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Saint Louis University

Undergraduate School

Mailing Address
1 N Grand Blvd
St. Louis, Missouri 63103
Phone
(800) 758-3678
Email address
admission@slu.edu
School Information
"Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic universities. SLU, which also has a campus in Madrid, Spain, is recognized for world-class academics, life-changing research, compassionate health care, and a strong commitment to faith and service." The university enrolls over 12,800 students, has over 2,300 faculty, and offers 180 academic programs across its 14 schools. (Source: https://www.slu.edu/about/index.php) (Source: https://www.slu.edu/about/key-facts/index.php)
General Information
Update May 2021: in order to attain a Bachelor's of Arts or a Bachelor's of Science, all undergraduates are required to complete 6 credit hours (2 courses) in Cultural Diversity. See below for details. Media reports in May 2021 indicate that Saint Louis University has ended its American Studies degree program, but no confirmation is yet available. The university created a Bachelor's in African American Studies as a full degree program in May 2021. Saint Louis University invested significant financial resources to promote the study of anti-racism. The university invested $1.7 million into its new “Institute for Healing, Justice and Equity”. Further updates are to be expected, as the center opens and continues its work. See developments below:

Actions Taken

Admissions Policies
  • Moved to a test optional admission process for all undergraduate students as part of a three-year pilot program (as part of its expanded diversity efforts).
  • Black Alumni Association at SLU "assists the University in its recruitment and retention efforts of minority students, helping to create a student population that is racially and ethnically diverse."
Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
  • Mandated all Vice-Presidents and Deans participate in Crossroads Anti-Bias, AntiRacist Education workshop.
  • The Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity at SLU offers "trainings on the equal opportunity and harassment policies, as well as programs on diversity and inclusion."
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • Students must complete one three-hour course from the Diversity in the U.S. list and one three-hour course from the Global Citizenship list.
  • SLU states the following regarding diversity-related majors and minors: "At SLU, many academic departments and programs offer courses that fulfill U.S. and global diversity requirements. Additionally, we offer a number of undergraduate majors and minors, as well as graduate programs, in the areas of diversity, social justice, multicultural learning and service leadership..."
  • SLU describes its "Global and Local Social Justice, Minor" as follows: "In order to address fundamental social problems such as poverty, injustice or war meaningfully, students must understand the social and political systems that contribute to them causally and the cultural environments in which they occur." (2022-2023 Catalog)
Disciplinary Measures
  • The Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity outlines its "Bias-Related Incident Protocol" in order to "provide a caring, effective, and uniform response to any member of the SLU community who reports a hate crime or bias-related incident, or who is the victim of a hate crime or bias-related incident."
Political Actions and Support for Anti-Racism
  • As part of "Events Planned to Commemorate Occupy SLU Anniversary," the university is having a "So You Think You're An Activist: Activism 101" event, where participants will "learn how to commit to anti-racism efforts, be comfortable in your discomfort, and amplify your voice and those of others."
Program and Research Funding
  • University invested $1.7 million into the “Institute for Healing Justice and Equity”.
  • SLU’s Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship is an "academic award offered to students who have demonstrated leadership as agents of change or influence within their school and/or community activities."
  • The "Pioneers of Inclusion Scholarship" at SLU supports "...high-achieving, first-generation college student[s] from a historically underrepresented population in U.S. higher education."
  • The mission of SLU's Cross Cultural Center for Global Citizenship is "to promote multicultural awareness and education, provide support services to historically underrepresented and marginalized student populations and help you develop into a critically reflective and socially just leader."
Resources
  • The Department of Campus Ministry curated "Prayer Resources Addressing Racism," which include Ibram X. Kendi's "How to Be an Antiracist" and Robin DiAngelo's "White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism."
  • The university's Cross Cultural Center provides "co-curricular and educational experiences that broaden knowledge of multiculturalism and social justice." It's been described by its director as "a consulting and programmatic space focused on fostering diversity, equity and inclusion on campus."
  • The university's Division of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement provided a "Defining DEI" guide that contains "definitions of common terms around diversity, equity and inclusion."
  • The university held a "virtual symposium entitled 'Reimagining Public Health in a Post-Pandemic Era'" that accepted submissions on "Fostering a social justice and anti-racist lens for public health" (among other topics).
  • In 2021, SLU published an article titled "Missourians Disagree with Allowing the Teaching of Critical Race Theory, but Remain Unsure About Teaching Institutional Racism." The article summarizes the poll's findings as follows: "In the SLU/YouGov Poll we asked half of our sample of Missouri’s likely voters if they agree schools should be allowed to teach CRT. 51% of likely voters indicated they disagree when explicitly asked about teaching CRT, 37% indicated agreement, and 12% indicated they are unsure (margin of error ± 5.8%). We asked the other half of respondents if they agree schools should be allowed to teach about societal and institutional racism. 48% of likely voters indicated agreement, 38% indicated disagreement, and 14% indicated they were unsure (margin of error ± 6.0%)."
  • #OccupySLU "emphasizes the racial and economic injustices of marginalized and brutalized human being and communities, which, in turn, brought awareness about people, especially Black human beings, who wouldn’t otherwise be recognized by others that are living under far different realities — the pain and social ills that were at the center of the protesters concerns."
  • SLU has an "Oath of Inclusion" which was created by a student-led initiative. The Oath states, "I will embrace people for the diversity of their identities, creating a community inclusive of race, ethnicity, sex, age, ability, faith, orientation, gender, class and ideology" and "I will work for social justice in the Saint Louis community and beyond." (It is not clear whether or not this oath is required of all students at SLU.)
  • The College for Public Health and Social Justice at SLU is a "mission-driven academic community where teaching, research and service foster the growth of a more just and equitable society at home and around the world."
Symbolic Actions
  • Hosted Ibrahim X. Kendi, author of How To Be An Anti-Racist, as keynote speaker for its 2020 Social Justice Lecture.
Last updated August 14th, 2023
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