The face of America is changing — it is older, more ethnically diverse, and one that looks with more open eyes upon religion and interracial and same-sex marriages than in the past, say campus experts.

In the face of these demographic shifts, the university held a Nov. 7 workshop for faculty and staff to learn more about multiculturalism in higher education. More than 200 people gathered in the ARC Ballroom to hear Carlos Cortes, professor emeritus of history at UC Riverside, deliver the presentation, "The New Multiculturalism: Leadership in a Changing America." Afterward, Cortes participated in a panel discussion with UC Davis campus leaders.

In introducing the two-hour-long session, Provost Virginia Hinshaw emphasized one of the themes of the session — UC Davis' Principles of Community, which aim to promote tolerance, respect and dignity throughout the campus community.

"The Principles of Community are the keys to having that sense of community on campus," said Hinshaw. "We don't get to excellence without diversity."

Cortes stated that merely recognizing diversity is not enough. It is how you handle it on a practical, everyday level.

"Multiculturalism is already here," he said, "the demographics are already here. The question is not if you believe in diversity but how you deal with the complexities of diversity."

He cited statistics from the Census Bureau stating that within the next 40 years, half of all Americans will be of a racial minority and the number of Americans older than 65 years of age will have doubled. Similar trends are under way throughout UC staff ranks.

In order to deal with these changes, Cortes recommended that leaders "leave the door open" to all ideas, rely more on judgment, less on rigid rules and be wary of buying into stereotypes.

After Cortes' presentation, the audience submitted questions to a panel of four UC Davis staff members — Rahim Reed, associate executive vice chancellor of the Office of Campus Community Relations; Binnie Singh, director of faculty relations; Leon Washington, assistant vice chancellor of Student Affairs; and Karen Hull, associate vice chancellor of business services in the Office of Administration.

The questions varied from asking for advice on how to recruit a more diverse staff to suggesting a new program for nursing mothers. Both Hinshaw and Cortes were pleased with how the event turned out.

"I'm impressed by the enthusiastic participation," Hinshaw said, "because that's what it takes to make change."

The depth of the questions directed toward the panel encouraged Cortes. "It is indicative of how people were engaged," he said.

Geneva Sarcedo, a staffer in Student Affairs, found the presentation to be "very positive."

"Multiculturalism is a topic people shy away from," she said. "So by approaching it with humor and honesty, it helped."

The rest of the day was devoted to further presentations by Dennis Shimek, senior vice chancellor for Human Resources, Reed as well as closing comments from Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. Cortes closed his morning presentation with a quote by former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru:

"Life is like a game of cards. The hand you're dealt is determinism; the way you play is free will."

So, Cortes said, "let's all have the courage and vision to play the cards that allow us to be inclusive and multicultural because that's what this day was about."

Allison Leung is a student intern for Dateline.