There will be a number of opportunities to join forces (e.g., please look out for notices on open forums, surveys, open office hours, and social justice socials) in the coming quarters. CRES students, faculty, staff, and alumni will have to join forces and push with the same tenacity as those whose shoulders we stand on who came before us. This should not merely be a symbolic or academic exercise, of course. And if we want to truly embrace DU’s vision (i.e., being a “great private university dedicated to the public good”), we must do something about these inequalities. Whether we want it admit it or not, race, racialization, and racial inequality have had and continue to have an enduring role in American life.ĬRES can give us a lens to understand the above-mentioned phenomena while providing us with tools so that we can ultimately chip away at these inequalities. But we are underway!Īnd such an effort could not come at a more urgent time as organizations of all types grapple with their racially problematic histories, injustices against APIDA (Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi American), Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous people persist at both policy and individual levels, scholars denote a troubling rise of “new old fashioned racism” (especially around the election cycle and the COVID-19 pandemic), and yet a growing national movement attacks the very ideas (e.g., Critical Race Theory) that are designed to expose the systemic and structural durability of such racial inequality. As I’m sure you can imagine, building a successful major takes time and will require the input and efforts of many (i.e., students, faculty, university administrators, staff, and alumni). Turning CRES into a major includes but is not limited to gathering feedback about the current minor, constructing a new curriculum, writing CRES program bylaws, hiring three new full-time faculty over the next two years, recruiting interested students, hosting or supporting campus events, and collaborating on initiatives with other partners across campus. In optimistic news, DU has committed funding so that the CRES minor can eventually be offered as a major. Indeed, the ability to combine these experiences and work with others toward establishing a nationally recognized undergraduate CRES program that has racial justice at its forefront are what attracted me to the CRES Director’s position at DU. I have also led various programs and initiatives (e.g., chairing my department at my former institution, conducting waves of campus climate surveys, directing an inclusive pedagogies grant for faculty, and consulting non-profit and for-profit organizations on their efforts toward diversification and inclusion). These include a thirteen year teaching career at Southwestern University, courses I taught during the six years it took to earn my Doctorate in Sociology from The Ohio State University, and others I taught during the two years required to attain my Master’s in Psychology from the University at Buffalo. Trained as a sociologist, I have taught a wide variety of sociology, criminology, psychology, and methodology courses at a range of academic institutions. Reggie Byron, and in addition to my role as CRES Director I am also a tenured professor in the Sociology and Criminology department here at DU.
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