Building an Antiracist University

Introduction From 2007-2012, the Office of Recruitment, Development, and Diversity Initiatives (ORDDI) at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy conducted various integrated recruitment events to diversify the student body of their school. Students who participated in these ORDDI events were considered part of the “ORDDI cohort”. After implementing these programming changes, ORDDI reported that about…

Introduction Dr. Ian Law, founding director of the Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies (CERS) at the University of Leeds, reviews twenty years of scholarship and initiatives by the Centre related to racism and higher education in the UK. Founded in 1998, CERS produces policy-relevant research that seeks to dismantle racism. In the 1990s, the…

Introduction Despite the wide ranging accomplishments earned by historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), narratives regarding HBCUs often use deficit-oriented framing that erase their achievements. This context of pervasive institutional anti-blackness is rooted in the historical marginalization of HBCUs that continues to reinforce itself through less favorable depictions of HBCUs in the media and ultimately…

Introduction Many white students enter postsecondary education fortified by “walls of whiteness,” or manifestations of racial privilege that shield white students from challenges to white supremacist assumptions about racial disparities and inequality. Those assumptions are reinforced in historically white colleges and universities that are predominately staffed by white male faculty and primarily attended by middle-…

Introduction In this study, the authors highlight the ways in which Historically Black Colleges (HBCUs) have been marginalized by Historically White Institutions (HWI) through social closure (systemic exclusion) and lack of reciprocity (lack of mutual recognition). The authors demonstrate how the academic legitimacy of HCBUs has been systematically withheld by HWIs through the lack of…

Introduction Many White-serving educational institutions focus on colorblind or race neutral policies to advance racial equity in faculty hiring. This approach has led to inequitable hiring practices and a lack of racially minoritized faculty. This study aims to interrogate how professors can rethink their organizational culture to advance racial equity in the hiring process. The…

Introduction Schools around the world have started to grapple more acutely with racism due to the changing needs of an increasingly racially diverse and integrated student population, as well as in response to  urgent calls for educational reform. These calls particularly urge educational reforms that include  to  developing and growing an antiracist curriculum and trainings.…

Introduction As a front-line resource for students, academic advising plays an essential role in student success at universities and can be a determinant of success at the beginning of a student’s career. This study investigates whiteness (in the form of ideologies, behaviors, attitudes, and attributes) as a pervasive presence in academic advising that deeply disadvantages…

An actionable conceptual framework embedding antiracist institutional changes in education. Introduction:  As a result of the authors’ perception that educational institutions’ current efforts to promote racial justice are simply platitudes, the authors use this study to advocate for organizational changes within educational institutions to promote racial equity. The authors note that shifting individual behaviors does…