IUPUI Black Studies Program Gets $499,000 for Expansion
(Originally published August 11, 2006)
INDIANAPOLIS - Some universities are downsizing their Black studies programs. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis is among those bucking that trend.
The African American and African Diaspora Studies program at IUPUI, an urban research university of 29,900 students - including 2,800 African Americans, will hire three new faculty members, increase its undergraduate scholarship program and broaden its community engagement activities.
"We are not going to pull back, we are going to expand," said Professor Edward Curtis, a member of the steering committee guiding the "Enhancing Diversity through Public Scholars" project.
A $499,000 grant from Indiana University Commitment to Excellence funds is financing the expansion project which is a collaborative effort of the School of Liberal Arts, the School of Education, and the Office of Student Life and Diversity at IUPUI.
"The grant seeks to change the face of diversity at IUPUI by hiring more faculty in black studies, funding more undergraduate students who take black studies courses, and expanding our connections to African Americans in central Indiana," Curtis said.
The expansion is considered a bold and creative answer to IUPUI Chancellor Charles R. Bantz's call to use CTE funds in the realization of IUPUI's strategic goals of retaining under-represented faculty, retaining and recruiting more students of color, and contributing to IUPUI's success in civic engagement and undergraduate research.
"By strengthening our program in African American and African Diaspora Studies, we enhance the diversity of our learning environment. The result is a better prepared student," said School of Liberal Arts Dean Robert White.
Three new, tenure-track faculty positions are to be filed by July 2007:
Public Scholar in African American Studies and Undergraduate Research. Primary responsibility is to develop a cohort of undergraduate African American and other students to engage in meaningful undergraduate research.
Public Scholar in African American History and Museum Studies. Primary responsibility is to craft sustainable partnerships with area museums and cultural institutions and to involve students in those collaborations.
Public Scholar in African American Studies and Civic Engagement. Responsibilities include building partnerships with and involving students in partnerships with institutions at the center of African American life, including African American businesses, religious institutions, media outlets, etc.
In addition to appointing new faculty, the AAADS department in 2008 will:
Establish an African American Studies Scholars program that will award 20 undergraduate students fee remissions for 12 credit hours during their freshman year and a $1,000 fellowship per semester to support work with community partners.
Create a four-week summer internship workshop program for 21 high school students interested in community engagement and African American studies. The workshop will award $950 scholarships to the students who participate.
"The faculty members we recruit will be "Public Scholars' who engage with the community, through area museums, historical societies, and the like," Dean White said. "The internship program and the scholarships associated with the initiative will benefit students in our area and, hopefully, across the Midwest and beyond."
Professor Monroe Little, director of the African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADS) program, says IUPUI is on the right track with the expansion of the "triple A-DS" program.
"African American Studies is a growth industry," Little said. "It addresses issues that confront every person in the world in the 21st century, questions of racial and ethnic identity as well as the intersection of race and power in the United States and the world."
Earning the degree can be as rewarding as earning a degree in any other academic field, Little said when asked about career opportunities for those who major in African American studies.
"It's not the degree, it is what the person who has the degree is motivated to do with it," the professor said. "Most people today wind up being in more than one job during their lifetime. Just because you major in journalism doesn't mean you are going to work for a newspaper all of your life . . . What African American studies does is teach you to have a perspective on the world that enables you to thrive and excel in a diverse, fast changing world."
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