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There is a strong desire throughout the St. Lawrence community to increase multiculturalism on campus by enrolling more students of color. This objective is in line with our interest in diversifying our faculty and staff, and stems from our belief that student learning outcomes are enhanced in a diverse environment. It also stems from our history: while non-sectarian today, St. Lawrence was founded in 1856 by the Universalists (today's Unitarian-Universalists), who believed firmly in equality and the inherent dignity of all people. That philosophical heritage continues to energize St. Lawrence in the 21 st century.
Presidential Diversity Scholarships
St. Lawrence has a long tradition of enrolling a socio-economically diverse student body and annually provides more than $25 million in merit scholarships and need-based grants to more than 80% of the student body. Through the Presidential Diversity Scholarship program, students of color who are academic and co-curricular leaders have enrolled at St. Lawrence.
Several programs in place at St. Lawrence are designed to assist underrepresented students with their college progress. The Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) is a New York State program of assistance for state residents who meet specific economic and educational criteria. The state-funded Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) assists students from underrepresented groups interested in scientific, mathematical, health-related and technological career fields and the licensed professions.
In summer 2003 St. Lawrence learned that the University had been awarded a grant from The McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program. The McNair Program grant provides support and funding to low-income, first-generation and/or Native American, Hispanic American or Black American students whose goal is to pursue a Ph.D. after graduation from St. Lawrence. Ten juniors and ten seniors were selected as McNair Scholars this year. The program will provide faculty mentors; academic advising; career, financial and personal counseling; internships/research opportunities; networking; and graduate school preparation. Students receive a healthy stipend during the time they are doing research; monetary assistance during their graduate school search; opportunities to attend and present at national conferences; and recognition for their success.
Our Students
St. Lawrence has 2,400 current students, nearly evenly divided between men and women.
Students of color have always been active in all aspects of campus life. In recent years they have been presidents of the student government association, captains of some of our 32 sports teams, participants in international study in the 14 countries where we have academic programs (see below), performers in musical and theatre groups, and managers of student organizations. Our students are involved in groups related to race and ethnicity, including ALMA (A Latino Multicultural Alliance), the Black Student Union, the Black Cultural Center, SABHA (the South Asia Bollywood and Holiday Association), and the Native American Student Organization. Clearly, African American, Asian American, Hispanic American and Native American students play central roles in campus life.
Residential Learning Communities
Multicultural residences include La Casa Latina, the Black Women's Residence, Intercultural House and International House. These and other options serve multiple roles--they provide a comfortable place for students of like backgrounds to congregate, they offer programming for the campus at large, and the residents work to foster a climate of diversity and inclusivity on campus. Living-learning communities are encouraged by the Residential Learning Communities office.
Cultural Life
Cultural activities on campus also carry forward the principles of diversity. A semester-long festival celebrating diversity during spring 2002 brought to campus the South African musical group Ladysmith Black Mambazo; an art exhibition on the Virgin of Guadalupe; lectures on the feminine deities of India; Nepalese drumming, an African-American feminist interpretation of Christian symbolism; and a klezmer band. Other cultural events in recent years have included presentations by leading African writers and activists Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe, a talk by African American scholar Manning Marable, readings by poet Edimilson de Almeida Perreira and novelist Esmeralda Santiago, dance concerts by Conjunto Céspedes and the Sikumiut Inuit Dancers and Drummers, and construction of a sand mandala by Buddhist monks.
Academic Programs
All of the traditional liberal arts and sciences majors are offered, and in addition a wide range of area studies majors and minors allows students to explore a region or regions of the world and its cultures in depth. Among these are African
studies, Asian studies, Native
American studies, and Caribbean and
Latin American studies. In addition, we offer a major in global
studies, which opens possibilities for comparative area studies and allows students to consider an issue or topic from a variety of cultural perspectives. Most area studies programs involve faculty from various departments who are specialists in a certain area of the world. Students find area studies help them to integrate knowledge from a variety of disciplines in a holistic way that furthers their understanding of a region, including its people, culture and history.
The most recent academic addition is a new minor in US cultural and ethnic studies. Students who minor in this important and timely field concentrate in one of the following aspects of United States cultural and ethnic studies: African-American studies, Latino and Chicano studies, sexualities, or comparative ethnicity. Or they may elect to configure their own thematic concentration, such as religious diversity, immigrant communities, regional diversity, social movements or class structure. Through this minor students will develop a deeper understanding of cultural diversity within the United States.
The four-year-long Pluralism and Unity project, funded by a major grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, was designed "to bridge our extensive academic achievements in intercultural studies with the day-to-day real lives of our students, faculty, and staff, in order to achieve a more inclusive campus climate and broader sense of community"; while the project formally concluded in 2002, it has set the tone for discussion and action on campus for years to come. A $1 million grant from the Freeman Foundation has made possible the Asian Studies Initiative, which sponsors cultural events focused on Asia, faculty development seminars on Asia, student travel to Asia for language study, and faculty/student research trips to Asia.
Off-Campus Study
We believe that international study provides the best opportunity for active learning about other cultures. We facilitate broad participation in our international programs--about 40% of our students take this option - and work with students to prepare for their experience outside of the United States. We also work with students on their return to be sure that they are able to integrate the international study experience with their overall academic program. St. Lawrence offers academic programs in 14 foreign countries, among them Kenya, Costa Rica, Japan, Spain and Trinidad and Tobago, with the newest program in Shanghai, China. Students may also study in 20 other countries through St. Lawrence's membership in the International Student Exchange Program. In addition, we offer an exchange program with Fisk University, an historically Black university in Nashville, Tennessee; a program at American University in Washington, D.C.; and an Adirondack Semester at a remote locate in the Adirondack Park. Students who want to have an urban experience as part of their college years often choose to study internationally or participate in one of the off-campus domestic programs.
The Faculty
St. Lawrence's faculty and staff are committed to interaction among individuals of all ethnic, racial, cultural and social backgrounds as a key cornerstone of a liberal arts education. Current faculty and staff members come from China, India, Nigeria, Kenya, Italy, Sierra Leone, Puerto Rico, Canada, Japan and Mexico, among others.
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