However, the iSchool alumni group, Texas Exes, already administers a number of scholarships. While the iSchool does have scholarship funds, UT policy does not allow it to prioritize students by race or other identity markers. A breakdown specific to the iSchool was not available.
The items included mandatory training in anti-racist pedagogy and cultural competency for all teaching assistants and faculty, which has not yet been instituted a formal investigation of the racial climate in the department and its programs, to be led by a committee of students, staff, and faculty (an initial climate study was conducted with an outside consultant last year) hiring more BIPOC faculty and staff and a year-round diversity officer (searches are in progress, and a Dean for DEI was hired last fall and began at the iSchool in January) increasing awareness of systemic racism and ways to engage in dismantling it through iSchool-funded community events a town hall in which faculty and administration would discuss their work to create and maintain an anti-racist and inclusive environment, the first of which was held in fall 2020 the creation of a visible land acknowledgment statement and bias reporting tool on the iSchool website and classrooms, which are both in place on the website increased engagement with alumni and community members working with marginalized communities the integration of a diverse reading list and anti-racist framework into iSchool courses conducting a graduate seminar specifically about critical race studies and information science, to be offered every semester (which has not yet been instituted) actively recruiting BIPOC students and increasing scholarship and funding opportunities specifically for BIPOC students.Īs of 2019, 40 percent of enrolled UT students where white, 22 percent were Hispanic and/or Latinx, 4 percent were Black, and fewer than 1 percent were American Indian or Alaska Native.
The list, signed by nearly 100 students, faculty, and alumni, called on iSchool administration to acknowledge the white supremacist origins of library archival and data science fields, and included 11 action items based on feedback gathered from a survey distributed to iSchool students. The initiative began with a petition and list of requests circulated in summer 2020 by several UT iSchool student organizations, including the school’s American Library Association (ALA), Texas Library Association (TLA), and Society of American Archivists chapters and the Student Association of the School of Information (SASI). The committee’s goal is to raise a total of $50,000 by March 31 so that it can begin awarding scholarships in fall 2023. In response to a call for increased diversity at the University of Texas (UT) Austin iSchool-and to boost representation and participation among students of color in information sciences fields overall-a group of UT alumni have created an endowed scholarship for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) students. Additional funds can be added to the endowment at any time. Update: The fund met its endowment goal of $50,000 by March 31, and will be able to begin awarding scholarships in fall 2023.
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