Penn State University has nixed its grand idea to create a Center for Racial Justice, two years after proposing the center as an endeavor to boost diversity efforts and “challenge racism.”
In a press release Wednesday, the university said it would be “enhancing” current diversity, equity, and inclusion programs rather than starting a new project.
“There is remarkable [diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging] scholarship and practice underway by current faculty, staff, and students across the University, and we remain deeply committed to continuing to build on the foundation of scholarly research and programming around racism and racial bias at Penn State,” newly installed university president Neeli Bendapudi said in the release. “I have determined that enhancing support for current efforts by people who know Penn State best will be more impactful than investing in a new venture, and so we will not pursue efforts to launch a Center for Racial Justice.”
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According to the press release, Bendapudi decided to ditch the center after speaking with the university community and realizing that the school already has organizations in place that focus on racial equity.
“There is so much potential at Penn State for us to expand, connect, and invest in the work of our faculty experts and existing networks in a way that grows our impact and standing as an institution in this scholarly discipline,” Bendapudi was quoted as saying.
Particularly, the university said it wants to direct its resources toward the school’s Center for Education and Civil Rights, which focuses on equity within education; Rock Ethics Institute, a research center that covers a wide variety of issues; and Africana Research Center, which teaches the legacy of the African Diaspora. (In a phone call to the Africana Research Center, the administrator told The Daily Beast that she was unaware of the university’s altered diversity plan.)
The initial proposal for the Center for Racial Justice was announced after the anti-racism protests rattled the country following George Floyd’s death in the summer of 2020.
“In the wake of senseless tragedies this past year, we saw with clarity the ongoing challenges of racism, bias, and community safety that persist in our nation,” then Penn State president Eric J. Barron said in a February 2021 statement. “The sobering acknowledgment of work to be done across the country drove urgent calls for action. Though we have made great strides in creating a more diverse and welcoming University community, we know that additional efforts are necessary.”
Plans for the center were released in November 2021. In a press release, the university claimed it would “be dedicated to research and scholarship around racism and racial bias.”
By March 2022, Penn State began a search for a founding director to lead the program, and said that the center would be partnered with the school’s Social Science Research Institute “to enable researchers to draw from the expertise in Penn State’s interdisciplinary institutes and to engage in collaboration across multiple departments and disciplines.”
However, that all went to dust Wednesday. Now, the university plans to appoint an adviser to lead its not-new-but-allegedly-improved diversity initiative in November.
“While Penn State is not pursuing efforts to develop [the Center for Racial Justice], we remain deeply committed to continuing to build on the foundation of scholarly research and programming around racism and racial bias at Penn State,” Penn State strategic communications senior director Lisa Powers told The Daily Beast on Thursday.
Powers added that it was not an easy decision for the administration, but ultimately they realized “that enhancing support for current [diversity] efforts—including programs, initiatives, and research—will be more impactful in moving the [diversity] needle at Penn State than investing in a new venture.”
