December 1, 2021 – Whitman and LACRELA
Whitman College is part of the Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance (LACRELA). This alliance, initiated last year by DePauw University President Dr. Lori White, began with five colleges and a vision “to collaborate on antiracism work, campus climate research and virtual programming for administrators, faculty and staff members on how to better serve students of color and address systemic racism.”* Through coordination with USC’s Race and Equity Center, LACRELA has grown to include more than 70 institutions and actively works to assist higher education professionals in developing inclusive practices, policies and initiatives to advance racial equity.
As part of our membership with LACRELA, Whitman and several other LACRELA institutions participated in the National Assessment for Collegiate Campus Climates (NACCC) in spring of 2021. More information about Whitman’s NACCC participation and results is forthcoming, but through LACRELA we are able to compare our campus climate outcome data to LACRELA averages (25 institutions) and see how we measure up to a comparison group of five selected peer institutions.
Whitman’s engagement with LACRELA has provided opportunities for several members of the community to participate in structured eConvenings. The eConvenings are a curated collection of 3-hour virtual seminars facilitated by subject matter experts on topics ranging from:
- Fostering and Sustaining Inclusive Classrooms for Students of Color
- Teaching the Truth About Slavery and America’s Racial History
- Strategically Hiring Faculty of Color
The next LACRELA eConvening is scheduled for Dec. 8, 2021 and will focus on Creating Equitable Pathways to Leadership Roles for Employees of Color. Visit our LACRELA page for more information or to request access to eConvenings.