Cal State Fullerton joins colleges across the country in spending millions on social justice programs
CSUF will use a $40 million gift received last summer from MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett to fund 11 social justice projects.
The 11 chosen proposals were selected from a pool of 131 applications, all of which were required to 'focus on student success and innovation through the lens of social justice.'
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) will use a $40 million gift received last summer from MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett to fund 11 social justice programs.
The Scott-Jewett Fund for Student Success and Innovation will provide up to $1 million in funding for social justice programs at CSUF for the next three years.
The 11 chosen proposals were selected from a pool of 131 applications, all of which were required to “focus on student success and innovation through the lens of social justice.”
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Additionally, the proposals were required to abide by “one or more” of the “Guiding Principles of Social Justice,” according to the fund’s webpage. The principles include “Equitable Learning,” “Identity of Inclusion,” and creating an “Anti-racist Community.”
Garrett Struckhoff, Program Coordinator & Associate Professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, was granted $60,600 for his “Engineering Social Justice: A Design Challenge” proposal. The proposal will challenge engineering and computer science students to “address social injustice.”
The “top” teams will then be given extra funding to bring their ideas “to the next level,” the description states.
Alvin Rangel-Alvarado, a Professor of theatre and dance, received $103,400 for his proposal to implement “CSUF Dance Program’s research-based policies and initiatives towards anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion.” The policies were developed in the fall of 2020.
The department’s Representation, Equity and Inclusion Committee published a ten-point action plan that “remains responsive to the needs of [CSUF] students.”
The plan recommends all staff and students enroll in “anti-racist training.”
Rangel-Alvarado told Campus Reform that the dance program’s policies are “not public,” and “are guiding [the department] internally as [they] make revisions to [their] curriculum and community culture.”
He further explained that a “5-year plan” is being developed to guide “how and when” the policies will be implemented into “culture, classes and curriculum.”
According to Rangel-Alvarado, the policies are “centered on addressing issues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice.”
“This will inevitably shift our Department’s culture and establish sustainable and measurable social justice practices that will impact future generations of Titans studying dance at CSUF,” he continued. “We are working at incorporating several of the CSUF Guiding principles for Social Justice, these are: 1) Enhance Equitable Learning, 2) Expand Intentional Outreach, and 3) Recognize History and Catalyze Change.”
Campus Reform reached out to all parties mentioned for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
