The Emerging Picture of How Students Benefit, by Daryl G. Smith, et. Significantly, diversity initiatives have an impact not only on student attitudes and feelings toward intergroup relations on campus, but also on institutional satisfaction, involvement, and academic growth. Growing evidence shows that involvement in specialized student groups, such as ethnic residential theme houses, support centers, and academic departments, benefits students of color and others. Indeed, these activities appear to contribute to increased satisfaction and retention, despite prodigious commentary of their negative effect on the development of community on campus. Contrary to widespread reports of self-segregation among students of color on campuses, the research finds this pattern more typical of white students.
Students of color interact more with dominant students than the reverse.
The evidence continues to grow that serious engagement of issues of diversity in the curriculum and the classroom has a positive impact on attitudes toward racial issues, on opportunities to interact in deeper ways with those who are different, on cognitive development, and on overall satisfaction and involvement with the institution. These benefits are particularly powerful for white students who have had less opportunity for such engagement. While the reports of successful diversity initiatives are encouraging, more cross-institutional studies are needed. A Preliminary Review of the Research Literature, by Morgan Appel, David Cartwright, Daryl G. Smith, and Lisa E. Wolf, published in June 1996, is also an excellent reference. This publication provides an overview of research on the impact of institutional diversity policies and practices on student learning and campus life.