Inter/Intra Group
Relations
Swarthmore College
Pluralism and Unity Program
With the support of the Hewlett Foundation,
Swarthmore College is carrying out a
two- tiered effort to address issues
of pluralism and unity in the academic
and student life areas of the College.
In the academic sphere we are developing
an educational program that is culturally
inclusive in both content and intellectual
approach. In student life we are developing
a co-curriculum that supports our academic
initiative by leading all students to
be able to appreciate and draw on the
variety of approaches that students
from diverse backgrounds bring to community
and societal issues, and to develop
the skills required for reaching shared
community and societal visions.
The Provost's Office is supporting
the efforts of the faculty in addressing
issues of course content and classroom
pedagogy in response to an increasingly
diverse student body and new constructs
of knowledge. The grant supports the
revision of existing courses and the
development of new courses through released
time for faculty. The grant has also
supported the appointment of a faculty
coordinator who has drawn upon the previous
informal efforts of the Associate Dean
for Multicultural Affairs to facilitate
faculty efforts to make pedagogy more
responsive and respectful, coordinate
faculty workshops, consult with individual
faculty and departments, identify instructional
resources, and contribute toward the
development of a process for student
feedback that will provide faculty with
information about the effectiveness
of teaching strategies, including interpersonal
dynamics in the classroom. The Provost
has restructured the responsibilities
of the Associate Provost so that the
kind of outreach and support to faculty
that the grant-funded faculty coordinator
has provided will become a permanent
dimension of those responsibilities,
ensuring the continuation of this critical
work.
The Dean's Office has launched four
new initiatives in conjunction with
the Pluralism and Unity Program: (1)
race and ethnicity discussion groups
of students who meet weekly in residence
halls; (2) an intensive four-day multicultural
institute involving students, staff,
and faculty in workshops on the social
and political dynamics of race, ethnicity,
socioeconomic class, gender, religion,
and sexual orientation; (3) a student-run,
credit-bearing course on "race, ethnicity,
and the college experience" offered
for the first time this fall; and (4)
pluralism and unity mini-grants for
student-initiated projects that address
issues of multiculturalism on campus.
The purpose of the mini-grants is to
provide an opportunity for students
of different racial, religious, ethnic,
class, and ideological backgrounds to
come together to define and realize
common campus objectives. Each of the
four initiatives will run for two years,
at the conclusion of which we hope to
integrate those that are most successful
into our continuing student life program.
Ngina Lythcott, Dean of the college
Jennie Keith, Provost
Karen Henry, Gender Education Coordinator
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