Colleges must pay diversity's cost.

The critical issue of education and America today is diversity, says Johnnetta B. Cole, president, Spelman College. Cole told the CASE Assembly in Atlanta that minorities now make up one-third of the population. "The color of America has changed more in the 1980s than at any time in the 20th

Cole said that by the year 2000, people of color will account for 20 percent of the national workforce. She pointed out that blacks make up only 6 percent of the undergraduate population, 4 percent of graduate and professional enrollment and 2 percent of the faculty/administrators.

Development, she said, is still largely an enterprise carried out "by white men and white sisters." She called for greater diversity in development departments. "Not having more diverse professionals and volunteers is not in your interest or your organization's. Plus, there's power and effectiveness in such diversity in different ways of thinking and worship."

Cole said that blacks have been criticized for depending too much on handouts from white America. Blacks are told: "You must learn to help yourself"

Yet blacks have been engaged in charitable activity that dates back to Colonial times. "Blacks have been giving their money, goods, time and expertise to feed the hungry and the homeless. Black churches run soup kitchens and shelters."

She pointed to the $20 million gift Bill Cosby gave to Spelman College, Willie Gary's $10 million gift to Shaw University and Reginald Lewis' recent $3 million gift to Harvard Law School. She recalled the many smaller gifts made with deep sacrifice by poorer blacks.

"Potentially, there is enormous support," said Cole, "but colleges and universities don't have the staff sensitive to go find the money."

Cole said only 17 percent of the total number of black college students go to black colleges. "The rest go to predominantly white institutions. They love Spelman, Morehouse, Fisk and Tuskegee. They just haven't figured out yet that if they can tithe for their churches, they can tithe for their schools."

Minority students will need more financial aid. "But the cost of diversity is one we must be prepared to pay," she concluded. "As former Harvard president Derek Bok said, 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. * "The United States is the most ethnically diverse nation in the world," said George Keller, senior fellow, University of Pennsylvania. The United States is experiencing "extraordinary changes," he said, pointing to seven major demographic shifts:

1. Birth dearth - People are not having babies in great numbers. The current fertility rate is 1.8. "We need 2.1 to reproduce ourselves. We would be losing population without immigration. The number of young people of college age (18 to 22) declined from 9 million in 1980 to 7.1 million in 1990 and is expected to drop to 6.3 million by 1996."

2. Boom in immigration - The United States is undergoing "the greatest immigration boom in world history," said Keller. From 1907-1914, 1.2 million immigrants a year came to the United States - a flood stopped by World War I. But since 1965, 600,000 legal immigrants a year have entered the United States and between 200,000 to 400,000 illegal immigrants. "The United States takes in more immigrants than all other nations combined," he added. The impact on American colleges is immense.

3. The breakdown of the American family - Keller: "In 1990, there were 9 million single-parent families. Twenty-four percent of all children are born out of wedlock. The teenage pregnancy rate is five times greater than any other developed country. Students at community colleges are reading at an 11th grade level and below. Less than half of high school students take college preparatory courses."

4. Greater socio-economic division - the upper-middle class - those earning from $50,000 to $250,000 a year - generally have higher education, a stable family and two partners working. "This will have an effect on strategic planning and who you solicit for gifts," said Keller.

5. We are becoming a geriatric society - Thanks to the declining birth rate and the longer life span, the average American now lives 75.1 years. "In 1992, 12 percent of the population is over age 65. In 2020, it will be 19.8 percent, with 9.8 percent over age 80," he said.

With the increasing elderly population putting more financial strain on federal and state budgets, "there's slim chance for any increase in federal or state aid to education," he said. "However, the potential for deferred giving is great."

6. New set of cities - Companies have abandoned central cities and moved to areas outside cities - called "edge cities," where it's safe, clean and less congested. "The suburbs are behaving like new cities," he said. Fund raisers must know this to find new corporate donors.

7. New assertiveness of ethnic groups - As each ethnic group clamors for its own studies, "it's crushing the core curriculum." Should universities cater to the disparate needs of so many ethnic groups? "They need different food, music, residences. They're tearing alumni patterns apart."

Keller said he did not have the answer. He characterized himself as being "aggressively ambivalent" on the whole question. * For the first time in 30 years, state support to public education is dropping, says James J. Duderstadt, president, University of Michigan. Duderstadt said that this decline, together with cuts in federal support, means "the crisis of public support will worsen. Small colleges are most threatened."

Duderstadt said in the past communication was easy. "But today, because of diversity - society is no longer homogeneous - we must compete hard. The United States is a universal nation - multicultural, with a multiplicity of people and ideas and a rapid pace of change. Trust has been shaken in universities, government and corporations. Society holds them accountable. Universities especially are under attack for gouging students on tuition and the government on research."

Duderstadt said universities are more deeply involved in society than ever before. "If we're so important, why are people finding fault with us?" he asked. "Recession has exposed structural flaws - the imbalance between revenues and expenses. Fortunately, the criticism has not affected the basic strength of the university. K-12 is our greatest weakness," said Duderstadt, "but higher education is our greatest strength."

What can universities do? 1. Get our own house in order, said Duderstadt. "We need a common vision. Listen to critics and reform." 2. Make a commitment to communicating well. "Academics don't communicate in sound bites," he added. "We communicate in resources, words and deeds. Listen to what people think and understand them. We spend too much time reacting to crises. We need a strategic approach. Let go of sacred cows."

3. Teamwork. There are 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States. "We need to find common ground and work together. Develop PSAS to promote higher education generally, not specific campuses." He pointed to the Big 10's national community program. 4. Universities must provide leadership to offer educational opportunity for all and to fight antintellectualism.

Shirley Strum Kenny, president, Queens College, New York said, "every wave of immigration washes up on our campuses." Scandals involving indirect costs of research, date rape and swastikas on campus impact all colleges, she said.

She urged colleges and universities to make "diversity a plus." She noted how the president's job has become increasingly difficult with "recession, crime, lawsuits, racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, declining budgets, deferred maintenance, no mandatory retirement for professors - some of whom are alcoholic and/or senile."

Kenny said "in every speech, every public relations statement, we must - with the eternal optimism of the educator - communicate the dream. Higher education is an investment, not an expense." She suggested that one way to pay for higher education would be by indexing payments to the future success of students.

Kenny stressed the importance of internal communications in a university. "It must occur before external communication takes place." Our aim should be "sustaining excellence, not making quantum leaps," said Kenny. Corporations who have cut staff to improve profits will look to non-profits to do the same. "Not everyone is going broke," she said. "Some companies are doing very well - for example, bankruptcy attorneys." * Robert Carter, president, Ketchum Inc., said that adverse legislation follows because "legislators associate loopholes with philanthropy. 501(c)3 status is in jeopardy. Corporate philanthropy is down for the fourth year in a row."

Carter outlined several steps to guide university fund raisers in the current climate: 1. Doom and gloom is not our business. 2. Look for partnerships with institutions of like purpose. 3. Prepare and plan better. Make the case clear, relevant and strong. Cite more testimonials from parents, students. 4. Start earlier, stay later. Don't watch a program happen; make it happen! 5. Go deeper into personal gifts. 6. Try new things. 7. Increase communications from the CEO. 8. Take ideas from your constituency. 9. Accept the reality of the economy. Consider transfer of assets. "Three trillion dollars will transfer from the elderly to the Baby Boomers," said Carter. 10. Involve many volunteers. 11. Be proactive, not reactive. "Philanthropy is an option," he added.

Buford Thompson, vice president, Nationsbank, conceded the recovery would be lethargic. "Don't get caught up in the numbers," he said. "Be patient." Thompson said that with corporate giving falling, it's important to "watch new companies coming into town. Watch the profiles of boards and establish a consistent program for turning your own board. Know the local economy and be more creative."

Webster B. Trammel, vice president, planning and development, Brookdale Community College, said 250,000 people have been laid off since January. "Many jobs lost will not come back," he warned. He urged private institutions to team up with public education to help the workforce upgrade its skills. "The recession has pushed us to explore other opportunities we might not have explored before," said Trammel. These times call for a visionary president, he said. "A college has to be seen as a resource, not a drain." * Education, capital gifts and endowment will be a high priority for the new wealthy, says Robert L. Payton, director, Center on Philanthropy, Indiana University. "These will rank higher than human services."

"The list of foundations will grow with characteristics of individual giving, not institutional giving," said Payton. He said there are currently 700,000 millionaires in the United States, with substantial net worth "who don't change their living styles," he said. The new wealthy have a bias against the old wealthy, said Payton. To them "unearned means undeserved."

The characteristics of the first-generation wealthy are threefold: 1. Great pride in their achievements as a measure of success. "Ostentation and self-indulgence is not the goal," noted Payton. 2. Ignorance about philanthropy, which is not a cultural priority. 3. Lack of interest. Less than onehalf give or volunteer. "The new wealthy are ignorant of the philanthropic tradition," said Payton.

Payton said that one of the barriers of the last 25 years is that "people have been paid to ask for money. Therefore we conclude, erroneously, that we don't need volunteers. We need to hear and talk to those who are helped by philanthropy. Voluntary service is a means of learning. Voluntary action is one indispensable quality of a free society."

The Assembly attracted some 800 registrants and 90 exhibitors.