Profile for Mount St. Mary's College, LA

Abstract

MOUNT ST. MARY'S COLLEGE
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles, California, began its efforts in multicultural education in 1986 with a faculty and staff professional development program funded by the Consortium for the Advancement of Private Higher Education. This college-wide project raised awareness of multicultural issues particularly in relation to equity pedagogy and meeting the needs of our increasingly diverse student body. Our primary goal was to deepen understanding of the connection between culture and learning. This program resulted in the initial incorporation of multicultural content and diverse pedagogical approaches into courses.

Beginning in 1989, the IMPAC project, Infusing Multicultural Perspectives Across the Curriculum, funded by a federal grant through Mount St. Mary­s College education department, furthered faculty efforts to diversify curriculum and teaching methodology. A core group of faculty, collaborating over a three year period, infused multicultural perspectives into their courses. Both of these projects resulted in a series of monographs, Celebrating Cultural Diversity in Higher Education. The monographs, with their accompanying videotapes, have been purchased by institutes of higher education in all fifty states and three Canadian provinces.

As an outgrowth of these grassroots efforts toward multicultural education, the college adopted a multicultural course requirement for all students in 1992.

The Center for Cultural Fluency, founded in 1993 with generous grant support from AT&T, the Annenberg Foundation, and Philip Morris Companies, Inc., connects the local K-12 schools with the college in ways that promote multicultural education in classrooms throughout the city. The Center provides multicultural classroom resources and curriculum consultation free of charge to K-12 private and public school teachers. With grants from AT&T, Delta, and Prudential Foundation, the Center also offers professional development workshops to support teachers­ infusion of multicultural education in their schools. College faculty regularly incorporate Center resources into their courses. The education department faculty provide the leadership for the Center activities and link all teacher preparation coursework and activities to the rich selection of multicultural resources.

Regionally and nationally Mount St. Mary's College faculty and administrators serve as consultants to other institutions, offer workshops in multicultural education, and participate as panelists and speakers at national conferences focusing on diversity.

Other grant programs have provided links between Mount St. Mary­s College and Los Angeles­ diverse communities. A grant from the Hewlett Foundation, ²Urban Engagement and Civic Responsibility,Ó has resulted in programs at the college, ranging from a study of Hispanics in Hollywood and a musical, ²Sounds of Black Heritage,Ó to an Asian culture night. In addition, each year, the Arts in Los Angeles course offers our students an opportunity to experience firsthand the rich diversity of the Los Angeles arts communities.

Student Involvement and Development
Institutional Leadership
Campus-Community Connections
Diversity Research and Evaluation

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