Skidmore College

The Human Resources department states that "as a matter of policy," Skidmore would "work actively to increase the diversity of our community" and "address imbalances in both student and employee populations and meet our diversity-related objectives by recruiting the best candidates from as broad a pool as possible." Additionally, the department states, "we must reaffirm our commitment to increasing representation from specific targeted populations, especially persons of color, those who bring international perspectives and other members of underrepresented groups."

In April 2023, the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid hosted the "Discovery Tour" program which was created for underrepresented students "to acquaint themselves with the College’s academic and cocurricular offerings, campus intercultural life, and Saratoga Springs." Both enrolled and undecided students (underrepresented) were welcomed to attend the program.

As part of the "Skidmore Racial Justice Teaching Challenge," college faculty have been tasked to "devote a significant portion of the educational content in their courses to focusing on (a) the lives and experiences of Black folks in North America and/or the African diaspora, or (b) substantive engagement with issues of race and racism." (Spring 2023 departmental Racial Justice courses are listed.)

Skidmore outlines its bias reporting protocol and states that a "bias incident can occur whether the act is intentional or unintentional," and that "[s]peech or expression that is consistent with the principles of academic freedom does not constitute a bias incident."

Much of the president’s discretionary fund allocated towards speaking event on anti-racism, as well as student and faculty projects on the topic.

One of the aims of the college’s Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning is to "center diversity and inclusion principles as integral to best teaching practices."

As part of Skidmore's Racial Justice Teaching Challenge, the Center for Leadership, Teaching and Learning offers a "stipend of $1,000 to faculty who develop a new course for Black Studies in AY 2022-23 and AY 2023-24."

The Center for Leadership, Teaching and Learning hosts the Mellon Grant Faculty Student Summer Research Collaboration Program which is a "competitive grant program that supports or employs anti-racist inquiry broadly, and/or Black Studies methods and pedagogies specifically, funded by the Mellon Foundation."

Faculty and staff receive training on “anti-racism in a college environment.”

Annual “In it 5” series will have workshops featuring social justice experts, educators and activists, film screenings, facilitated dialogues and an interactive bias response case study.

An "organizing group – which includes the Skidmore Black Studies program, MLK Saratoga, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at SUNY Empire and the Saratoga Educational Equity Network" hosted "a series of virtual forums focused on critical race theory in an attempt to counter the use of the theory as a tool of political division," according to media reports.

In an Associate Director of Counseling and Inclusion job listing in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the college said that candidates are required to have, "Knowledge of racial and ethnic identity development, social justice, race-related disparities in access to healthcare, and strategies for promoting equity and inclusivity in a higher education environment."

Skidmore has provided a 2023-2024 update on its Racial Justice Initiative which outlines various programs that expand on the college's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Skidmore is an "institutional" member of the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity which provides various resources and tools for faculty.

The Office of Student Diversity Programs at Skidmore "advises and facilitates diversity-focused student organizations and collaborates with academic and other departmental programs concerned with diversity and inclusion."

Skidmore offers a minor in Intergroup Relations which is a "nationally recognized academic, credit-bearing social-justice program that originated at the University of Michigan in 1988 as a means of addressing racial tension."

The First-Year Experience program’s summer reading committee "chose award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi’s 'How to be an Antiracist' as the Class of 2025’s summer reading."