creation, a few hundred years ago, universities have often had to struggle to make enough money to get by, something that is still basically going on today. Universities also have to make sure they are dealing with students from all parts of life and countries of the world who have moved to the United States. Both of these problems come together when looking at some of the economic-based solutions that universities look for to make sure they are multiculturally sound. There have already been some economic solutions used to attack the problems of a multicultural country like the United States. Magnet schools, for instance, were first made in order to be used "as a tool for reducing racial segregation" (Goldring and Smrekar p18). But before looking at these solutions in more detail it is important to first look at how the university works from an economic-based point of view. The Economics of the University Ever since they were first thought up and built in the United States, universities have had a lot of trouble getting started and staying alive. Rudolph talks about some of the many problems that they had to begin with, such as how "at Ohio University in Athens the first college building was struck by lightning: it was not yet completed, and only torrential rains stopped it from being destroyed" (p45). He goes on to say that this was not very uncommon, and that most universities has problems like this during this period of the countrys history (Rudolph p45). Often when a colleged had a building, it had no students. If it had students, frequently it had no building. If it had either, perhaps it had no money, perhaps no professors: if professors then no president, if a president, then no professors. (Rudolph p47) (This whole block is one solid quote so it does not need to cite in the middle of it) It is especially of importance to look at how these problems are economic-based. As Rudolph says, universities often had no money. He thinks this is because of things like religious dislike of intelligence and education like the Methodsists (Rudolph p54) The universities problems with money is something that continues even to the current day because politicians do not like to give universities much money (Rudolph p54). These are some of the "hard choices" that Clark Kerr mentions in his book (p184). Interestingly Kerr thinks that even though universities and economic solutions are inseperable, some things universities need to remember is that there are things outside of money (p192). He says that "specific actual markets do not express all the needs of society for university attention" (Kerr p192). Multiculturalism in the University One of the other great challenges that a university faces in the United States is that it has to make sure it is getting students from all sorts of ethnic and social backgrounds. Because the American people are different in many ways a university is not really effective unless it can say that it is helping as many of them as possible (not from a source). This need to be multicultural institutions causes a problem for many universities because they do not have increases in funding to pay for the large numbers of students with which they have to deal (not from a source). "The bigger problem for higher education ... will be to accomodate the vast additional numbers of students" (Kerr p186). But multiculturalism, although it might cause problems, is something that all of education thinks is important, not just universities. Goldring and Smrekar talk about magnet schools, which were set up in the 1960s and 1970s as a way to increase the desegregation of schools and peoples education (p19). In other words, they were used "in achieving racial desegregation" (Goldring and Smrekar p19). Desegregation wanted to make sure that they could "reduce isolation" in "minority-isolated schools (i.e. Those with more than 50% minority enrollments)" (Goldring and Smrekar p20). However, magnet schools were not always successful. A study of the MSAP showed that not many of them achieved the great results with desegregation that they wanted (p20). Goldring and Smrekar note that "less than half" of the schools got the goals they were trying to get (p20). However, when they did a study of their own about magnet schools they found better results (Goldring and Smekar p20). They talked to many parents and teachers who were pleased with how these magnet schools were helping African-American students integrate with other students and how the cultures were being shared, which was good for students(Goldring and Smekar p23). The reason this is important for universities and multiculturalism is because if there are more diverse students getting good education in elementary school more of them will go on to the college level and study at a university (Goldring and Smekar p23). Economic-based Solutions to Multiculturalism in Universities Kerr provides a list of short-term responses that he thinks will help universities deal with the economic problems and multicultural goals they have (p187-p189). Several of these seem more helpful than others. These include greater privatization, or "greater reliance on tuition," which Kerr says will help universities deal with "education and general costs" (p187). On the other hand, more economic-based involvement from the national governemtn might make a difference too. Now public universities all deal with their budget from the state government, which could be helped by the national government "giving more subsidies to graduate students in the fields most essential to productivity increases"( Kerr p189). In the same sort of idea, he says universities can also get more money from the general public instead of focusing on "the cultivation of governors and legislators" (Kerr p189). However, Kerr also points out that a lot of the economics-based solutions universities can use to tackle multicultural issues are based in problems with how they currently do business (p190). He says "costs need to be more carefully scrutinized," because universities do not effectively manage the money that they do have now (Kerr p190). As part of this change, universities might also need to change how their leadership works. The system they have now is not as effective as it could be, much like with how they manage money (Kerr p190). Much like how universities need to be more multicultural it seems that their leadership needs to be more multi- as well. There needs to be a "greater decentralization of administrative responsibilities" to achieve this (Kerr p191). Although none of these economics-based solutions deal 100% with multiculturalism, they are still easily applied to that kind of problem. What makes them such good solutions is that they are able to be applied to all sorts of other areas that universities might have problems with as well. Conclusion As can be seen, economics provides a very useful way for universities to deal with all the challenges that face them in their day to day operations. One of these challenges that is especially important is that of multiculturalism, which means that universities need to make sure people from all kinds of backgrounds are getting a good education to better their lives and country. There are a number of economic-based ways that universities can deal with these challenges, but they definitely need to be dealt with. The university system will have to fix its economics problems while still being true to multicultural ideals in order to remain a good force for change in the United States. Since this is what it has been throughout the countrys history, the current universities will hopefully step up to the plate and provide the same excellent multicultural guidance as in the past. Works Cited Kerr, Clark. The Uses of the University. 5th ed. Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2001. Print. 184, 186-192, Goldring, Ellen and Smrekar, Claire. "Magnet Schools and the Pursuit of Racial Balance." Education and Urban Society 33.1 (2000): 18, 19, 20, 23. Rudolph, Frederick. The American College and University: a History. Atlanta: University of Georgia Press, 1991. Print. 45, 47, 54 Read More