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University of Minnesota

Undergraduate School

Mailing Address
Williamson Hall, 240, 231 Pillsbury Dr SE
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
Phone
(612) 625-5000
School Information
"The flagship of the University of Minnesota System, the Twin Cities campus is Minnesota’s only land-grant university and one of the most prestigious public research universities in the nation. Founded in 1851 near Saint Anthony Falls on the banks of the Mississippi River, we are one of five universities in the nation with an engineering school, medical school, law school, veterinary medicine school, and agricultural school all on one campus." The university enrolls over 50,000 students, employs over 20,000 faculty and staff, and offers over 200 graduate/professional programs. (Source: https://twin-cities.umn.edu/about-us) (Source: https://twin-cities.umn.edu/academics-admissions)
General Information
The University of Minnesota has taken steps to distance itself from the Minneapolis Police Department. The university will no longer work with the Minneapolis Police Department for large event security or the K-9 unit. Additionally, as part of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs’ Virtual 2020 Distinguished Carlson Lecture, the university invited Boston University Professor Ibram X. Kendi to give the lecture. No mandatory Critical Race Training sessions are yet required of students. However, see developments below:

Actions Taken

Admissions Policies
  • The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states that it would "Increase recruitment and enrollment of students from marginalized communities, particularly those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color" and "Remove barriers for students during recruitment and the application process, such as application fees and the GRE requirement."
Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
  • The College of Design and the School of Public Affairs are hosting a workshop on April 1, 2022 titled, “Racism Untaught” to identify racialized design and assess anti-racist approaches.
  • In October of 2022, the College of Liberal Arts stated that the "Administrative Leaders Program has been restructured to include an intentional focus on enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion content as part of the curriculum, in addition to ensuring that program materials, discussion questions, and spaces used are accessible and inclusive of various identities."
  • As of October 2022, UM's College of Liberal Arts has "dedicated its November Professional Development Day as one where those who participate should prioritize professional development opportunities that enhance their capacity to advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the college."
  • As of 2023, UM's Office of Equity and Diversity's (OED) Certificate Program is open to faculty, staff and students and includes such courses as; "Addressing Implicit Bias and Microaggressions," "Race, Racism, and White Supremacy," and "My Role in Equity and Diversity Work."
  • The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states that it would "Require annual training for all admissions committee members to include training on unconscious bias and how to conduct a holistic review."
  • The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states that it would "Establish antiracist and other social justice training for student leaders so they can serve as informal support channels for other students."
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • The Minnesota Writing Project at the university has an Anti-Racism in the Classroom Institute where they focus on whiteness in the classroom beyond white privilege and work to help develop anti-racist pedagogy.
  • The University of Minnesota Faculty Senate passed an academic freedom resolution in December of 2021 “to protect the ability of staff and faculty to teach about concepts such as critical race theory (CRT) and gender in the classroom.”
  • The College of Liberal Arts Fall 2022 "Progress Report" states that the College has "embedded community engagement" in its "curriculum" and "launched faculty awards to promote and reward cooperative research projects."
  • In the summer of 2020, UM's School of Public Health partnered with the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) to "design and implement a workshop series to support School of Public Health (SPH) faculty and instructors in developing anti-racist curriculum and pedagogy."
  • The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states that it would "Develop and revise curriculum to prioritize antiracism and health equity knowledge and competencies."
Disciplinary Measures
  • UM's Bias Response and Referral Network (BRRN) "responds to reports of bias incidents on the Twin Cities campus" and refers those "who report incidents to appropriate campus offices that can effectively respond through investigation, educational coaching, or other resources, depending on the nature of the incident."
Faculty/Staff Requirements
  • The University of Minnesota Department of Curriculum and Instruction is seeking an Assistant Professor of Elementary Literacy Education with a commitment to “racial literacy, critical race theory, and anti-racist and anti-oppressive approaches.”
Program and Research Funding
  • Through the $5 million Minnesota Transform program, faculty will assist "Black, Indigenous and immigrant communities to tell stories through digital platforms and public exhibits, revitalize Indigenous languages and write a report on the U's relationship with American Indian tribes
  • The College of Liberal Arts Fall 2022 "Progress Report" highlighted a 2021-2022 $5 million initiative titled "MN Transform: A Just University for Just Futures" which is funded by the Mellon Foundation. The initiative is "collaborating with Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and refugee communities to amplify historical interpretations, create new narratives and dialogues, foster community well-being, and inform policy responses through a variety of public humanities projects."
  • The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states (as part of its research agenda on diversity, equity and inclusion) the following: "Director of DEI and Associate Dean of Research to meet and create a plan to assess SPH’s success in scholarship in DEI and antiracism."
  • UM's College of Liberal Arts' Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender & Sexuality Studies (RIDGS) provides a "recognizable and sustainable hub for rigorous theoretical work and engaged scholarship on diversity, social justice, and inequality." Additionally, RIDGS "brings together faculty to build upon interdisciplinary strengths by fostering intersectional collaborative projects and community engaged research."
  • The Office for Equity and Diversity's "Scholarly Excellence in Equity and Diversity (SEED) Award" program (2023-2024) "honors underrepresented students who are doing outstanding work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Minnesota and in the community." SEED awards range from $3000 to $5000 for one academic year.
Re-Imagining Policing
  • No longer will work with the Minneapolis Police Dept. for large-event security or the K-9 unit.
Resources
  • The Humphrey School of Public Affairs’ Virtual 2020 Distinguished Carlson Lecture will be headlined by Professor Ibram X. Kendi.
  • UMinnesota lecture outlined twelve steps to recover from "whiteness".
  • The Earl E. Bakken Center will present a lecture titled "Anti-Racism Work: Dismantling your Practice", which will "analyze how white supremacy and systemic oppression has influenced our perception of wellness, and emphasize tangible ways to create a practice that serves all of us."
  • The university library offered a guide on "Conducting research through an anti-racism lens" which asks readers to "de-center whiteness" in their research and "acknowledge that scholarly publishing is racist."
  • The university library provides Anti-Racism Reading Lists with numerous quotes, references, and readings from Ibram X. Kendi in addition to books on white fragility, Black Lives Matter resources, as well as a dedicated special section for “anti-racist readings for white people.”
  • The University of Minnesota’s Gopher Equity Project incorporates DEI as an “online module for all undergraduate students” with ongoing discussion groups and suggested books, including several books from Ibram X. Kendi.
  • The College of Liberal Arts' homepage at UM states the following (regarding diversity, equity, & inclusion): "The core values of the College of Liberal Arts include freedom of thought and expression; respect, diversity, and social justice; excellence in all we do; and efficiency and adaptability in the achievement of our mission."
  • On January 11, 2023, the College of Liberal Arts, in partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, offered a one-day professional development event "focused on teaching and learning" and featured "scholars whose foundational knowledge is centered on curricula and pedagogy intersecting with diversity and anti-racism."
  • The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states (as part of its faculty appointment, promotion, and tenure criteria) that it would "Ensure that continuation and promotion dossiers contain section(s) where the faculty member is expected to report on the ways they are contributing to increasing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in SPH."
  • On December 5, 2023, the Daily Wire published an article titled "University Of Minnesota Pushes Critical Race Theory As Public Health With ‘Anti-Racism’ Trainings," which reported that the university's School of Public Health is "instructing students that 'racism' is the combination of 'prejudice' with 'power,' and 'a system of advantages based on race,' rather than simply hatred or prejudice against someone because of their race." According to the article, "[m]edical experts say this illustrates how Critical Race Theory is being injected into the realm of public health, which needlessly politicizes medicine by labeling racial groups as 'oppressors' and 'oppressed'.” 
Symbolic Actions
  • As part of the five-year Strategic Plan for Anti-Racism, the School of Public Health works towards cultural change to becomign an anti-racist school by “accepting that racism exists at a systemic level in our country” and affirming to “commit to learning about racism’s history and its legacy.”
  • On June 4, 2020, the College of Liberal Arts' Anthropology Department stated that, "In fact, the murder of George Floyd is part of a much longer and more pervasive history of racist police violence and other structures of institutionalized racism--in particular anti-black racism--that have led to the murder, exclusion, and dehumanization of so many people of color in the Twin Cities including the police shootings of Jamar Clarke and Philando Castile."
Last updated February 10th, 2024
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