Diversity and Excellence in Higher Education: Is There a Conflict?

In her teaching, research, and community activities in Canada, the author has repeatedly confronted questions regarding equality, diversity, and power. In this article, the author discusses diversity and equal opportunity to achieve excellence in education. Reflecting on these issues should help everyone to understand the complexities involved in the phenomena of globalization and the expanded diversity associated with the expansion in higher education around the world. She argues that diversity and excellence reinforce rather than contradict one another. In the first part of this presidential address, the author proposes a definition of the problem and suggests a framework for how one can think about the issues of diversity and excellence by briefly elucidating the concepts. How can contemporary multicultural democracies devise effective equitable policies to deal with difference and build just societies? She next discusses the context of higher education and issues of diversity and excellence in knowledge creation. In the second part, she focuses briefly on Canada, the United States, and India to discuss the impact of policies of affirmative action in university admissions as a means of inclusion. Her reason for comparing Canada, the United States, and India is that in all three a common instrumentality and practice can be found despite their very different contexts and histories. (Contains 15 footnotes.)