As founder of Mount Saint Vincent’s Urban and Multicultural Studies program, Ron Scapp has helped teachers to think rigorously about the relationships among politics, culture, and education for more than 10 years. He has also worked at the leading edge of a trend that continues to unfold all over the world.

Nearly three-quarters of public school students in New York City are African American or Hispanic; some 140 languages are represented there. In recent years, the suburbs have begun to reflect this multicultural picture, which has widened the need for teachers who are prepared to work in heterogeneous classrooms.

Teachers have responded. In 1993, only seven Mount students enrolled in multicultural studies graduate courses. Today, some 200 are registered. An accomplished author and editor, Scapp is pleased. The program has, he claims, “exceeded some of my most expansive expectations.”

But there is still much to do, Scapp says. An ongoing “culture war” about the values taught in classrooms still rages. As he recently told The Key Reporter, the newsletter of Phi Beta Kappa, “Values are handled in teacher-education programs … much as in any other field: sometimes badly and sometimes well.” If Scapp has anything to with it, this situation will improve dramatically.