A debate about race and inclusion lays bare fault lines at the Minneapolis university. By Mila Koumpilova. Zakariya Abdullahi arrived at Augsburg University in fall β the first time students of color outnumbered whites in the incoming class, a milestone on the private campus founded by Norwegian Lutherans years ago.
This academic year, the school has been forced to take an unflinching look at how it is adjusting to a rapid demographic shift that ushered in more students like Abdullahi, the first in his Somali-American family to go to college. The Minneapolis university has made diversity central in its pitch to prospective students and donors, drawing national recognition for its success in attracting students of color.
In recent years, the campus redoubled efforts to narrow a graduation gap between its white and minority students and beef up support services.
Now, an intense debate about race and inclusion is laying bare campus fault lines. A classroom discussion about the N-word this fall sidelined a renowned professor, sparked a debate about academic freedom and triggered a review of Augsburg's predominantly white honors program, with the program's future on the line. It's the kind of soul-searching underway at campuses nationally, where racial protests have toppled university presidents and advocates have cautioned that broader access to campus can breed new inequities.
Before Abdullahi even started his studies, Augsburg signaled it would go to some lengths to welcome him. Freshmen are required to live in Urness Hall, one of two campus high-rises that give Augsburg its distinctive urban skyline. But Abdullahi told officials he needed a spotless, more private space than the shared bathrooms at Urness for ritual washing before Muslim prayer.
