“White Racial Literacy Project” Aims to Involve More White People in Racial Equity Conversations
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis has launched a new initiative, called the White Racial Literacy Project. The effort aims to get White students more involved in conversations about racial equity.
Princeton University’s New Program Aims to Diversify the Architecture Field
Less than 2 percent of the nation's registered architects are Black. To increase diversity in the field, Princeton University has launched its ArcPrep program that provides support, guidance, and academic and cultural enrichment to high school students who are typically underrepresented in the discipline.
Researchers Create Tool to Measure Cultural Competency Among Health Care Providers
Researchers from the College of Nursing at Washington State University are developing a tool to measure cultural competency among health care providers. The project is unique in that it tackles the issue from the patient's point of view.
Clemson University’s Summer Scholars Program in Marketing for HBCU Students
The program brings 30 students from historically Black colleges and universities to Clemson University in South Carolina for a week-long program in May to learn from marketing industry professionals and businesses.
Six Schools of Public Affairs Launch New Diversity Alliance
The new Public Affairs Diversity Alliance seeks to encourage and sustain a pipeline of diverse candidates for faculty positions in criminal justice, policy, and public administration at the six participating schools.
New Entrepreneurship Competition Will Feature Students From 10 HBCUs
Five students at 10 HBCUs will form teams that will compete with teams from other HBCUs at a weekend competition in Detroit in March. Students will devise and promote a business plan and compete for two top prizes.
The CUNY School of Medicine is a Leader in Producing Minority Physicians
In 2018, the Association of American Medical Colleges cited the City University of New York School of Medicine as the fifth top medical school in the country for recruitment of Black and African-American students, exceeded only by the four historically Black medical schools.
American Bar Association Defeats Measure That May Have Harmed HBCU Law Schools
The American Bar Association's House of Delegates recently rejected a resolution that would have required law schools to have a bar passage rate in excess of 75 percent or face the risk of losing accreditation. Law schools at HBCUs tend to have low bar passage rates.
Washington University Establishes the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, & Equity
The Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, & Equity at Washington University in St. Louis, will support student research, attract visiting scholars, and create opportunities for collaboration among faculty, students, and members of the St. Louis community.
Virginia Tech Reports 13 Percent Increase in Black Applicants
In 2016, Virginia Tech President Tim Sands set a goal to have 40 percent of the student body come from underrepresented groups and first generation students by 2022.
SUNY Launches Initiative to Hire a Diverse Group of 1,000 Faculty by 2030
In recent years, SUNY has been successful in increasing diversity among its students. As of Fall 2018, 28.5 percent of SUNY students are from underrepresented groups, up from 27.9 percent in 2017, and 15.4 percent in 2007. However, this progress has not been replicated among the university's faculty.
University of Maryland Baltimore County Seeks Greater Diversity in the Public Policy Field
The University of Maryland Baltimore County School of Public Policy has partnered with the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), a national organization that fosters excellence in research, analysis, and education in public policy.
Harvard University Making Strides In Faculty Diversity
Since 2004, tenured-track appointments at Harvard University are up 54 percent for underrepresented minorities, which is particularly striking since the overall number of tenure-track faculty has decreased by 18 percent over the same time period.
African Americans Accepted Into the Class of 2023 at High-Ranking Colleges and Universities
Recently, most of the nation’s highest-ranked colleges and universities informed applicants if they had been accepted for admission into the Class of 2023. Some revealed the racial/ethnic breakdown of their admitted students.
Medgar Evers College and Michigan State Seek to Increase Racial Diversity in Forestry Studies
Through a new 3+2 program, participating students will spend three years at Medgar Evers College, followed by two years at Michigan State. At the end of the five years, students will have earned a bachelor's degree in environmental science and a master's degree in forestry.
Rutgers University Allocates $20 Million Towards Hiring Diverse Faculty
The program, now totaling more than $40 million, will provide half the salary support for the first three years of each newly hired faculty member's service at Rutgers, along with additional funds to support mentoring and retention.
University of Massachusetts Partners With the University of South Africa
The University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the University of South Africa have signed a memorandum of understanding that will establish a framework for future research, faculty, and student exchanges between the two universities.
Vanderbilt University Launches Blog Dedicated to Diversity-Related Efforts on Campus
The "Strengthening the Ties" blog will provide toolkits and educational content related to cultural observances and holidays, share relevant issues at Vanderbilt, and highlight the experiences and accomplishments of diverse individuals at Vanderbilt.
No Progress in the Number of Black Students Admitted to the University of California
Three years ago, there was a major increase in the number of Black students admitted to the nine undergraduate campuses of the University of California. Since that time progress has stagnated.
University of Michigan Creates New Professorships to Honor Diversity Efforts
The new professorships will recognize senior faculty who have shown a commitment to the university’s ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion through their scholarship, teaching, or service and engagement.
University of Chicago Releases Progress Report on Its Diversity & Inclusion Initiative
The report is broken down into four sections: infrastructure, climate, people, and community. In each section, the university details how each area of the institution has made improvements to the school's overall diversity over the past year and a half.
Colleges and Universities With the Most and Least Race and Class Interaction
Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, was ranked first on the list of colleges than had little race or class interaction. African Americans make up 4 percent of the undergraduate student body at Quinnipiac. Rice University in Houston was rated as having the most race/class interaction.
The First Black Woman to Earn a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics at Florida State...
A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Kalisa Villafana decided at the age of 12 that she would be a physicist.
CUNY Announces New Policies Aimed at Increasing Engagement with Minority-Owned Businesses
A recent conference offered insight to minority- and women-owned businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses on how to conduct business with CUNY and to provide a forum for networking with CUNY decision-makers.
University of South Florida Reports Major Uptick in Supplier Diversity
In 2018-19, the University of South Florida spent nearly $35 million with diverse suppliers, an increase of nearly $8 million from the previous year and almost double the amount from 2016-17. Overall, 8.7 percent of the university’s competitively sourced purchases last year were made with diverse suppliers.
Penn State Seeks to Diversify the Field of Library Science
Pennsylvania State University Libraries has welcomed its third cohort for its University Libraries Diversity Residency Program. This three-year postgraduate appointment will provide library professionals with transferable work experiences and career development in preparation for future leadership roles in the field.
The University of Florida Has the Most Black Women Faculty in Engineering
According to the American Society for Engineering Education, a nonprofit dedicated to engineering education, the seven Black women faculty members in engineering are the most among the 338 four-year degree-granting engineering schools in the United States.
Washington State Ballot Referendum Could Reinstate Affirmative Action in College Admissions
In 1998, voters in Washington State voted by a large margin to prohibit public colleges and universities from considering race in admissions decisions. This year, voters will have the opportunity to reinstate affirmative action.
Haverford College Unveils a Collection of Works by Philosophers From Underrepresented Groups
A new collection at Haverford College in Pennsylvania aims to showcase philosophers who are not White and not male.
Washington State Voters Reject Referendum That Would Have Reinstated Affirmative Action
On Tuesday, November 5, voters in the state of Washington rejected - by a slim margin - a measure that would have reinstated race-sensitive admissions at state-operated colleges and universities. Voters in rural areas of the state rejected the effort to reinstate race-sensitive admissions by a large margin.
New Georgia Tech Program Aims to Increase Diversity of Critics and Reviewers
The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta recently held a workshop to develop a program to increase diversity among critics and reviewers of poetry. The effort is a collaboration of the university's Poetry@Tech program and the Ledbury Emerging Poetry Critics program in the United Kingdom.
New Scholarships at the University of Pennsylvania Seek to Boost Diversity in City Planning
The department of city and regional planning in the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania has established the Moelis Scholars program that is open to African American and Latinx students who are thinking about pursuing careers in housing and community and economic development.
University of Kansas to Offer a Graduate Degree Program in Diversity and Inclusion Leadership
The program is designed to offer graduate students and working professionals the tools and techniques to better navigate leadership opportunities within the context of social diversity and equity in the United States.
Yale Renews Faculty Diversity Effort for Another Five Years
There are 85 Black ladder faculty at Yale. They make up 3.2 percent of all tenured or tenure-track faculty. In 2018, eight Black ladder faculty were hired, making up 3 percent of all new hires. Eight Black ladder faculty left Yale in 2017.
Syracuse University Announces New Efforts to Boost Faculty Diversity
The new initiatives will provide academic departments with funds from the central administration to share a greater proportion of the costs of new hires from underrepresented groups.
Report Examines Recruitment and Retention of Black Students in Physics and Astronomy
According to the report from the American Institute of Physics, "The persistent underrepresentation of African Americans in physics and astronomy is due to the lack of a supportive environment for these students in many departments, and the enormous financial challenges facing them."
