ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the chair’s role in student learning about diversity through what Beverly Tatum called “the mirror of the institutions”. It shares intentional practices that chairs have undertaken in the area of student diversity that communicate norms and ideals related to diversity and counteract spoken and unspoken behaviors that contradict these norms. The chapter explores the reasons that student identity development has often eluded the attention of academic department chairs and share emerging practices of chairs in the development of approaches to assist diverse students in this iterative and unfolding process. As chairs consider how to bring greater diversity to the curriculum and learning process, this exploration includes an array of factors that include instructional strategies designed to address diverse learning styles, inclusive classroom approaches, curricular content, and normative faculty role models. The survey sample found significant variation in the extent to which chairs have identified ways to address diversity in the department’s curricular offerings.
