Stages in the Response of White Colleges and Universities to Black Students

This article examines thirteen colleges and universities representing a range of institutions that rapidly increased their black enrollments in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Institutional responses are examined in terms of five stages: predisposing conditions, precipitating events, transitional trauma, active accommodation, and reassessment. The crucial issues at each stage are presented, along with implications for future response strategies.