Despite almost constant attacks by hostile politicians, administrators and academics over the past three decades, ethnic studies has endured.

Ethnic studies is now taught at more than 700 colleges and universities, and it occupies a more prominent place in U.S. academia than at any other time in history. With all this being said, should ethnic studies declare victory?

The sad truth is that here at Iowa State, ethnic studies has increasingly been subjected to academia’s elitist rules and punishments.

For the past 30 years, ethnic studies faculty have been gaining ground on social problems such as racism. Now, these same faculty members fear for their jobs and will not go out on a limb for much of anything. This is a far cry from the sit-ins, hunger strikes and protests of the 1970s.

In his March 8 letter to the Daily, “Where’s the support for ethic studies?” Lawrence Gross discussed some of his concerns about who is going to teach required U.S. diversity classes. Although this is a valid concern, the real question is why so many professors with joint appointments are not receiving tenure.

As far as I know, no faculty member with a joint appointment to an ethnic studies program has ever received tenure at Iowa State. In 2004, Vice Provost Susan Carlson is on record for saying 36 of 42 tenure cases were successful, for an 85 percent success rate. The fact is that two out of those six people who didn’t receive tenure came from the joint appointments in the American Indian Studies program.

On the ISU Web site for diversity and ethic studies, there are links to African American, American Indian, Asian American and U.S. Latino resources.

At the current rate of tenure denials for the ethnic studies program, this may soon be the only place students can obtain ethnic information here at Iowa State.

Darryl J. Reed

Senior

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