�鶹��Ƶ College to Help Create a National Coalition of Liberal Arts Institutions to Examine Race and Equity on Campuses</h1> <article> <h1>�鶹��Ƶ College to Help Create a National Coalition of Liberal Arts Institutions to Examine Race and Equity on Campuses</h1> <p>swargo — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 16:14:47 +0000</p> <span>�鶹��Ƶ College to Help Create a National Coalition of Liberal Arts Institutions to Examine Race and Equity on Campuses</span> <span><span>swargo</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-11-13T11:14:47-05:00" title="Friday, November 13, 2020 - 11:14">Fri, 11/13/2020 - 11:14</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>OBERLIN, OHIO — �鶹��Ƶ College announced that it is partnering with five other prominent institutions to establish the Liberal Arts College Racial Equity Leadership Alliance (LACRELA) to foster greater understanding on matters of race and equity at liberal arts institutions across the country.</p> <p>The alliance will help provide liberal arts colleges with additional tools to examine campus culture and to lead more effectively on issues of racial equity.</p> <p>The partnership complements the work of the Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity that President Carmen Twillie Ambar created earlier this year in response to increasing injustice and racial tensions in America. </p> <p>‘‘I am proud that �鶹��Ƶ is playing a leading role in the conversations liberal arts colleges must have about race and equity on their campuses and in our country,” President Ambar said. “�鶹��Ƶ is privileged to be one of the five institutions that developed this idea, and with today’s announcement, we are inviting other colleges to join in this valuable endeavor.’’</p> <p>LACRELA is being founded in partnership with the University of Southern California (USC) Race and Equity Center under the direction of Shaun Harper. The other founding institutions include DePauw University, Macalester College, Occidental College, and Pomona College.</p> <p>Harper also is assisting the Presidential Initiative to help examine racial attitudes on campus.</p> <p>LACRELA’s innovative approach will offer resources to member colleges, including:</p> <p>Beginning in January, the USC Equity Center will host monthly eConvenings on a particular aspect of racial equity such as confronting acts of racism and racial violence on campus.</p> <p>An online repository of resources and tools for every employee of member colleges. The content will include downloadable equity-related rubrics, readings, case studies, videos, slide decks, and conversation scripts.</p> <p>A trio of campus climate surveys focusing on perceptions of equitable opportunities, sense of belonging, unfair treatment, and more. The surveys will be offered on a three-year rotation, with the first year focusing on students, the second year focusing on faculty, and the third year focusing on staff.</p> <p>Presidents of Alliance member colleges will meet quarterly to confidentially share strategies, seek advice, and brainstorm ways to leverage the Alliance for collective impact on racial equity in higher education. Occasionally, presidents will be invited to rapid response strategy meetings, depending upon events of national importance.<br> <br> ‘‘When I announced the Presidential Initiative, the �鶹��Ƶ community embraced the concept and recognized its important role during these challenging times,’’ President Ambar said. ’’LACRELA will accelerate our work in �鶹��Ƶ and help liberal arts institutions across the country benefit from self-examination, improvement, and collective examination of how we all can improve circumstances for people of color and make a difference in this world.’’</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Releases</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-11-13T12:00:00Z">Fri, 11/13/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3490">Presidential Initiative</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2385">Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/carmen-twillie-ambar" hreflang="und">Carmen Twillie Ambar</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>�鶹��Ƶ College Establishes Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity in Response to National Distress</h1> <p>swargo — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 14:40:30 +0000</p> <span>�鶹��Ƶ College Establishes Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity in Response to National Distress</span> <span><span>swargo</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-08-28T10:40:30-04:00" title="Friday, August 28, 2020 - 10:40">Fri, 08/28/2020 - 10:40</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>OBERLIN, OHIO —President Carmen Twillie Ambar and �鶹��Ƶ College announced today the launch of the Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity in response to increasing injustice and racial tensions in America. The Presidential Initiative will elevate and advance �鶹��Ƶ's more than 180-year commitment to the education and rights of Blacks in America, and will provide the framework for faculty and students to address issues of violence, police-community relationships, and racial injustices. </p> <p><a href="https://www.marshall.usc.edu/personnel/shaun-harper">Shaun Harper</a>, one of the nation’s foremost experts on racial culture on college campuses, will work with the commission to assess and improve �鶹��Ƶ’s approach to campus diversity.</p> <p>‘‘The work of dismantling the vestiges of white supremacy, anti-Black policies, and gender inequality has long been embedded in the promise of �鶹��Ƶ College,’’ Ambar wrote in her <a href="/news/oberlin-college-establishes-presidential-initiative-racial-equity-and-diversity-response-0">charge to the commission</a> of 21 faculty, staff, and students from the college and the conservatory. ‘‘This work in the 21st century, however, looks different than it did in 1833.’’</p> <p>The announcement follows a personal note Ambar wrote to the �鶹��Ƶ community after the killing of George Floyd and reflects sentiments expressed across the country after the recent shooting of Jacob Blake. </p> <p>‘‘At every turn it seems we are watching in anguish a world that views African-Americans as less than human and unworthy of dignity,’’ she wrote. ‘‘The Black community—my community—is in excruciating pain. We are contending with what appears to be an unending well of racism and bigotry. We are witnessing an unraveling and a democracy that is now in search of its foundational societal norms. Hatred, anger, illness, and death fill our screens. There is grief at the abandonment of our ideals and a tearing of the heart as we see the impact on our children.’’</p> <p>Meredith Gadsby, associate professor of Africana studies and comparative American studies, and Bill Quillen, dean of the Conservatory, will cochair the commission, which will evaluate �鶹��Ƶ’s programming in both the college and conservatory, review hiring, and examine divisional and departmental climates to identify methods to elevate �鶹��Ƶ’s commitment to equity.</p> <p>‘‘Although this is an incredibly painful moment for Black people, people of color, and all people of conscience, I am energized by examples of generations of Black men and women who mobilized and continue to mobilize in struggle,’’ said Gadsby. ‘‘This energy propels me forward to engage in this important work with President Ambar, colleagues, and students.’’</p> <p>‘‘�鶹��Ƶ are united in undertaking this critical mission to help improve and redefine education in America,” said conservatory Dean William Quillen. ‘‘It is imperative that we respond to these challenges with immediacy, for the sake of our students today and for the sake of future generations who deserve a world grounded in equity and an expanded, shared sense of belonging.’’</p> <p>The commission’s work will span the 2020-2021 academic year, with the expectation of both short-term and long-term strategic recommendations at year’s end. Their partnership with Harper and the USC Race and Equity Center will help guide the work, which will include quantitative and qualitative assessments of related efforts already under way at �鶹��Ƶ and a climate assessment survey of the institution. The commission will lead the development of meaningful anti-racism education and professional development for all members of the campus community and will assess the viability, form, and structure of what a Center on Race and Equity could look like on �鶹��Ƶ’s campus. </p> <p>The commission will evaluate hiring policies and practices that ensure accountability in both the development of diverse applicant pools and the assessment of candidates and will offer initiatives that more effectively launch Black students into graduate programs and professional pursuits after �鶹��Ƶ.</p> <p>President Ambar’s charge requires that recommendations have both an internal and external framing, to ensure the institution can speak nationally and internally in a moment that is critical to both higher education and to the nation. </p> <p>‘‘There are national moments that call upon all of us to gather our energies and take hold of moral missions, and this is one of those moments,’’ Ambar said. ‘‘Once again, we should assess ourselves and the role we play in educating our students to go out into the world to act upon the change that we want to see manifested in it."</p> <p><strong>About �鶹��Ƶ</strong></p> <p>Ranked among the nation’s top liberal arts schools, �鶹��Ƶ is known for its exemplary academic and musical pedagogy and its commitment to social justice, sustainability, and creative entrepreneurship. The college, founded in 1833, holds a distinguished place among American colleges and universities as the first to grant bachelor's degrees to women in a coeducational environment and was a leader in the education of African Americans. The Conservatory of Music, a recipient of the National Medal of Arts, was founded in 1865, making it the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. �鶹��Ƶ Conservatory alumni enjoy illustrious careers in all aspects of the music world, achieving prominence as performers, conductors, composers, music educators, scholars, and arts administrators.</p> <p>Contact:</p> <p>Scott Wargo<br> Director of Media Relations<br> 440-775-5197<br> <a href="mailto:Scott.Wargo@oberlin.edu">Scott.Wargo@oberlin.edu</a></p> <p style="text-align: center;">- ### -</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Releases</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-08-28T12:00:00Z">Fri, 08/28/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2359">Administration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2385">Community</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3490">Presidential Initiative</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>