This was a core tenet of the first modern research university, founded in Germany in 1810. It was the inspiration for John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty, a touchstone of academic freedom, a hallmark of Charles Eliot’s remaking of Harvard in the late nineteenth century to promote the “clash of ideas,” and a foundation of Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Pauli Murray’s work for racial and gender equality in the mid-twentieth. In telling the story of the diversity principle through the experiences of these and other remarkable thinkers, Oppenheimer argues for affirming diversity as a central value of education and “an essential ingredient for a robust intellectual and political culture.”

People with different backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints benefit from engaging with each other. That’s why it’s important for people who are insiders to expand their circles to include outsiders, and vice versa. The experience of being an outsider is often influenced by age, religion, ethnicity, gender, race, language, disability, economic class, and other forms of identity. Compared with groups that are more homogeneous, diverse groups do a better job of solving problems, making discoveries, teaching and learning from each other and improving democratic discourse.

What is the Diversity Principle?

Praise for The Diversity Principle

“David B. Oppenheimer has performed an amazing feat of intellectual detective work by tracing the origins of the concept of diversity in university admissions—and thereby showing that diversity has always been essential to the liberal tradition.”

Nicholas Lemann, dean emeritus, Columbia Journalism School, and author of Higher Admissions: The Rise, Decline, and Return of Standardized Testing
“‘Diversity’ is no newfangled idea. Philosophers and political theorists have known and written for centuries that diverse groups make better decisions. David B. Oppenheimer’s comprehensive tour of diversity’s advocates provides essential armor against those who would now dismiss its value.”

Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America and coauthor of Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law
"David B. Oppenheimer explores the diversity principle through fascinating accounts of the historical figures who developed it. His book is a powerful intellectual history presented through captivating stories about compelling characters.”

Nadine Strossen, author of Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know

What is the Diversity Principle?

“David B. Oppenheimer has performed an amazing feat of intellectual detective work by tracing the origins of the concept of diversity in university admissions—and thereby showing that diversity has always been essential to the liberal tradition.”

"David B. Oppenheimer explores the diversity principle through fascinating accounts of the historical figures who developed it. His book is a powerful intellectual history presented through captivating stories about compelling characters.”