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July 2

Viewbook Diversity vs. Real Diversity

©istockphoto/René Mansi

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In September of 2000, the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of Idaho were both embarrassed when they were forced to admit that they had doctored promotional photographs to make their campuses look diverse. In both cases, non-white faces were added to real student photographs of all-white groups.

At the universities involved, officials insisted that they meant well, but just about everyone agreed that Photoshop diversity isn’t the real thing. But what if photos, even real photos of real live students, convey a false impression?

A sociologist at Augsburg College, together with an undergraduate, recently studied the viewbooks of hundreds of four-year colleges and universities, selected at random. The research team counted the racially identifiable student photographs and also gathered data on the actual make-up of the student bodies.

The findings: Black students made up an average of 7.9 percent of students at the colleges studied, but 12.4 percent of those in viewbooks. Asian students are also more likely to be found in viewbooks than on campus, making up 3.3 percent of real students on average and 5.1 percent of portrayed students. The researchers acknowledge that appearance does not always tell the story of race and ethnicity, and say that they only counted clearly identifiable photos, and feel less confident about figures for Latino students. But they report relatively few students whose appearance suggested that they might be Latino, which is striking given the growth in the Latino student body. (A total of 371 colleges were studied, and historically black colleges were excluded; the findings were recently presented at the meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society.)

Looked at another way, he found that more than 75 percent of colleges appeared to overrepresent black students in viewbooks.

So why are black students more prevalent in viewbooks than on campus?

“Black equals diversity for many people. If you show African American students, people think that means your institution is diverse,” said Timothy D. Pippert, an assistant professor of sociology at Augsburg, who led the study. “They are defining diversity as that face.”

Pippert said that he didn’t think colleges were acting “maliciously,” and were primarily trying to send a positive message — that “this is a place where you’d be welcome.”

At the same time, he said he worried that the message seems to be focused primarily on one group and that those who are black may not be getting an accurate picture. “I see a problem in that so many schools are presenting a picture that may not be a valid representation,” he said.

George Dehne, who runs an eponymous admissions consulting firm, said that it is unfortunate that colleges try to portray themselves as having more black students than they do, but he sees it all the time. “We tell colleges that it’s a mistake and they shouldn’t do it, but we get overruled,” he said. “Sometimes you see the same black kid in every picture,” he said.

Colleges are generally convinced that they need to show a lot of black students to recruit a lot of black students, he said. But Dehne said that logic is flawed. “First we don’t recommend it because it’s not honest,” he said. But Dehne also questioned whether it really works — at least for prospective students who visit a campus. “When kids come to campus, they look around for all those extra people and don’t find them,” he said.

A college without large minority enrollments that wants more diversity is better off portraying itself honestly and talking about why it will be a good place for given students, Dehne said. Along those same lines, Dehne said some colleges have created brochures that focus on diversity issues — but that he urges them not to send them out based on zip codes or last names or various clues as to likely ethnicity, but to send only general materials unless a student asks for more information. Surveys of students suggest that they don’t want assumptions made about them, he said. “If students want to be recognized [as minority], they want to do it on their own terms,” Dehne said.

Of course, racial representation isn’t the only selective editing that may be going on in viewbooks. Colleges’ promotional materials somehow manage not to include many students who look like they just pulled an all-nighter — and they tend to include more happy, attractive students than one might see on an average day. Pippert said his research didn’t include questions of whether there was overall accuracy in the students portrayed, but noted that one student who helped in the research quipped that the photos were generally of “hot chicks and minorities.”

— Scott Jaschik

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Comments

No News Here

There is no difference between viewbooks and the mainstream marketing principles that drive any advertisements — attractive faces and minorities are always over-represented. Not hard to notice, whether it’s on TV or in magazines, billboards, what have you.

Phil, at 8:30 am EDT on July 2, 2008

Ever notice what both Presidential do? They have Black faces convientially placed where the camera can see them.

gdh, at 9:05 am EDT on July 2, 2008

Diversity

My main concern is that the marketing will be more important than the actual recruitment and success efforts of the colleges. A lot of funds go to marketing, and representation may be artificial. If efforts are not made to actually recruit and support diverse students, future students can be mislead into thinking that being welcomed is the same as being supported, academically and emotionally, through the educational process.

Susan Dawson, Dean, at 9:15 am EDT on July 2, 2008

Here’s a link to the piece I wrote when the photo-doctorings in Wisconsin and Idaho were revealed: http://chronicle.com/weekly/v47/i13/13b01701.htm My conclusion: “So nyah, nyah, university officials — busted! Serves you right. You got caught by your own race-obsessed and intellectually dishonest mindset. First you cheat to have a student body that ‘looks right’; then you cheat to have a photo that ‘looks right.’ All in the name of making sure that you have the right balance of melanin — something that ought to be irrelevant to you, the students, the faculty, and everyone else.”

Roger Clegg, President and General Counsel at Ctr for Equal Opportunity, at 9:48 am EDT on July 2, 2008

traditional focus

Ok- on same themes, how about the existence/pictures of students like myself and my friends— over 40 ( sometimes way over), full time employees, grad students-and undergrads—even as numbers show a rise in age for example and part time students, view books do not reflect even a part of that- Maybe another book for ‘us’? Conclusion: if you are a ‘non-traditional’ student, go to the school on a regular day or night before you decide. Homework starts before class-Mary

mary, at 10:05 am EDT on July 2, 2008

Reality not Illusion

There is value in depicting a diverse student body in university recruitment and other materials, but not in misrepresenting the actual diversity of the students. Mr. Clegg and others fail to appreciate that students of color considering colleges need to know that the environment in which they will be spending four or more years will be welcoming and that they will not have to be alone. There is much written about the stresses of being the token in university settings or in the workplace. On the other hand, to misrepresent the diversity of the college campus is almost worse than having no students of color in the recruitment brochures. It has the appearance of deceptive advertising and will more than disappoint a student who arrives and finds a very different reality. Better to focus on enhanced recruitment and let the photo ops follow.

Shirley Wilcher, Executive Director at American Association for Affirmative Action, at 10:10 am EDT on July 2, 2008

Should be no surprise

Is this an issue because faculty don’t like the way that their colleges are promoted? I’m really failing to see why it’s OK that network news anchors and magazine cover models are slim and attractive, yet university viewbooks must have 9 white people for every black person in their viewbook.

The only valid point in this article is that universities must provide the same welcoming, diverse environment on their campuses that they promote in their advertising pieces. The rest of it is just quips and puns about pulling all nighters and “hot chicks.” Funny.

TM, at 10:20 am EDT on July 2, 2008

I’m pretty sure students are smart

Shirley Wilcher-

Your concerns are valid, but I’m pretty sure that prospective students (black or white) are smart enough to know that when every photo in the brochure has a black student in preppy attire with a huge smile talking to 2 white students in preppy attire with huge smiles, those photos were probably selected for PR purposes. I’m just barely young enough to vaguely remember reading college brochures, and I recall having a hunch that not everybody stood around with big smiles in groups with perfect ethnic and gender balance holding molecular biology textbooks, laptops, novels, and football paraphernalia.

So, if students are smart enough to know that not every 3-student meeting on campus has a black person in preppy attire smiling at 2 white people in preppy attire, then why do it at all? Simple: If they don’t, somebody will get upset. Of course, when it’s mentioned then people get upset anyway, but people would get more upset if it wasn’t done.

Assistant Professor of Physics, at 11:10 am EDT on July 2, 2008

I taught at a school in Minnesota that was not at all diverse. They produced a brochure with aa beautiful rainbow of faces...not of the students, but with photos they got off the internet.

Aisler, at 12:05 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Diversity

It is nice that someone finally pointed out the obvious. The diversity “thing” is beyond ridiculous and it isn’t limited to universities. Just pick up any print media or watch TV for a few minutes. You certainly won’t see very many faces of the “dreaded white male", and it you do, they are either portrayed as geeky, placed in the background, or in a subservient role. The advertising/graphic design folks obviously thinks we are idiots. So here is a thesis for some sociologist or marketing researcher to test: how many other students and/or customers are you driving away because of your overrepresentation of “diversity"? I’ll bet more than a few. You are likely shooting yourselves in your respective feet and don’t even know it.

BH, at 12:20 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Maybe not news, but worth examining

I have pointed this out to students for years as part of teaching the Langston Hughes poem “Dinner at Eight,” which concludes with the lines, “To be a Problem on/Park Avenue at eight/Is not so bad./ Solutions to the Problem,/Of course, wait."I want students to recognize Hughes’ question—how well can he represent the “Negro Problem” from his position in society, just as we should all question how well Black students photographed for these brochures represent a fulfillment of administrative promises of racial diversity.

but I have begun to wonder if this practice isn’t a bit more complicated than simple attempts at promotion and recruitment.I agree with Shirley Wilcher completely, having talked with a number of minority students about the difficulties of adjusting to an all/mostly white campus. But as “Phil” notes, this is a trend in advertising too. A few months ago I received a brochure for an Amex card. I was so struck my the racial representation that I did a quick count. Out of 12 glossy photos (of people enjoying various expenisve pursuits—dining, travel, shopping, etc), 9 included a racial minority and 7 were African-American.

Was Amex trying to recruit racial-minority card members? If so, how did white-I get the card, at my admittedly white address in a vastly white small town? I began to wonder if something about the minority models made the luxurious living more attrative—more luxurious. If so, the fault—no, the REASON (why bring fault into it prematurely)— couldn’t lie simply with the card company who ordered the ad, or the agency who created it, but with the population at large who held the perception that would make such an ad successful.

So back to campus presentation. Do college students look more scholarly when they are black? Why?Is that a bad thing?

Enjoy.

Prof B, Asst. Prof. at U of Science and Arts of Ok, at 12:20 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Education as a Commodity

As education becomes less about learning and more about acquiring a commodity, market forces will rule the day. The type of advertising and marketing, as well as the level of honest representation will be dictated by the bottom line.

Marie Nubia-Feliciano, at 1:10 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Clarification

The use of stock photos is common. Inasmuch, it should be of no surprise that the same person may appear in a variety of college brochures. If you review college marketing materials you will notice the same white males appear to be attending several colleges too. It is simply a cost issue.

It goes without saying that any marketing communication should be designed to attract the intended recipient(s). If you want to improve your institutional diversity, you must represent a diverse student population.

My experience in the for-profit (campus based) field is that the student population eventually becomes representative of the market’s diversity. Meaning, if the market is 65% white, then the classroom in that market will be 65% white, etc.

Bob Barker, President at EDU Interactive, at 1:35 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Diversity

While I agree with almost all of the respondents comments, I’d like to mention another practical situation in addition to the cost of photos that was mentioned.

Many colleges, like mine, attempt to hire students of color and non-traditional students to serve in front line offices like the admissions reception desk, financial aid, etc. to make for a welcoming and trustful environment. When creating our publications, we typically use our student workers as subjects for the photos. Turns out they are pretty photogenic and we know where they are when we need photos quickly.

David, at 2:30 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Consistent Duplicity

Since higher education promotes the scam that diversity is incredibly valuable, overrepresenting minorities in their brochures is consistent with their level of veracity. Why should they be more honest about their perceived demographics than their actual rationales for diversity? What is the harm in just a little more dishonesty?

If universities want to entice minorities, they should simply list in their brochures the special programs and benefits available to minorities.

eddy, at 2:45 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

but lets not forget...

I think the implications of over/misrepresenting students of color on brochures are quite obvious. Yet, these issues further remove notions of diversity as being a goal and responsibility of creating an equitable and just system of programs, services, climate, staff, and curricula shared by all members of the institution. It’s not about how many people of color you get, but how well you provide a college that is institutionally equitable to everyone (including those of dominant contexts). Tokenizing us on paper makes us commodities (yet again) and removes the responsibility of all members of an institution. I think it’s important to really sit down as ask ourselves again what diversity is.

Hugo, at 2:50 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Good intentions vs. bad judgement

While it’s best to reflect what is genuine about your institution and manufacturing diversity through “photoshopping” faces into a viewbook is particularly heinous, I wouldn’t see it as totally misguided to strive for diversity in marketing pieces. Although it may create a deceptively generous assessment of your student body it still serves as encouragement to diverse or underserved applicants to consider your institution. It communicates an ideal that you’re trying to share with a specific audience—to see themselves in your institution’s environment. How else do you encourage them to come and make your campus more diverse? Be diverse but please don’t fake it.

Brian Caudill, at 3:10 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

uglies and trademarks

How come ugly people don’t appear in any of these photos? Also, I notice a distinct lack of trashy attire and cold sores. And, nobody seems to mind that none of these photos have trademarks of other products (e.g. water bottles, computers, etc.) in them.

LArry, at 3:15 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

It’s not just students.

I attended a small, private liberal arts college in my southern hometown. An outrageously naive black female, I had always been fairly color blind, so I never noticed how overwhelmingly white the school was until I was living in relative isolation on campus. In class, my persepctive always differed greatly from those of my classmates. (So Eddy, this experience of diversity, though painful, was incredibly valuable for me, and I suspect, also for my white classmates!)

So I want to emphasize the point that marketing a college to someone who will live and work there for several years is not at all like marketing a credit card or a diswhwashing liquid. When I do see college websites that show pictures of a homogeneously white student body, I do not, as the Assistant Professor of Physics suggests, get upset at this truth in advertising. Is it right for a campus in the frigid north to show prospective students only pictures in which there is no snow on the ground and everyone is wearing shorts? Would anyone be surprised that some freshmen would be miserable and feel duped?

But when it comes to inflated diversity in advertising, we may be talking about more than students. My alma mater had exactly one black professor on its faculty, and yet his face was on all the brochures! I remember that as a student, this overrepresentation made me quite cynical about the college’s commitment to diversity, and I was not at all surprised when he left the institution.

Dr. K, at 3:50 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

As an undergraduate, I worked for my school’s admissions office. I was in several photo shoots, one of which came about when I (a ‘typical’ white male) was talking to some of my friends who didn’t look a thing like me.

At a predominately white institution (but reasonably more diverse than the surrounding region), those photos got used all over the school’s admissions website. We actually looked happy in the pictures because we were.

Robert, PhD Student, at 6:35 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Diversity

Why is diversity aimed at skin color? What about the diversity that the physically disabled; blind, wheelchair bound etc. bring to the campus community?

If we really need to focus on skin color- then what to choose? Not all blacks are African American- Many come from multiple backgrounds-take Tiger Woods for example. What about Asians? Native Americans? Latinos?Or International students? ALL these bring diversity to our campuses.

Jane Fain, at 6:35 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Dr. K,

To be clear, I wasn’t trying to suggest that everybody from any particular group would get upset if universities engaged in more of what you call “truth in advertising.” Lots of people would probably not be at all upset if a small college in Minnesota had an awful lot of Norwegian-looking students in its brochure. However, it only takes a tiny handful of upset people to create a headache, and it only takes a modest amount of effort to reuse the same stock photos. So there you go.

Also, while there’s something to be said for “truth in advertising", I will admit that calls for diverse brochures are not completely unfounded. I think the brochure is ultimately a minor issue compared to what else is on the table, so I’m not a fan of the complaints, but it’s also an easy issue to address. If there’s a complaint that is easy to address and has at least a kernel of truth in it, addressing it is both reasonable and expedient.

Assistant Professor of Physics, at 6:35 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

photophony diversity

Photoshop diversity? How phony can you get?

When faculty and management of a college are embarrassed that they don’t have enough black kids on campus, that’s a school I’d NEVER send my kid to. Actual performance, not to mention TRUTH, are casualties of a race-based leftist preferential treatment program where everything good or bad that happens in your academic life is based on what victim group you happen to belong to!

I don’t want my kid in a victim contest.

Please do another story indicating which colleges DON"T do stupid stuff like this, and maybe she can go THERE.

dave, at 6:40 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

No Surprise

My sons both received hundreds of brochures, and would chuckle at a school’s PR. “Wait, we haven’t seen a Hispanic student yet. Ah, there she is, on the second page this time.”

They both ended up at Asbury, BTW, because they felt its religious PR actually matched the student body.

Assistant Village Idiot, at 6:40 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Photoshopping minorities into photos is rather brazen of them, but of course they’re going to choose photos that make them look good. I went to an engineering school... all the demographic stereotypes you can think of applied fully: mostly white, with a good number of Asians (from all over Asia, but mainly China and India, though that’s probably due to their population advantage over the rest of Asia), and few blacks — but far more importantly from a college student’s perspective, way more males than females. You can bet that the proportion of female students in our viewbooks, website photos, and other marketing material was way higher than the actual school. Surely everyone looking at the school knew that the photos were not at all accurate, but hey. Presenting things in a good light, even if it involves stretching the truth, is the whole point of marketing.

KR, at 6:55 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

The fact that blacks and minorities are over represented is not surprising. There are two pressures, one mentioned by the author. First is the societal pressure to be diverse, even if you are not. This leads those who create the viewbooks to project an image of diversity in the hope that it will in fact lead to a more diverse population. The second pressure actually comes from minority students. They would like to see more students on their campus who looks like them. Which is perfectly natural. So they pressure the recruiting team to do something about it. This pressure is reflected in the marketing materials.

I worked at a college for a while with a very small minority population and was in charge or creating the viewbook. While we did not go as far as to photoshop in diverse students we did attempt to make the campus look as diverse as possible without loosing our credibility or integrity. We also showed a lot of happy shinny students who were easy on the eyes and loved the school.

It is marketing...simple as that. Just like beer ads show sexy 20 somethings not the alcoholic slob, viewbooks try to project an image that will attract students. That image and reality sometimes are in near conflict.

K Olsen, at 8:45 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Celebrate Excellence

If we put as much time and money into celebrating excellence as we do diversity, we would have plenty of takers of all ethnicities.

BH, at 8:45 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

If a business did this, the officials involved would be screaming if not suing. Academia is mired in hypocrisy.

Ken Hahn, at 9:05 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

The military academies do the same thing, going out of their way to show female cadets in their advertising and brochures.

Bob1, at 9:15 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

Nice to see some honesty

“Diversity” has been a code word for “African-American” for a couple of decades now, instead of meaning what it was originally intended to mean — you know, actual “diversity". We can hope, as the PC culture fades, that these code words will revert to their original meanings and we can all be honest with each other again.

RebeccaH, Wright State University (retired), at 10:35 pm EDT on July 2, 2008

As a former instructor of computer science, I was mildly annoyed by a recruiting poster aimed at students, provided by the national org of the Association for Computing Machinery professional society.

It featured a “diverse” group of about ten students. Between all of the gyrations of gender and ethnicity, there were perhaps *two* white (non-Hispanic) males. I fully understand the rationale for exaggerating representation by various groups a little for purposes of appearing welcoming (there are no.5 people after all) — but to so totally invert the reality of the situation seems like a PC slap in the face to the demographic which is in fact the backbone, for whatever reasons, of the industry.

newscaper, at 5:20 am EDT on July 3, 2008

Pardon my ignorance...

...but just what is a “viewbook"? I have searched the OED, and the M-W Collegiate and Unabridged, and can find no such word.

Thank you.

Peter R Jacoby, at 5:20 am EDT on July 3, 2008

I’m with Shirley

Shirley Wilcher says: “students of color considering colleges need to know that the environment in which they will be spending four or more years will be welcoming and that they will not have to be alone.”

Yer darn right. I mean, you wouldn’t expect these students to have to associate with, you know, white people. Eeeew.

I’m with Shirley, at 5:25 am EDT on July 3, 2008

Real Diversity

My campus does the same thing, especially in graduation photos, which show 1 Caucasian student out of 8 students total in a majority Caucasian class.

If their theory is correct, that non-white faces will attract non-white students, might that also explain the falling numbers of white male students? If the lack of diversity reflects something else, something out of the reach of advertising, they might be facing even more of a dropoff in enrollment.

PJ, at 10:45 am EDT on July 3, 2008

you don’t need photoshop

Just because a picture hasn’t been photoshopped doesn’t mean it wasn’t staged. Our own materials are chock full of pictures that look like students spontaneously having a good time, but were carefully arranged to achieve a certain look — and, of course, to have a certain type of representation.

I agree with the comments above: this isn’t news. This is called marketing, and it happens every single day in every medium. Why would colleges be more genuine than anything else?

duh, at 10:50 am EDT on July 3, 2008

Diversity

Remember, perception is everything. We’reall in show business now.

yehiel handlarz, at 10:55 am EDT on July 3, 2008

Yawn

When I was at the College of Wooster in the mid-80’s they hired outside models to provide the “diversity” for recruiting materials. I imagine that practice is widespread.

Steve Smith, at 12:45 pm EDT on July 5, 2008

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