Pitzer College

The Preview Pitzer Program at Pitzer College is a "pre-application program designed for high school seniors attending school in the United States that are either first-generation college students and/or from underrepresented cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds."

Pitzer's Diversity Committee "assist[s] in the process of attracting minority students to the College."

On June 29, 2023, Pitzer officials issued a statement in response to the "U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Affirmative Action and College Admissions" which reads in part as follows: "As disruptive and disappointing as these rulings are, they are not a surprise. The Court had already demonstrated its willingness to undo decades of legal precedent. Today’s rulings on affirmative action broadly conform to what most observers of higher education admissions had been anticipating, and Pitzer has been consulting with industry organizations and legal counsel as we prepare to continue to advance our educational mission in the context of this new legal framework."

The college announced "funding in support of student art, music, performance, community engagement, organizing, and thesis research that align with the RJI mission. Students whose current/ongoing projects focus on racial justice–for example, the Black diaspora, criminalization, racial bias, anti-racism, racialized violence, policing, police violence, abolition, and social movements, among others–are encouraged to apply. Successful applicants will receive stipends of $500 for fall 2020."

"Centers and programs within academic affairs are eligible for awards ranging from $500 to $3000 for projects related to the Racial Justice Initiative. Funding preference will be given to proposals that create strategic programming across the work of multiple centers or programs, including the Writing Center, Justice Education, CASA Pitzer, CEC, IGLAS, Galleries, Study Abroad, and the Robert Redford Conservancy."

The Racial Justice Initiative announced it would be funding $2000 per project with there being 5 Student Racial Justice Projects in spring 2022.

The Racial Justice Initiative announced "funding in support of co-curriculum programs that align with the RJI mission. Proposals for programs, trainings, and workshops on racial justice—for example, the Black diaspora, criminalization, racial bias, racialized violence, policing, police violence, abolition, and social movements, among others."

"...we sent out a call for faculty to revise an existing course or develop a new one related to the themes of President Melvin Oliver’s Racial Justice Initiative (RJI). We are happy to announce that RJI funded 32 courses. A listing of these course is available at the RJI webpage."

The college has also provided anti-racism resources and optional training materials to members of its community.

On November 3, 2023, Pitzer announced its new Digital Media faculty member, Andrea Acosta, who is a "critical race scholar with training in literature and media studies" and "combines digital media studies and theory with her background in literary analysis to ask questions about race, inequality, and power in the digital era."

Pitzer's Diversity Committee "seeks to implement the College’s commitments to expanded racial and ethnic diversity...and to better representation [sic] of minority concerns in the curriculum." The committee also assists in "promoting increased curricular attention to minority issues...."

Pitzer's Fall 2023 course offerings included "Race and Ethnic Relations with Jessica Kizer" which is described as follows: "Together we will survey U.S. racial and ethnic dynamics from a sociological perspective and develop a structural understanding of racism. Moreover, we will develop a racial vocabulary to help us have more productive understandings and conversations about race and ethnicity."

On September 12, 2023, Pitzer's Munroe Center for Social Inquiry presented a lecture titled "The Reparative Conjuncture” featuring guest speaker Jovan Scott Lewis. The lecture's description reads in part as follows: "Our societal present is shaped by the insurgent recognition of antiblackness following the murder of George Floyd. This moment qualifies as a reparative conjuncture where reparations are as feasible as ever."