St. John’s University

The School of Education will, "Develop and implement a plan to consistently examine admission policies to ensure the process is fair and equitable to ensure historically marginalized groups have access and opportunity."

On July 5, 2023, the University released a statement regarding the Supreme Court Ruling on the use of race in admissions. It stated that the University remains "committed to dismantling racism in all areas of University life and conduct. As we have for decades, we will continue to recruit diverse classes of undergraduate and graduate students who understand their role in creating a just world."

The university libraries "will provide three inclusion and anti-racism workshops for library employees during 2021-22 academic year."

St. John's Athletics' Council on Community, Culture and Social Justice (CCCSJ) will implement a, "Year-long educational programming for student-athletes, coaches, administrators and staff."

The Collins College of Professional Studies will, "Promote an antiracism agenda through education and awareness training and action at the individual, Division, and College levels."

The Collins College of Professional Studies will, "Encourage faculty, administrator, staff, and student leader participation in antiracism and social justice themed workshops, trainings, restorative dialogues, and symposia" and "Encourage faculty to integrate racial and social justice concepts into their courses through utilization of lectures, class discussions, guest speakers, and assignments that support a culture of antiracism."

St. Johns hosted a "Show Up & Listen: Anti-Racism Work for Non-Black Admins" training exclusively for White admin. The university justified such training by saying: "Time has long since passed when being non-racist was acceptable. After 400+ years of racial oppression, it's time to unpack our privileges and ask ourselves—how am I actively anti-racist? This question is even more important as educators of young minds. How do I create equity at my institution? How do I demonstrate myself, my department, and my institution as allies of social justice and the Black community? Now's the time to evolve our allyship beyond hashtags."

On April 21, 2021, St. John's hosted a teach-in titled "The History, Legacy, and Impact of Anti-Asian Violence", and on February 25, 2021, the university hosted a teach-in titled "Antiracism: An Interfaith Response to Oppression".

The Equity and Inclusion Certificate Program consists of training "modules that explore foundational concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as workshops focused on understanding implicit bias and microaggressions." 

The Diversity Peer Education Program is "dedicated to creating an inclusive campus environment by spreading cultural awareness and sensitivity while promoting diversity and social justice at St. John’s University." There are three levels of social justice training courses that increase levels of "self-awareness, social justice knowledge, and skill." The courses focus on power, privilege, implicit bias, and microaggressions. The program equips Student Equity Workshop (SEW) Leaders, who are trained undergraduate students, to facilitate the courses.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force will, "Examine curricula, including course content, syllabi, and resources, and implement a plan to educate students on issues of social justice and implications within their respective fields of study."

The School of Education will, "Identify resources and develop protocols to support faculty to ensure syllabi, assessments, and other materials are antiracist" and "Examine curriculum (e.g., course content, syllabi, and resources) and implement a plan to educate students on issues of social justice and implications within their respective fields of study."

The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences' Committee on Equity and Inclusion will, "collaborate with the College’s Curriculum, Co-curricular, and Inter-professional Committees and departmental GERC committees to develop pertinent programming regarding antiracism, equity, inclusion and belonging."

A Social Justice requirement is included in the core curriculum. Students can choose a class that covers "topics such as power, inequality, intersectionality, marginality, difference, and identity." Available classes include "CRES 1000: Critical Race and Ethnic Studies," "HIS 1505: Struggles for Social Justice," and "SOC 1170: Inequality; Race, Class and Gender" among others.

University opened an investigation of a professor at the request of student activist demands. Professor asked class to weigh the pros and cons of slavery.

The Respond and Partner to Engage our Community Team (RESPECT) is the University’s "bias response team." The team provides "direct support to any individual impacted by prejudice-based aggression" and "assistance with reporting bias, guidance through the investigative process, and access to safety and support resources."

The Tobin College of Business Equity and Inclusion Task force announced, "All Departments have been asked to identify a designated DEI Advocate on each of their P&B committees/search committees to complete DEI training."

The university called on "the leadership of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and Faculty Association (FA) to represent their faculty in affirming their commitment to creating an antiracist community and commit to partnering with us in implementing needed changes, including those that will allow for more historically underrepresented faculty to be involved in faculty hiring and promotion processes, requiring faculty professional development focused on anti-oppressive pedagogies and practices, and assistance in holding accountable faculty members who engage in acts of bias."

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force will be, "Incorporating antiracism professional development in the RED evaluation process for all staff and administrators in St. John’s College."

The School of Education will, "Develop and implement a plan to educate faculty and staff on race, power, and privilege." The school also announced, "Short workshops held during Faculty Council meetings to help us better understand racist and antiracist policies, practices, and ideologies, including how to discuss openly and privately about the 'ideal student.'"

St. John's is incorporating antiracism professional development in the RED evaluation process for all staff and administrators in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The University's 2025 Five-Year Plan states, "In developing sector plans, all divisions of the University will use the University's stated commitment to Anti-racism to guide their development." There are several metrics used to implement the plan, such as "Anti-racism sector plans identified by Office of Equity and Inclusion" with "reviews and recommendations" sent to stakeholders.

The Institute for Critical Race and Ethnic Studies is a research institute that seeks to address "the problems caused by systemic racism and the intersecting forms of oppression that accompany it locally, regionally, nationally, and globally." The institute also hosts a "fellowship and internship program" to fund and sponsor "projects that examine the problems caused by systemic racism and the intersecting forms of oppression."

The University offers a Bachelor of Arts in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES), the major requires 15 credits including the classes "Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies," "Methods in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies," and "Anti-Blackness Around the Globe." The major also requires students to choose 18 elective credits focusing on social justice, diversity, and inclusion. There is also an option for a minor in CRES.

The University has a Seed Grant/Venture Capital Fund Program that provides "financial support for projects and programs" that further the mission of the University, especially projects and programs that support... efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion." Projects that are selected will be awarded up to $5,000.

The University’s Cross-disciplinary Grant (CDG) Program provides financial support for projects and programs that "prioritize research that incorporates cross-disciplinary faculty" and are "aligned with the University’s missions." It encourages "the submission of projects and programs that support the University’s efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion." Individual awards may be up to $50,000.

University hosted a "Racial Justice Series" to "normalize conversations about racial equity; to encourage people to explore concepts and issues of racial justice more deeply within their own lives; and to equip people with resources and tools to help them become better informed about racism and antiracism."

The University Libraries created an Anti-Racism Task Force.

The university libraries conducted an, "Inclusive Practices Scan. The University Libraries will assess inclusive practices at St. John’s University as they relate to Collections, Inclusive Culture, Instruction, Online Access, Services."

The university libraries will, "Develop a Collection Development Philosophy, which will inform the creation of a Collection Management Policy with an emphasis on inclusion. As a follow-up to the eBook collection assessment project conducted during the 2020-21 academic year."

The Tobin College of Business has an Equity and Inclusion Task Force.

St. John's Athletics' Council on Community, Culture and Social Justice (CCCSJ) hosted Solidarity Week where "St. John's student-athletes, coaches, administrators and members of the University community will help officially activate the Accept No Hate movement through social media campaigns, virtual activities and by hosting an Athletics Town Hall for discussion on a variety of related topics."

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force will, "Participate in activities, including trainings, workshops, and communities of practice, to understand implicit bias, microaggression, race, power, and privilege that will help advance racial equity."

The School of Education will, "Implement an antiracist standing committee with a diverse group of students, faculty, and staff who will review and evaluate school-wide plans."

The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences' Committee on Equity and Inclusion will "recommend and develop non-academic programs for CPHS faculty, staff and administrators, regarding antiracism and other issues of equity, inclusion and belonging."

St. Johns University's Division of Library and Information Science developed an Advanced Certificate in Social Justice in the Information Sciences.

As part of professional development for staff and administrators, St. John's offers programming such as participation in the Discussion on Social Justice series, as well as external conferences and workshops for academic leaders like the Equity NOW! Webinar series.

In collaboration with the Dean of Libraries, the Libraries Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism Committee (LIDEA) will establish "goals, objectives and an action plan" that support the University Libraries’ commitment to becoming an anti-racist institution in its collections, services, policies, and spaces. The committee "honors the broad definition of diversity which includes race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age and disabled persons with the aim of treating all with kindness, respect and dignity."

St. John's Academic Center for Equity and Inclusion organizes scholarly and pedagogical activities that advance the university's commitment to an inclusive and equitable community. The Center assists with Research and Publication, Literacy and Pedagogy, Institutional Accountability and Recognition, and Collaborative Learning.

St. John's has an Equity and Inclusion Council that "recommends institutional policy and practice changes needed to create an equitable and inclusive learning, teaching, and working environment." It is the result of a merger of the Task Force for Diversity and Inclusion and the President’s Multicultural Advisory Committee.

The Office of International Education has a diversity and inclusion section "geared towards giving students the support and guidance they need to embrace themselves as individuals both at home and abroad."

The Office of Human Resources has an Antiracism Committee, with subcommittees in Education and Development, Policy and Procedure, and HR Climate.

St. Johns University piloted a rubric to review the St. John’s College Academic Fairness Procedure. The rubric was based on the racial equity tools from the Center for Urban Education, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, and changes have been proposed to make the policy more "equitable and accessible" to students.

In the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Department of Communication Studies, Department of English, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, and Institute for Core Studies have antiracism statements.

After the murder of George Floyd, President Gempesaw released a statement expressing solidarity with victims of injustice. He said the university must "commit to doing the work necessary for St. John’s to become an antiracist institution," and that "it is not enough to be 'not racist.' [St. John's] must develop actions, policies and practices that oppose racism, and work to dismantle those which empower racism to persist at St. John’s."

The university's Office of Human Resources has an antiracism statement in which it states that it "strives to model antiracism practices and provide education and training that seeks to end current practices and policies of systemic racism embedded within our University". It also states that its goal is to "apply an antiracist and equity lens in all current and future initiatives".

The University's 2025 Five Year Plan includes mission, equity, and inclusion goals such as a commitment to "develop and implement social justice policies, practices, research, and tools to dismantle barriers to full participation that counter and remove oppression, and that address poverty and exclusion both inside and outside the University."