UConn offers up to $25k on anti-racist grants to 'combat racism in all its forms'

The University of Connecticut’s School of Fine Arts is in the process of giving out tens of thousands of dollars to faculty members to research “anti-racism” in order “to support efforts to create a just, diverse, and fully inclusive society at all levels, from the local to the global.” 

Participants can explore a wide-range of media, including “exhibitions, performances, publications, symposia, films, video games, or other research outcomes as appropriate,” per the university’s website. The institution also grants the possibility of the money funding “course development” in some circumstances, while stating that this is not the grant’s primary intent. 

Each approved proposal may receive $10,000 to $25,000 from the Storrs, Connecticut-based school.

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University Spokesperson Stephanie Reitz told Campus Reform that UConn and colleges in general “play a valuable role in helping to illuminate and challenge systemic racism in society.”

”For instance, one grant-funded project involved diversifying and expanding UConn’s music library with access to more pieces by composers from underrepresented and historically marginalized backgrounds,” Reitz noted. “By learning directly from these composers and performing their works in concerts, students from UConn and Connecticut high schools receive – and provide for their audiences - valuable exposure to new sources of musical inspiration and education.”

Reitz added that the university “is proud to present unique and impactful ways to broaden public discussions on racism, including through the projects funded by this grant, and will continue to explore ways to examine these important social and educational topics.”

The school says that it approved proposals this past March, and participants have until the end of June to complete the projects. 

A description page states that the grant was started in response “to the continuing crisis and international debate surrounding the legacy and persistence of systemic racism across the globe.” “[In] Fall 2020 the School of Fine Arts introduced a new initiative to support research/creative activity that contributes to this debate and to efforts to combat racism in all its forms,” the school notes.

Universities offering money for anti-racism grants has become a trend with certain schools in recent years; the University of Michigan, UC San Francisco, and Drexel University have all provided large sums of money to promote “anti-racism” through community projects and research.

[RELATED: $122k goes to anti-racism research at this public university]

UConn also has a history of creating programs using anti-racism and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles. In May 2023, the university announced it would begin requiring students to take an “Anti-Black Racism” course to graduate. 

Two years ago, UConn officials organized and took part in a teacher’s conference on “Anti-Racism in Education and the Community.” In 2021, the school spent $3,000 for a program called “Puppetry’s Racial Reckoning.”