Change, Fast and Slow

Harvard has announced the creation of a University Task Force on Inclusion and Belonging, in part as a response to the College's diversity report of last year. This committee, comprised of 46 members drawn from across the University, will aspire to of “strengthen our shared commitment to building a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

Issues of diversity have long been prevalent on campus, and the University deserves credit for its continuing efforts to tackle these complex problems across all of Harvard's schools, many of which have seen burgeoning student movements dedicated to greater inclusion. Formalizing a task force that is wholly committed to the goal of making Harvard a more inclusive and diverse place shows true concern for the well-being of all Harvard students. While it is all too easy for undergraduates to view the formation of the task force as yet another overly bureaucratic response—the College already has the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and released its own diversity report last year—this newly created task force spans the entire University, and it will only improve our understanding of multifaceted problems that require careful scrutiny. What’s more, the task force's deliberations will improve the odds that needed institutional changes are carefully positioned for success.

That said, the imperative for collective, University-wide change should not stop the College from making administrative changes based on last year’s report. A plethora of actionable problems concerning the undergraduate population can likely be resolved on a faster timetable than the one on which the new task force will operate.

Indeed, affinity groups on campus have long been advocating specific changes that do not require a two-year process to implement. For instance, a more widespread program to diversity art around campus can proceed without waiting for a new report. In a similar vein, Harvard must make a concerted effort to hire more faculty of color. The undergraduate curriculum should continue to expand beyond traditionally Eurocentric disciplines, as exemplified by the steady growth of Asian-American Studies, and academic departments should make concerted efforts to diversify syllabi and reading lists. These changes are necessary to ensure that life in the College more accurately reflects the diversity of its student population.

Additionally, the new, University-wide task force should also be sure to address itself fully to issues of physical ability and health status that are too often overlooked in discussions of diversity. As renovations continue across Harvard's campuses, ensuring that physical spaces are planned with care will continue to be in imperative. And for people with chronic illnesses, clearer University-wide policies will prove invaluable.

Ultimately, the formation of this task force bodes well for diversity at Harvard, and downstream efforts to organize and research its recommendations should not be rushed. But as we wait for the task force's efforts to translate into larger movements to create institutionalized change across all the University, it is important to remember that there are smaller steps that the College and other schools can take along the way.