Project Goals

 

 This project proposes to conduct an advocacy campaign in support of the reinstitution of the Africana Studies Program and will focus on holding meetings with the various teams and stakeholders and conducting workshops for the lead team on reinstituting the Africana Studies Program. The two “Town Hall” meetings will give faculty, students, staff as well as the Kalamazoo community the opportunity to voice their view points about the suspension of the Africana Studies Program and their reasons why this program is needed. These public conversations will in turn lead to change in diversity, equity, and inclusion at WMU by bringing a public awareness to the issue and to garner support in advancing WMU’s diversity agenda. Findings of the project will be widely disseminated to the University leaders through appropriate department channels as well as through “Town Hall’ meetings and Diversity Excellence Events. This project will campaign for the reinstitution of the suspended Africana Studies Program. As college graduates face an increasingly globalized world, it is imperative that WMU, as an institution of higher education consider the implementation of multicultural instruction. One of WMU’s diversity and inclusion pillars is that “As a public university, WMU provides leadership in teaching, research, learning, and service, and is committed to enhancing the future of our global citizenry”. This project aims to support the reinstitution of the Africana Studies Program as well as support Campus Climate Report recommendations #5 (Worthington, 2013, p.12) which are hoped to help promote a sense of multicultural awareness and understanding that will reflect the diversity of the WMU population.