Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The collective strength and intellectual power of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reside in the diversity of its community.
Our learning and research successes are built on a variety of perspectives, people, and experiences. The College, therefore, is committed to building and enhancing a diverse and equitable faculty, staff, and student community, and to supporting innovative research and learning experiences that will shape a better tomorrow for all people.
We also are keenly aware that CLAS, like any institution of higher education, can do better to fully meet the needs of its constituents. We dedicate ourselves to the ongoing work of building and supporting inclusion at all levels.
Current Priorities
Diversity Research
Our faculty focus on key areas of diversity scholarship and education. For example, Assistant Professor of English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Briona Jones’s anthology, "Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Thought," won Best Anthology from the Lambda Literary Foundation and the Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction from Publishing Triangle. Manisha Sinha, the James L. and Shirley A. Draper Chair in American History, was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to pursue research on the period of Reconstruction and the Jim Crow South. Nate Acebo, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative, won an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship for his work on Indigenous autonomy.
Strategic Priority Graduate Assistantships
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences introduced a new initiative to recruit students into our Ph.D. programs who simultaneously advance our priorities of top-quality research along with diversity and inclusion. These individuals should possess a record of significant research experience for their career stage and have demonstrated a strong commitment to redressing the historical marginalization of people of color and under-representation of various groups in the academy. These graduate assistantships provide five years of support during the academic year, with no teaching requirement during year one. The 2022-2023 cohort includes 10 students across our departments.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Funding
To support the College’s commitment to ethical social engagement, dynamic research, and inclusive climate, CLAS provides an internal funding opportunity for scholarship, programming, and/or other initiatives that advance ongoing struggles against injustice and oppression. These grants respond to the CLAS Strategic Plan’s goal to “build and continually support an academic environment and workplace where diverse faculty, staff, and students feel valued and thrive.” The grants provide funding to stimulate meaningful and lasting impact.
Women’s Leadership Collective
The CLAS Women’s Leadership Collective provides undergraduate students with a unique leadership learning experience coupled with group mentorship from UConn alums. Students learn about key issues affecting women in the workplace and society. Mentorship Circles also convene periodically throughout the academic year to connect groups of alums and students with similar career interests.
Our Academic Programs
Scholarship on inequality, diversity, and race has long been a centerpiece of the College. Our interdisciplinary centers, institutes, and programs have worked for decades on issues of social inequalities, race, gender, and human rights. The faculty and students in these programs have dedicated their academic lives to understanding injustice, and their intellectual network places CLAS at the forefront of diversity research at UConn.
CLAS Centers, Institutes, and Programs
Contact the Dean's Office
Katharine Capshaw
Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Collaborative Programs, and Faculty Development
capshaw@uconn.edu