COLLEGE-WIDE INITIATIVE ON
ANTI-RACISM
ANTI-RACISM INITIATIVE
Meredith College is working to foster an inclusive and pluralistic campus environment where all are welcomed into our living, learning, and working community. In our policies and our practices, we recognize differences and acknowledge that these differences are valued assets that enrich our community.
The anti-racism initiative reflects our commitment to strength, integrity, and the power of education to bring about real and lasting change across Meredith’s campus, especially for BIPOC members of our community and others who have not always felt seen or heard.
The College is actively addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in all departments and administrative processes. Our work is ongoing, action-oriented, transparent, and root-focused. Guided by our foundational values, we cultivate a spirit of openness and inquiry and respect a range of perspectives and voices.
ACTION STEPS
Action 1: Develop Action Plan
Develop an action plan informed by our history and the current student experience.
Action 2: Review and Enhance Policies
Review and change policies that promote or enhance systemic racism.
Action 3: Understand Our History
Work to understand our history and any connections to systemic racism.
NEWS
In the summer of 2020, Meredith College launched a College-wide Initiative on Anti-Racism, which is focused on making Meredith more inclusive and welcoming in the present while also leading efforts to understand the realities of the College’s history. On April 6, 2022, the College announced a plan to rename Joyner Hall academic building as part of this effort.
On March 4, 2022, Meredith College’s Weems Gallery hosted a closing reception for featured artist, Alexandria Clay.
Michael Williams and Alexandria Clay discuss her series ‘I Carry Them On My Back, Of Course!,’ and its portrayal of Black matriarchs and safe spaces.
One of the most visible outcomes of the campus climate survey conducted at Meredith during the last academic year is the creation of a full-time diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) coordinator position. Hired following an inclusive national search process, Liliana Madrid started in the newly-created role of Coordinator and Special Assistant to the President for DEI on Monday, January 24, 2022.
A teacher symposium and an education study group are two examples of ways Meredith’s Department of Education has supported anti-racism efforts this academic year.
The search committee for the Coordinator of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has recently completed finalist interviews. The search, aided by Academic Search, a nationally known, top-rated search firm, generated about 60 applications from experts in higher education, business, not-for-profit, and civic organizations.
CAMPUS PARTNERS
Meredith College values diversity in all its forms and recognizes the richness that those diversities create within our learning environment.
