Webinar | Creating Accessible, High-Quality Open Educational Resources
March 29, 10:00 am EST
Webinar | International Student Recruitment, Retention, and Post-Grad Success in New England
Details Forthcoming
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News | Vermont's Higher Education System is Set to Get an $84 Million Boost
March 2021
News | Sub-Committee of NH's House Education Committee Met to Review Gov. Sununu's Proposed University and Community College Systems Merger
March 2021
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Legislative Engagement | NEBHE Letter re: Doubling the Pell Grant Minimum
March 2021
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Legislative Analysis | Spring 2021 New England Legislative Session Summaries
March 2021
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Data Brief | Distribution of HEERF Funds to the Region's Institutions
March 2021
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Featured
Reparative Justice
The Next Step Toward Faculty Equity in New England
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Report By NEBHE's Faculty Diversity Fellows
Kamille Gentles-Peart, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Roger Williams University
Tatiana Cruz, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of History, Lesley University
Data Fact Sheets By
Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Policy Research and Analysis, New England Board of Higher Education
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Institutions of higher education in New England support structures of racial hierarchy that harm Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) faculty. Many institutions have taken up diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to try to change this reality. However, DEI initiatives have not been effective in addressing racial inequalities and systemic harm, and often do not center the needs and well-being of BIPOC faculty in academia.
To be clear, reparative justice work is already being done by individual programs and institutions in the region, though often in silos and without a clear, comprehensive institutional vision. NEBHE’s goal is to create a shared, regional vision or blueprint and provide resources for institutions wanting to embark on faculty equity and those already engaged in the work. Ultimately, we want to create a long-standing consortium of postsecondary institutions that will pool resources, share best practices and expertise, and provide support and accountability to ensure that reparative justice in its various forms is achieved in higher education in New England - and beyond.
We organize reparative justice around Three Pillars: Transformation, Restoration, and Nourish and Uplift. Each pillar addresses specific areas of harm for BIPOC faculty and each requires its own work.
Pillar 2: Restoration. This pillar acknowledges that there have been constant and ongoing assaults on the intellectual capacity of BIPOC faculty. BIPOC faculty have seen their bodies, work, and their time disrespected, devalued, and dismissed. Restoration involves taking steps to repair these cultural and epistemic damages done to BIPOC faculty in the institution. Examples of restorative practices are to make visible the work of BIPOC faculty in your state and on your campuses through webinars or local publications, and to offer small awards, course releases, or moratoria for BIPOC faculty so that they can focus on research.
These Pillars should not be treated as multiple choice options. Rather, institutions should address all these areas in their plan. Only focusing on one or two will bring us back to this point where racial inequities abound. It is also important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all solution that will “fix” white supremacy across the region; states and institutions will have to do the work of operationalizing these pillars in ways that best suit the needs of BIPOC faculty in their states and on their campuses.
Institutions serious about faculty equity must commit to full reparative justice for their campuses. While each will make different strides and progress across each area, we should not rest or consider the work done until it is all done.
For more on NEBHE's recent DEI efforts, check out:
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