Goal 5: Make antiracism a central value in CC’s academic and co-curricular programs
Goal 5 Current Commitments:
- Create new curriculum that incorporates and encourages the development of courses and learning opportunities that challenge racism and racist legacies in the U.S., globally, and in academic disciplines
- Develop one course in each of six “Learning across the Liberal Arts” categories
- Conduct a curriculum review and mapping process to address gaps and ensure that principles of diversity, inclusion, and antiracism are helping to guide course offerings across the entire curriculum
- Review and enhance co-curricular programming to ensure that antiracism efforts are supported in all activities
The faculty adopted a new general education program and curricular requirements in May 2019, to be implemented in the 2020-21 academic year.
The Curriculum Executive Committee — with representation from faculty, students, and staff — determined that an examination of power, diversity, and inequality would be a central component in the new general education program.
This new curriculum incorporates and encourages the development of courses and learning opportunities that challenge racism and racist legacies in the U.S., globally, and in academic disciplines. It eliminates the West in Time requirement and adds a two-block Equity and Power requirement. Students will take one course in each of six “Learning across the Liberal Arts” categories: Analysis and Interpretation of Meaning; Creative Process; Formal Reasoning and Logic; Historical Perspectives; Scientific Analysis; and Societies and Human Behavior.
The college will conduct a curriculum review and mapping process during the 2020-21 academic year, which will be led by the new dean and director of the Crown Faculty Center in collaboration with the dean of the faculty and CEC. The intent of this review is not only to help ensure the new general education requirements are in place, but that we can address gaps and ensure that principles of diversity, inclusion, and antiracism are helping to guide course offerings across the entire curriculum. Department external reviews will also include assessment of antiracism progress.
Co-curricular programming will be reviewed and enhanced to ensure that antiracism efforts are supported in all activities.
Parties accountable: Board of Trustees, president, provost, dean of the faculty, vice provost, vice president for student life/dean of students, new dean for diversity and inclusion, and Curriculum Executive Committee
Updates, August 2021:
- New general education program and curricular requirements were enacted in May 2019 and apply to students who started in the 2020-21 academic year.
- The curriculum review and mapping process was completed in the 2020-21 academic year.
- In June 2020, the college hired new leaders for senior associate dean for equity, inclusion, and faculty development and senior associate dean of students for diversity, equity & inclusion, and named an interim director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for staff.