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Bucknell University

Undergraduate School

Mailing Address
1 Dent Dr,
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837
Phone
(570) 577-2000
Email address
admissions@bucknell.edu
School Information
"We're a life-changing university in central Pennsylvania where liberal arts and professional programs complement each other through the intersection of our three nationally recognized colleges: Arts & Sciences, Engineering and the Freeman College of Management." The university enrolls over 3,700 students, employs over 360 faculty, and offers 65 academic majors. (Source: https://www.bucknell.edu/meet-bucknell) (Source: https://www.bucknell.edu/meet-bucknell/fast-facts)
General Information
Bucknell University is taking multiple steps to implement its initiative to "support diverse communities". Among other actions, the university has created an Anti-Racism fund and is considering the incorporation of "the study of injustice and inequality across the curriculum." No Critical Race Training sessions are yet required of students. See developments below:

Actions Taken

Admissions Policies
  • The "Plan for Bucknell 2025" states that it makes "...efforts to recruit a highly qualified, diverse student body."
Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
  • The "Plan for Bucknell 2025" states that by Fall 2020, "Bucknell will implement a program of ongoing, progressive education for faculty and staff that focuses on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion."
  • The Unherd Series (sponsored by Multicultural Student Services) at Bucknell "provides in-depth social justice training and workshops" and "...comes from the idea that in order to promote equity we must be willing to listen to the voices silenced by oppression and also break away from the mainstream narratives and dualities that keep us from making progress."
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • The university is "committed to incorporating the study of injustice and inequality across the curriculum." It is also considering coursework on the "role of privilege in contemporary society."
  • As part of the College of Arts and Sciences College Core Curriculum Requirements for a Bachelor’s degree, all undergraduate students are required to complete one course in Diversity in the US.
Disciplinary Measures
  • Bucknell's Bias Incident webpage outlines the reporting process and states that "Bias incidents and hate crimes are antithetical to the standards and values of the University, violate University policy (and, in some instances, state and federal law) and will not be tolerated."
Faculty/Staff Requirements
  • Training and reviews will be required of all employees to address "common workplace issues as unconscious bias, search process design and systemic pay disparities."
Program and Research Funding
  • "...an Anti-Racism Fund will support campus-wide anti-racism and anti-bias efforts including but not limited to facilitator training, resource materials, curriculum development, and faculty, staff and student education and programming."
  • A new National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE grant will support the university’s Plan for 2025 strategic goal “among faculty by funding a project to identify and address systemic inequities and advancement barriers related to gender, race, and ethnicity among the University faculty.
  • The Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Gender at Bucknell "supports faculty development, scholarship, interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration on issues of race, ethnicity and gender as well as their intersections with other aspects of difference (for example, class, sexuality and nationality)."
  • The T.E.A.M. Peer Mentoring Program at Bucknell is a "yearlong experience for first-year or transfer students from underrepresented backgrounds" where mentors "build personal connections with first-year or transfer scholars in individual meetings and team-building activities, including interactive group events and topical discussions." 
Resources
  • The president’s senior team, the Operations and Management Group, will include the Associate Provost For Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
  • Bucknell University has the Bison Spectrum, the university’s Diversity and Inclusion Blog that is the hub for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion events.
  • The university has an Anti-Racism resource webpage which includes links to various media on the subject.
  • The "Plan for Bucknell 2025" states that "Bucknell will foster a campus environment that recognizes the impact of power and privilege while addressing historical and emerging barriers to equity and inclusion."
  • Bucknell's "Resources on Race, Racism and Resistance" webpage states, "We provide these curated sources as one means of reflecting on the lived experiences of Black Americans in the 21st century as shaped and constrained by more than four centuries of racial bias and racism in a democratic society."
  • Bucknell announced on November 10, 2020, that it would join (as an inaugural member) the "Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance." The Alliance is a "consortium of more than 50 colleges and universities will share strategies and leverage their resources to make a collective impact on racial equity in higher education."
  • Multicultural Student Services at Bucknell "supports students from racially underrepresented groups and provides cross-cultural learning opportunities for the entire campus community."
Last updated September 15th, 2023
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