UMD researcher’s new book addresses myths about diversity on college campuses
Friday, October 26, 2018
In UMD COE Associate Professor Julie Park’s new book, Race on Campus, Dr. Park seeks to use data to dispel myths about diversity on college and university campuses. In the book, Dr. Park tackles myths perpetuating that affirmative action in college admissions has become ineffective, particularly for Asian Americans, and that strategies promoting diversity have ignored class-based disadvantages.
Dr. Park’s new book is timely, considering the ongoing lawsuit brought on behalf of Asian American students on how race is used in the admissions process at Harvard University. Her research has been covered widely in the press, and having served as a consulting expert for Harvard in the case, Dr. Park has commented on the issue in a variety of media outlets, including Time.
“Race-conscious admissions is a limited tool, but it’s still a tool needed to recruit and retain racially diverse student bodies,” Dr. Park said to Time. “I think if this case or another case leads to a nationwide ban on race-conscious admissions, everyone is going to lose out, including Asian Americans.”
Other publications referencing Dr. Park and her work include PRI, The Atlantic and Inside Higher Ed. She has also been featured in podcasts by Vox and Bloomberg, and has written an op-ed on the issue in Inside Higher Ed.
Dr. Park is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education and Special Education. Her research focuses on racial diversity and equity in higher education, Asian American college students and affirmative action and college admissions.
