We would like to say the responses to last Thursday’s Red & Black story about diversity in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences caught us by surprise. They did not. Like all topics that test the roots of our culture, diversity evokes polarizing opinions, views and beliefs.

Our economy and society are now truly global. That makes diversity vital to the success of our industries, our security and humanity. We must strive to educate all segments of the population.

As a land-grant institution, our charge is to make the doors to education open and accessible to all who seek it. Even today, there are large segments of society that lag behind through no fault of their own. It’s our responsibility to change that.

Students in this state need to know the door to higher education is open to them and the boundless opportunities on the other side if they choose to walk through it. They deserve to know where that door is and how to get to it.

It’s equally important that we work to recruit students from a cross-section of Georgia’s population, as well as a mix of students from across the nation and the world. Our programs in Griffin and Tifton now provide access to UGA for students in those areas.

As the world’s population continues to increase, a well-trained workforce will face a plethora of problems that will challenge our ability to provide the quantity and quality of food, fuel and fiber needed for our survival. Attracting the best minds from a range of backgrounds is the only way forward.

At times in our nation’s history certain groups were denied access to education, employment, opportunity and just plain human decency. This is not just a racial issue. Discrimination comes in all shades, sexes, cultures and even regional biases. Some, so thinly veiled, they are often undetectable – unless you are the one being excluded.

After decades of being denied equal pay, women in this country in many cases, still make less than men in similar positions and are less likely to be found in boardrooms. Disabled workers were sometimes denied access to opportunities by being physically incapable of getting to the door. The same is true for too many other segments of our population. Much of the disparity can be linked to unequal access to education.

We cannot expect that those who were for generations denied equal access to quality education – and in some cases any education – be on an equal playing field over night. It takes time and effort to make up lost ground.

We can’t change history, but it’s our job to help students learn from it and be prepared to do better than their predecessors.

Higher education is the pathway to success in today’s society. As the flagship institution in the University System of Georgia, UGA should be equally accessible to all Georgians.

Our CAES diversity enhancement programs seek to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in applied science, technology, engineering and mathematics. More importantly, we need them to dedicate their creativity and energy to solving the problems that face sustainable and environmentally sound food, fuel and fiber production.

Some perceive that diversity enhancement programs give an unfair advantage to otherwise unqualified or undeserving students. That’s wrong. It would be grossly unfair to lure students into programs where they have little or no chance at success, harming their future potential to succeed in higher education. Our goal is to inform qualified students about the myriad opportunities that are available to them.

This is a democratic society that is open to everyone. That must be reflected in our classrooms, our laboratories and our student body.

Agriculture is the only industry whose products are consumed by the entire world population. It is vital to human survival. We cannot begin to serve the world’s population without a diversity of opinions and input from a fair representation of those we serve.

We can only get the varied workforce we need and deserve if we make it our duty to recruit those interested in our field and give them access to the best possible education.

As we’ve said before, one of our greatest challenges is to help all potential students understand the wealth of opportunities and the diversity of career and study choices waiting for them in our college. All students must have fair access to those opportunities.

- J. Scott Angle is dean and director of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences