CIC Selects Participating Institutions for Diversity, Civility, and the Liberal Arts Institute

​Download a PDF of the press release.

Twenty-five CIC member institutions have been selected to participate in the second annual Diversity, Civility, and the Liberal Arts Institute, to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 2–5, 2019. Each institution will send a team of two faculty leaders and two senior administrators. The Institute is designed to help faculty members and administrators address issues of diversity, civility, inclusion, and student unrest on campus more effectively.

The Institute is directed by Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College and a leading scholar of race and higher education. During the Institute, prominent humanities and social science scholars will present key research and recent developments in their fields and apply these concepts to understanding student concerns and deepening the educational experience. The goal is to encourage thoughtful campus discussions that engage students’ minds as well as their emotions.

Each participating college also will develop plans to incorporate the Institute content into specific courses, advising and counseling services, and co-curricular activities at their institutions. Debbie Cottrell, vice president for academic affairs at Texas Lutheran University, which participated in 2018’s inaugural Institute, says that “our experience was so helpful…. We are committed to continuing and expanding the initiatives we identified as priorities as part of the Institute, and we are hopeful about the larger impact it will have on our campus.”

Participants for the 2019 Institute were selected through a highly competitive application process. According to CIC president Richard Ekman, “the volume, quality, and urgency of the proposals reflect the commitment of independent colleges and universities to promoting diversity and civility, not just on their campuses but across the nation.”  

The Institute is supported by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. For more information, visit the 2019 program page.

Participating Institutions

 The Institute faculty includes some of the nation’s leading scholars of diversity, higher education, history, social change, and political philosophy:

• Kwame Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy and Law, New York University
• David Blight, Class of 1954 Professor of American History, Yale University
• Geoffrey Cohen, James G. March Professor of Organizational Studies in Education and Business, Stanford University
• Frederick M. Lawrence, legal scholar and Secretary, Phi Beta Kappa Society  
• Roosevelt Montás, Director, Center for the Core Curriculum, Columbia University
• Julie J. Park, Associate Professor of Education, University of Maryland
• Eboo Patel, Founder and President, Interfaith Youth Core
• Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran, President Emerita, Kalamazoo College