The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) is the largest and most academically diverse college at the University of Connecticut.
The College embarked on a strategic planning process during the 2019-2020 academic year which resulted in the development of the CLAS Strategic Plan -- a plan that listed "Climate, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" as the first goal.
To support its commitment to DEI, CLAS provides funding for "scholarship, programming, and/or other initiatives that support ongoing struggles against injustice and oppression."
"The funds can be used to develop a range of work, such as anti-racist research, social justice-focused programming, relationships with minority-serving institutions to facilitate recruitment of graduate students, collaborations that build intersectional perspectives on the academy, and/or initiatives to advance a positive workplace climate. "
By the second year, the number of grants awarded had tripled to 12, for a total of $85,453, and the title of the grant category changed to "Climate, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion." Projects focused on things like identifying when black lives "really do" matter, developing anti-racist policies and strategies, and creating an anti-racist committee at UConn.
In the 2022-2023 academic year, CLAS awarded $80,580 for 11 grants, including for the first time a project specifically focused on the trans community to help measure and understand alleged "academic social injustices" experienced by transgender and "gender expressive" youth. Another project focused on creating more inclusive "histories" of "slavery, freedom and healing."
The most generous year for CLAS grants was 2023-2024 when 14 grants were awarded for a total of $89,832, including a JEDI (Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion) workshop so that faculty, staff, students, and clinical educators could learn how to better handle their microaggressions.
The current academic year, 2024-2025, included 11 grants for a total of $76,125. One of the grants was for something called a "Theatre of the Oppressed" at UConn. Another grant was aimed at making marine sciences "a more diverse and welcoming workplace." And another was to establish a "Queer Collaborative" at the UConn campus in Stamford.
Over a five-year period, CLAS awarded a total of $366k in grants for DEI initiatives -- and remember, that is just one of the 14 different schools and colleges at UConn.
It's worth mentioning that UConn issued a statement in March after the U.S. Department of Education released a “Dear Colleague letter” to educational institutions with guidance regarding federal laws that prohibit discrimination.
In the statement, UConn said it believes the University is "compliant with the law" and that it "does not encourage segregation."
The University added that while there are "numerous affinity groups on campus and related programming, events, activities, and housing, none are in violation of Title VI provided that, regardless of the affinity group who may be the organizers or audience, the programming, events, activities, and housing are open to anyone — meaning no one is excluded on the basis of race or any other aspect of identity."
Additionally, the University plans on keeping its Office of Diversity and Inclusion open, and argues that the Office's "existence and programming are compliant with the law and consistent with UConn’s overall mission."
You can find the full list of DEI initiatives funded through CLAS grants below, by year.
“UConn Stars (Science, Technology, and Astronomy Recruits) Supplemental Funding”
“The Enduring Impacts of Structural Discrimination on Neighborhood Deterioration”
“The History and Legacies of Disability Institutionalization in the U.S.”
“The Use of Computer Algorithms in the Policing and Criminal Justice System: Exploring Cognitive and Emotional Responses Among Members of the Black Community”
“Fostering Diversity Through a Competitive Multidimensional Diversity Ranking Website”
“'I Left So I Could Fee Whole Again'; Investigating Anti-Black Racism and Misogynoir Through Black Women’s Expatriation and the Implications on Economic Well Being, Physical Health, and Mental Health”
“Transgender Identity: Policy Implications for Lived Experiences”
“An SLHS JEDI Workshop for Faculty, Staff, Students, and Clinical Educators on Managing Microaggressions”
“MCB DEI Event: Dr. B Chad Starks, ‘Be the Messenger’”
“Birthing Black Women’s HIV Stories on the Colombian Pacific Coast Though the Craft of Ancestral Afro-Midwifery”
“Edmundo Desnoes: In and Out of the Cuban Revolution”
“Africana Studies Summer Institute to Advance Equity through Research on Women and Girls of Color”
“Reading in Talking Books: Theories of Race and Reading from Nineteenth-Century America”
“The UConn/Spelman Early Identification Mentorship Program”
“The Trans and Non-binary School-based Discrimination Scale – Validating a Community-derived Measure To Understand Academic Social Injustices of Gender Expressive Youth”
“Supporting Underrepresented Groups in Geographic Information Science”
“Inclusive Histories of Slavery, Freedom, and Healing”
“Investigating Experiences of Marginalized Physics Students in Group Work Settings”
“Educators’ Perceptions of Challenges and Competence in Working With Students of Color”
“Resilience: A Workshop for Women Doing Philosophy”
“Making Marine Sciences a More Diverse and Welcoming Workplace: Advancing the Bridge Program and Improving Departmental Climate Through ADVANCEGeo Workshops”
“Chemical Bonds: Building Partnerships To Foster Diversity in the Grad Community in Chemistry”
“Mental Health and Wellness Workshop for Women of Color (WOC) Faculty in CLAS”
“Research and Academic Experiences for Women’s College Students in Physics and Quantum Sciences”
“Research MASTER (Mentoring and Scholarship Training for Emerging Researchers) Program: A Pilot”
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