DIVERSITY AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

9/15/2020 11:26pm

(From left) Frank Baumgartner, Jennifer Ho and Sharon Holland discuss their collaborative "Intersectionality: Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice" course at the Gray Squirrel coffee shop in Carrboro in 2016. Photo courtesy of Kristen Chavez, UNC College of Arts & Sciences.

Faculty of color consider leaving, cite lack of opportunities and toxic environment

By Sasha Schroeder

UNC faculty said they have considered leaving the University for peer institutions due to a lack of leadership opportunities and a toxic environment for faculty who are people of color. “The work that we do is not valued as much as work that other faculty do,” Jennifer Ho said. Jennifer Ho was the associate director of the UNC Institute for the Arts and Humanities — until she left in June 2019. “A lot of us were going to leave at a certain point because one, we couldn't get leadership positions, and two, who would want to stay in this climate?” Sharon Holland, chairperson of the Department of American Studies and ​Townsend Ludington distinguished professor, said.

Editors Picks

8/2/2020 7:23pm

Screenshot from the virtually held Commission on Campus Equality and Student Equity meeting regarding UNC's fall reopening on Thursday, July 16, 2020.

UNC student commission resolution: ‘All courses must be offered virtually'

By Maddie Ellis

The Commission on Campus Equality and Student Equity's resolution calls for full remote instruction and limitations on the number of students living on campus. The resolution came in response to the concerns students and Chapel Hill residents have expressed regarding UNC's reopening plans. “The only way we can make sure that everyone is safe, and everyone has access to an equitable education experience, is by offering all courses virtually and de-densifiying our dorms,” said Chairperson Lamar Richards. 

7/13/2020 1:00am

UNC Board of Governors Racial Equity Task Force chair Darrel Allison speaks at the virtual meeting on Thursday, July 9, 2020.

UNC Board of Governors' Racial Equity Task Force outlines work ahead at first meeting

By Brian Keyes

The UNC Board of Governors Racial Equity Task Force met for the first time Thursday to outline the group's mission and the work it plans to do over the next several months.  The task force will focus on three key areas: equity in student recruitment, enrollment and success outcomes, recruiting and retaining "diverse and equity minded practitioners and leaders" and creating safe and inclusive campuses. 

7/7/2020 9:50pm

Hamilton Hall, home to many Social Justice classes, pictured on Sunday, June 7, 2020.

UNC professor accused of ignoring students of color's concerns over role-playing class

By Sara Raja

A UNC sociology professor is under fire for the use of role-playing pedagogy in his classroom after a student went public with allegations that he created an unsafe learning environment for students of color within his Social and Economic Justice class last semester.  The student also said she felt her issues with the class were at times “blatantly ignored and unaddressed” and that the professor didn’t initiate conversations regarding her and other students’ concerns about how the class addressed issues of race.

7/1/2020 9:48pm

Students in Evanston, IL joined countless other cities around the nation in support of the Black Lives Matter movement by protesting against the killing of George Floyd and other recent tragedies on Sunday, May 31, 2020.

Column: We just changed our social media policy. Here’s why.

By Anna Pogarcic

"We need to do better, and as a student newspaper that claims to train the next generation of journalists, that change has to start with us. So, we’re changing our social media and conflict of interest policies to remove barriers that prevented our staffers from expressing themselves, as a recognition that our identities can enrich our reporting."

6/23/2020 10:03pm

Screenshot of the Faculty Executive Meeting on Monday, June 22, 2020, where there was discussion on racial equity in the upcoming school year.

Faculty Executive Committee discusses fall semester, racial injustice at UNC

By Rachel Crumpler

Two UNC professors presented a roadmap for racial equity that has been in development for over a year at Monday's Faculty Executive meeting.  The roadmap calls for sustained actions over the course of three years, including renaming campus buildings in an inclusive process, establishing faculty advisory groups on racial equity and holding an annual UNC Board of Trustees meeting with Black and Indigenous faculty, and faculty of color. 

6/15/2020 8:58am

Graphic of Heel Talk podcast

Heel Talk episode 10: UNC leaders discuss racial equity plans for the 2020-21 school year

By Evely Forte and Meredith Radford

In this episode, host Evely Forte spoke to incoming senior class president Chris Suggs; incoming Black Student Movement president Tamiya Troy; Multicultural Affairs and Diversity Outreach committee co-chairpersons Chaz Crosby and Maya Logan; and Interim Chief Diversity Officer Sibby Anderson-Thompkins, to better understand what impact the movement, against police brutality and for racial equity, will have on the upcoming semester.