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Yale University

Undergraduate School

Mailing Address
133 Wall St
New Haven, Connecticut 06511
Phone
(203) 432-4771
School Information
"Since its founding in 1701, Yale has been dedicated to expanding and sharing knowledge, inspiring innovation, and preserving cultural and scientific information for future generations. Yale’s reach is both local and international. It partners with its hometown of New Haven, Connecticut to strengthen the city’s community and economy. And it engages with people and institutions across the globe in the quest to promote cultural understanding, improve the human condition, delve more deeply into the secrets of the universe, and train the next generation of world leaders." The university enrolls over 13,500 students, employs over 4,800 faculty, and offers numerous academic programs across its 17 divisions. (Source: https://www.yale.edu/about-yale) (Source: https://www.yale.edu/about-yale/yale-facts)
General Information
Yale University's president has committed to incorporating issues of race and racism into the academic curriculum, although he did not explain how Yale intends to achieve that. Additionally, the School of Music has taken steps to both implement mandatory anti-racism training, as well as recruit more faculty musicians of color. See developments below:

Actions Taken

Admissions Policies
  • On June 29, 2023, Yale's President issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on race conscious admissions which reads in part as follows: "A whole-person admission review process that takes into account every aspect of an applicant’s background and experiences has enabled colleges and universities to admit the classes they need to realize their missions. Restricting this ability limits universities in opening their doors to students with the widest possible range of experiences. This is a detriment to everyone who benefits from the diversity of our campuses...Despite my strong disagreement with the Court’s decisions, I am committed to the rule of law. In the coming months, deans of admissions and other university leaders will review Yale’s admissions policies to ensure that Yale...[complies] with the law as interpreted by the Supreme Court."
  • The University seeks to attract "underrepresented minority students by expanding pipeline and pathway programs."
  • Several updates have been made to Yale's admissions process, "including extensive new training for admissions officers on how to evaluate applications without access to a student’s self-identified race."
  • In the 2023-2024 school year, new essay prompts were introduced to applications following the Affirmative Action ruling by the Supreme Court. Now, "students can write about a time they discussed an important issue with someone holding an opposing view, reflect on their membership in a community or describe an enriching element of their personal experience." The University had previously stated, “We still want to be attracting students from underrepresented backgrounds to Yale, even if the law around how we consider them in the process has changed.”
  • On August 30, 2024, Yale Daily News reported that after the Supreme Court decision, “the University revised its admissions process so that while prospective students can still self-report race and ethnicity on the Common Application,” it will not be considered for admissions decisions and only used to consider programs after acceptance and for reporting.
  • On August 30, 2024, Yale Daily News reported that the school has a “test-flexible” policy for ACT and SAT scores.
Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
  • School of Music will be implementing mandatory anti-racism training.
  • Incoming students watch a "video on discrimination and harassment resources" while graduate students are "trained on implicit bias awareness."
  • The University plans to develop "online educational programs on antiracism, implicit bias, bystander intervention, and other topics and skills" for students, faculty, and staff.
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • University president said that the university will take steps to further incorporate issues of race and racism into the academic curriculum.
  • Under the "Belonging at Yale, 2021-2026" program, the University plans on "expanding the number of courses that examine race and antiracism issues."
  • In 2021, the University announced that "each school and administrative division is developing a five-year action plan to support and enhance diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and belonging." Furthermore, "all units will address professional development, education, and training in areas relevant to DEI and belonging." The plans were due in September 2021.
  • The University has an "Ethnicity, Race, and Migration" major. Students in the major must take "twelve term courses in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration," which includes "ER&M 200, an introductory course on the issues and disciplines involved in the study of ethnicity, race, and migration" and "ER&M 300, a seminar that introduces majors to scholarship in ethnic studies, postcolonial studies, and cultural studies."
Disciplinary Measures
  • Yale's Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility provides a form to report "discrimination, harassment, and retaliation."
Faculty/Staff Requirements
  • The University's IT department required "all ITS managers and ITS staff... to complete the online Unconscious Bias Foundations training."
  • The University's Faculty search committees are expected to designate at least one person "as the Diversity Representative" however, "all members should have assignments to support inclusive practices." Furthermore, the search process mandates the committee "[discusses] diversity and inclusion at the beginning of - and throughout - the search process" and that committee members "attend a workshop on running an inclusive search."
Program and Research Funding
  • “Faculty Resource Fund” created to engage more musicians of color.
  • According to the "Belonging at Yale, 2021-2026" plan, the University seeks to "enhance diversity, support equity, and promote an environment of welcome, inclusion, and respect." The following activities would be "prioritized" for funding: "Sponsor educational programs and events on issues of racism, including historical context, contemporary systemic racism and privilege, successful antiracist strategies, and allyship."
  • Students, faculty, and organizations can apply for "Belonging at Yale" grants. The grants must be for "funding for a program, event, or speaker that promotes" diversity, equity, and inclusion such as, "contributing to anti-racism efforts," "increasing the diversity of the Yale community," or "educating the community about challenges to inclusion on campus and in society." Grants may be up to $2000.
  • There is a "Faculty Fellows program" for scholars "from the Yale community whose work centers on race, and/or indigeneity, and/or transnational migration."
  • In 2019, the Faculty Excellence and Diversity Initiative was extended and granted an $85 million budget to "[promote] faculty excellence, diversity, and inclusion across campus."
  • On August 30, 2024, it was reported by Yale Daily News that “Yale launched the Office for Educational Opportunity, created to support first-generation, low-income students through new programs to promote diversity and belonging at Yale” after the Supreme Court ruling.
Re-Imagining Policing
  • Under the "Belonging at Yale, 2021-2026" plan, the University seeks to "enhance diversity, support equity, and promote an environment of welcome, inclusion, and respect" which includes studying and revising "the model for public safety at Yale, with particular focus on policing."
  • The Yale Police Department "added programs to enhance mandatory implicit-bias and de-escalation training for officers." This training is also required for "Ongoing Sworn Officers."
Resources
  • On March 11, 2022, the Yale Department of Classics held an anti-racism reading group.
  • Yale School of Management has a new course on the “past and present of race, money, and equity in America.”
  • On January 27, 2023, NPR interviewed Phillip Atiba Goff, CEO of the Center for Policing Equity, chair of African American Studies and psychology professor at Yale University, in an article titled "In Memphis, people call for police reform after Tyre Nichols' killing." Mr. Goff stated, "in Ithaca - in Tompkins County, N.Y., in Saint Louis, Mo., in Berkeley, Calif., we're very happy to have encouraged local leaders to end low-level traffic enforcement by law enforcement and to stop sending police when there's a nonfatal accident."
  • Yale's West Campus published its "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Action Plan 2022-2026" which includes the following initiatives: "Build on community dialogue sessions by convening regular planning meetings of the West Campus-wide Anti-Racism Working Group and "Host biannual gatherings led by the YWC Anti-Racism Working group to solicit ideas for events that bring the West Campus community together to celebrate diversity."
  • On June 15, 2020, Yale News published an article entitled "It’s never too early to talk with children about race" which poses the following question: "How should parents — white parents in particular — address issues of race and racism with their children?" According to Yarrow Dunham, assistant professor of psychology at Yale and director of the Social Cognitive Development Lab, "Many white parents are very uncomfortable talking about race. As a consequence, they do not put in the work to support the emergence of a structural or justice-minded understanding of racial disparities and of racism more generally. As white parents, we have an obligation to put in this work.”
  • On March 1, 2024, The College Fix reported in an article that Yale employs "roughly one administrator per undergrad, according to a College Fix analysis." The analysis shows that "[as] the university embraced new DEI efforts, the number of administrators and support staff increased by 13 percent, from 4,942 to 5,573, between 2013-14 and 2021-22." The article also reported that "the campus continued to grow DEI efforts after the university pledged $135 million for a diversity initiative in 2020 and moved forward with implementing DEI offices in schools across the campus in 2022."
  • The Office of International Students and Scholars provides a resource guide on "Navigating U.S. Social Justice Discourse."
  • There is an antiracism resource guide, which states "addressing structural racism, particularly anti-Black racism, is an urgent national need."
  • Between September 18 - October 2 of 2024, the Yale Divinity School hosted a series titled "Unmasking Racism in Anti-Racism Education: Youth Ministry with Rev. Dr. Jia Starr Brown" which is described as follows: "Despite ongoing anti-racism efforts in our nation racism continues to flourish. If most Americans align with a faith or tradition that upholds values of justice and equity why are we still 'here' in this static space? Join us for three sessions as we answer this question by journeying back to our roots: digging up the racism that is embedded in our existing anti-racism frameworks." 
Symbolic Actions
  • The University renamed "Calhoun College," which is one of its twelve undergraduate residential colleges. With the change, Yale's President stated, "The decision to change a college’s name is not one we take lightly, but John C. Calhoun’s legacy as a white supremacist and a national leader who passionately promoted slavery as a ‘positive good’ fundamentally conflicts with Yale’s mission and values.”
Last updated November 1st, 2024
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