Yale commits significantly to funding diversity as unrest spreads
In the midst of student unrest, following successful demands for high-profile resignations at the University of Missouri over diversity issues, Yale has announced that it is significantly increasing its own diversity initiatives. Yale President, Peter Salovey, has announced plans for new scholarships based around race; double the funding for Yale’s four campus cultural centres; additional finance for low-income students; and a five-year conference series on race, gender, inequality, and inclusion, among other initiatives. Students at Occidental College in Los Angeles have been occupying the administrative centre all week, demanding: a call for the resignation of President Jonathan Veitch, the removal of LAPD from campus, the “demilitarisation” of campus safety, additional funding and a promotion for the Chief Diversity Officer, the creation of a Black Studies programme, and more diversity in faculty hires.

Responding to student demonstrations and demands related to the racial climate at Yale University, its president, Peter Salovey, introduced a host of initiatives and promises in a letter to alumni on Tuesday.

The changes would include creating a “prominent university center” for studies of race and ethnicity, and the addition of four faculty positions.

“It is clear that we need to make significant changes so that all members of our community truly feel welcome and can participate equally in the activities of the university, and to reaffirm and reinforce our commitment to a campus where hatred and discrimination have no place,” he wrote.

Other announced changes include adding teaching staff members and courses to address race and ethnicity, doubling the budgets for four cultural centers, modifying financial aid polices for low-income students and scheduling counselors at the cultural centers. Administrators would receive antidiscrimination training, the school would review its reporting system for discrimination, and the Committee for Public Art would solicit ideas for better celebrating diversity.