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Hampshire College

Undergraduate School

Mailing Address
893 West St
Amherst, Massachusetts 01002
Phone
(413) 549-4600
Email address
admissions@hampshire.edu
School Information
"Hampshire opened in 1970, created when presidents of four distinguished New England colleges sought a home for bold, influential—even radical—ideas in higher education. "The Result: At Hampshire, your education focuses on personalized, independent work, close collaboration with faculty, and hands-on experience through study abroad, short-term field studies, internships, volunteer work, advanced independent projects, and much more. Advancing through three levels, or Divisions, students explore freely and widely across Hampshire's five interdisciplinary Schools. To graduate, every student, with faculty advice and guidance, devises an individual program in which he or she attempts to ask, and answer, a question perhaps never before posed. There is no other undergraduate college that approaches learning this way. "Five College Consortium: Beyond Hampshire's own substantial academic resources, students draw on those of Amherst, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which together form the Five College Consortium. Arguably, no other college in America offers students so much freedom—or so much support." The college enrolls over 740 students, has a student-faculty ratio of 13:1, and offers only one degree, Bachelor of Arts. (Source: https://www.hampshire.edu/discover-hampshire/discover-hampshire-college) (Source: https://www.hampshire.edu/discover-hampshire/hampshire-at-a-glance)
General Information
In response to the BLM protests in 2020, Hampshire College is launching its antiracist "plan of action". The first part of the plan was the creation of the "Inventory of Anti-Racist Education, Actions, and Support Systems", which "compiles a list of concrete steps that staff and faculty across campus are currently taking or planning to implement during this academic year." No mandatory Critical Race Training sessions are yet required of students. However, see developments below:

Actions Taken

Political Actions and Support for Anti-Racism
  • The College hosted a panel discussion, “Becoming an Anti-Racist Institution: Knowledge, Action, and Commitment" as part of their Community Orientation Day in August 2021.
  • The In/Justice Learning Collaborative invited first-year students and faculty to the "Whiteness" seminar "Whiteness," led by Susana Loza and Roosbelinda Cardenas.
Resources
  • The first part of the antiracist action plan was the creation of the "Inventory of Anti-Racist Education, Actions, and Support Systems", which "compiles a list of concrete steps that staff and faculty across campus are currently taking or planning to implement during this academic year."
  • In 2008, the President of the college released a statement on "Action Against Racism," which constituted the beginning of the college's anti-racist initiatives.
Symbolic Actions
  • Hampshire College is launching its antiracist "plan of action".
Last updated July 26th, 2022
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