Journal of Diversity Management – 2006 Volume 1, Number 2 53 The Importance Of Cultural Diversity In The Educational Environment Scale (ICDEE): Development And Testing Douglas Amyx, Louisiana Tech University Dennis Bristow, (E-mail: dbristow@stcloudstate.edu), St. Cloud State University ABSTRACT College campuses are part of a dynamic and culturally diverse marketplace. As that diversity continues to grow and become an increasingly important component of students= educational environment, university officials need to further their understanding of the students= perspective of cultural diversity on campus. The primary objective in this study was the development and empirical testing of a multi- item paper-and-pencil scale called the Importance of Cultural Diversity in the Educational Environment Scale (ICDEE). Findings showed that the ICDEE demonstrated adequate internal reliability. Implications of the results and administrative applications of the scale in assessment efforts are discussed and avenues for future research are presented. Let us not be blind to our differences B but let us also direct attention to our common interests and the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity B John F. Kennedy, 1963 INTRODUCTION lthough President Kennedy spoke these words some forty years ago, their meaning may be more important today, in the twenty-first century, than at any previous time. Cultural diversity, and our ability and our willingness to acknowledge, understand and embrace it, is perhaps one of the most important components of today=s rapidly changing world. From college campuses to large and small businesses, from rural to urban settings, the cultural make-up of the United States is rapidly changing and diversity is growing. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau (2001) estimated that in 2005, nearly 33 million blacks, some 12 million Hispanics, 4.3 million Asian American/Pacific Islanders and 2.1 million American Indians will live in this country. Furthermore, by the year 2050 those numbers are predicted to swell to slightly more than 100 million Hispanics, more than 60 million Blacks, slightly more than 33 million Asian/Americans, and 4.5 million American Indians (U.S. Census Bureau 2004a). Such statistics and projections clearly show that the United States is no longer a Acultural melting pot@ but much more closely resembles an Aethnic mosaic@ as suggested by Shim and Gehrt (1996) or AAmerica=s rainbow@ as described by Panko and Smith (1997). The increase in cultural diversity in the U.S. is also reflected on college and university campuses across the nation. Managing cultural diversity in college and university classrooms has become an increasingly important concern (Tompson & Tompson, 1996). Over the past twenty years, minority enrollments in colleges and universities has mushroomed by over 120 percent, from about two million such students in 1981 to nearly four and one half million in 2001 (American Council on Education, 2003). During the 1990s, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian enrollments at colleges and universities in the United States increased by more than thirty percent while African American enrollments increased by seventeen percent (Educator=s Reference Desk, 1998). As shown in Table 1, U.S. Government statistics indicate that as of October 2002, over 16 million students, some 5.3 million of minority status, were enrolled at two and/or four year colleges/universities in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004b). A