SAINT CLOUD, Minn. — Saint Cloud State University has announced a new initiative aimed at addressing racism in college settings — not just here, but across the country.

The university’s new Antiracism Institute for Teaching and Research is lead by four St. Cloud State professors who are all focused on tackling systemic racism.

“There are faculty members who have racism in their classrooms, and they have to address that. There are students who experience racism, and we have to address that. And so, we thought, what would it be like if we had a central resource for folks?” institute co-founder Dr. Mary Clifford said.

Professors say higher education, as a whole, has racist and sexist roots, and those roots are still lingering today.

“Higher education was built for white men in traditional power dynamics where there were affluent people,” Clifford explained.

Universities nationwide have since grown to be more inclusive of all genders and racial identities, but institute co-founder Melissa Prescott says many universities, St. Cloud State included, are still seeing racial disparities when it comes to grades and graduation rates.

“When we see that there are disparities in the outcomes for students based on race, we want to make sure we are addressing the problem at its core,” Prescott said.

Through the institute, they want to look at how professors teach, what they teach, and how students learn to see how they can help more students be successful in school.

“By identifying what are the barriers they are encountering in the classroom, as well as across campus,” institute co-founder Kyoko Kishimoto said.

“The ultimate goal is to make systemic change within St. Cloud State, as well as higher education across the country.”

In the long-term, the school says it wants to inspire educators across the country to bring this idea and concept to their own universities so that higher education as a whole can become more inclusive.

Professors say they are also hoping to attract new researchers and professors to St. Cloud State University, so they can bring their own ideas and concepts to tackle this complex issue of racism in higher education.

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