A Post-Sept. 11 Academic World

A Post-Sept. 11 Academic World

So much has changed since Sept. 11, 2001. What we talk about and what we worry about were forever changed after the terrorist attacks.

We live with Sept. 11 every day — when we go through airports, there’s heightened security; the massive power outages that blacked out Cleveland to New York recently had commuters in the New York City subways fearing the worst. Was this another terrorist attack many wondered? But the current situation in Iraq is the obvious daily reminder that it is no longer “business as usual” in the United States.

We didn’t plan to have a Sept. 11th edition, but as scheduling would have it, this is our issue date. We know how living in a post-Sept. 11 environment has affected our personal lives, but how does it continue to affect the higher education community?

Kendra Hamilton in “Spending Time on SEVIS” speaks with several people in the international education community who say that the now-required and increased reporting on international students has become extremely time consuming. Adding to their frustration is not having the proper tools to do their jobs effectively and efficiently. On the flip side, government officials say the tracking system has been very successful. You decide.

Ronald Roach looks at a few historically Black colleges and universities and some research funding opportunities in the homeland security area. Several HBCUs believe they have a good chance to compete for funding in areas such as Internet and information security and telecommunications protection.

And Cassie Chew, in our cover story, “Diversity Intersects With National Security,” looks at the United Negro College Fund’s Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP) and their work in encouraging and preparing more underrepresented minorities to pursue international careers. However, the IIPP’s current project is looking at the importance of a diverse work force as a national security imperative. They plan to engage business leaders and government officials in a series of open-ended discussions with the possibility of producing a white paper on the issue. (For recent statistics on international education, see Black Issues, March 27.)

Lastly, we are saddened to lose two people in the higher education community who we have covered in Black Issues In Higher Education over the years. In April (see Black Issues, April 24), we conducted an interview with Dr. John Ogbu, an anthropology professor from the University of California at Berkeley. Ogbu died late last month of a heart attack after undergoing back surgery. He had recently published Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement, which was attracting quite a bit of attention. I encourage you to read not only our interview with Ogbu but his book as well. He has produced some interesting and thought-provoking research on minority achievement.

A few years ago, we featured Clive Charles in one of our Arthur Ashe editions. Charles led the University of Portland’s women’s soccer team to the 2002 national championship and coached the American men’s squad at the 2000 Olympics. Charles died late last month. He was 51 and had prostate cancer.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends and colleagues of Dr. John Ogbu and Clive Charles.