Illustration: Chuan Ming Ong

School custodian Jenna Gros is making her dream of becoming an educator happen, thanks to an alternative pathway called Grow Your Own.

Grow Your Own programs have been celebrated as a way to ease teacher shortages, increase retention, make degrees more accessible, and diversify an overwhelmingly white workforce. There's just one issue, researchers say: It's unclear whether these programs actually work.

Photo: Callaghan O'Hare

Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts have become a lightning rod for debate in American higher education. In Texas, Republican lawmakers banned DEI offices at public colleges and universities starting next year, arguing they emphasize divisions between different racial or ethnic groups and force liberal ideology onto students.

But Rice University is moving in the opposite direction. The prestigious private research institution is doubling down on its support of equity for all students regardless of their background or lived experience.

Last year, Shaun Harper took to social media to share a personal career announcement that had lots of people talking, both inside and outside of education. Harper told his thousands of followers that in May 2023, he would be stepping away from the USC Race and Equity Center.

From its inception, the center that Harper breathed life into back in 2011 has fundamentally revolutionized the way higher education leaders think about and approach diversity, equity, and inclusion work. In this interview, Harper reflects on his journey as a DEI trailblazer and his next steps.