As a white male faculty member in the College of Engineering, I am sometimes asked: "What are you doing as associate dean for diversity and faculty development?" Or, "Why do diversity?" Such questions, fortunately rare at Cornell, imply that diversity is something that we do for women and people of color and that diversity is somewhat akin to a charity, and not part of our core mission as educators. The answers to both questions are the same: To fulfill Cornell's core mission, we must become more diverse. This isn't about doing any favors for any particular group; it is about making Cornell better able to serve our students and society and more competitive in a rapidly changing world.

The inauguration of our first African-American president, and the prominent roles played by women from both parties in the election leading up to that momentous event, demonstrate how profoundly the United States has changed. These events reflect the rapidly changing demographics that must shape Cornell's planning for the future. Consider two statistics that characterize the challenge for the College of Engineering: The 2008 entering freshman class was 34 percent women, about twice the national average, and yet just 12 percent of the faculty are women. By the year 2021, nearly half of all high school graduates nationwide will be students of color, but only 6 percent of the current engineering faculty are underrepresented minorities and 10 percent of Asian origins.

To enhance their success, students need role models who look like them, have had similar experiences, and have overcome similar obstacles. This categorically does not mean that only faculty of color should mentor students of color; but having women and people of color on the faculty who are strong, successful leaders in their field reinforces the notion that those students, too, can play similar roles. Equally importantly, the world for which we must prepare our students is multinational and multicultural. The most pressing science and engineering problems of our day -- energy, fresh water, medicine, sustainability, to name just a few -- are all multidisciplinary, transcend international boundaries and have profound political, economic, cultural and ethical impacts. Even more traditional engineering endeavors are enhanced when looked at from the different perspectives that only diversity affords. We best educate all of our students when the environment in which they learn is inherently diverse.

Given my background as a geologist, it shouldn't be a surprise that I view education as something akin to mining: Universities take raw talent in the form of students and mold and refine them into productive members of society, researchers and leaders. But, just as different types of mineral deposits require different strategies for successful development, so, too, different groups of students require different approaches. The challenge for universities is to change their institutional culture and processes so that they are in the best position to leverage the large and growing raw talent pool represented by women and students of color. As white students segue from a majority to a plurality, well within the professional lifetimes of today's assistant and associate professors, the successful universities will be those that are most diverse.

In the College of Engineering, we are employing a number of strategies to prepare for this 21st-century reality. Diversity Programs in Engineering facilitates community building, mentoring and professional development for undergraduate and graduate students of color and women through events that are commonly open to all students. Additionally, the Strategic Oversight Committee works with faculty search committees to communicate the most successful search strategies for attracting to campus candidates who have the potential to be the best in their field and who happen to be women and/or underrepresented minorities. Many of my white male colleagues have no idea how intensely recruited women and people of color are and, consequently, that recruiting strategies are necessarily different. There is no need to change our standards to become more diverse; we only need to change our approach. If we are successful, it will pay dividends for Cornell for decades to come.

Richard W. Allmendinger is the associate dean for diversity and faculty development for Cornell's College of Engineering.