Founded in 2003. Established as the Race & Pedagogy Institute in 2015. This work is brought together disparate communities to generate vigorous thinking about race equity and education, inspired a plethora of initiatives focused on the work of education and equity in both K-12 and higher education, and been one of the voices of change seeking to transform the landscape of education on our campus and beyond. All of this has been undertaken as part of our mission of educating teachers and students at all levels to think critically about race and to act to eliminate racism.

The Race & Pedagogy Institute (RPI) envisions a society where the systemic causes of racism have been uprooted and in which we are energized to re-imagine a world oriented toward the shared experience of liberation. Our mission for almost two decades has been to educate students and teachers at all levels to think critically about race, cultivate terms and practices for societal transformation, and eliminate racism. We are guided by principles of responsiveness, reciprocity, coherence, synergy, sustainability, and flexibility in how we respond both proactively and reactively to systemic racism on our campus and community.

Vision, Mission and Principles

We envision a society where the systemic causes of racism have been uprooted and in which we are energized to re-imagine a world oriented toward the shared experience of liberation.

To educate students and teachers at all levels to think critically about race, cultivate terms and practices for societal transformation, and eliminate racism.

  • Responsiveness: the imperative to act dialogically in concert with our partner communities in the face of dynamic changes and emergent crises at the nexus of race

  • Reciprocity: the practice of mutually respectful and reflexive give and take

  • Coherence: a focused commitment to reflect the integrity of purpose in all the multiple facets of our work.

  • Synergy: garnering the cumulative benefits from our strongest connected selves

  • Sustainability: generative practices and relationships that heal, support, and re-energize.

  • Flexibility: the agility to carry and engage the full arch of our learning in ways that enable us to adjust productively to the changing needs of campus and community.