Southern Adventist University recently received a $50,000 Racial Justice and Equity Grant from the Lumina Foundation Fund. A part of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, which will implement activities and discussions to promote racial justice and equality on campus.
Studying Our Attitudes Racially (SOAR) is the program applying this grant money through both educational and interactive activities on campus. SOAR is run by multiple directors: Rachel Williams-Smith, dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, Kristie Wilder, dean of the social work department, and Stephanie Guster, assistant professor in the social work department.
The money will fund both interactive and educational activities. There will be an online opportunity for people to tell their own stories regarding racial relations, available to students, alumni and employees.
Guster is leading a new competition called The Amazing Race, in which students will form teams to discover the best way to break down racial barriers on campus. There will also be a lecture series that focuses on how to find racial unity through diversity. Additionally, Williams-Smith will be overseeing research into Southern’s own racial perceptions and how these perceptions change due to this program.
Lucas Patterson, Assistant Director, Communications and Foundation Relations, wrote the initial proposal to the Lumina Foundation and has been in close communication with them throughout this process.
“This grant will increase the intentionality of the ongoing discussions about race that are already happening on campus. There are genuine questions with difficult answers being asked, which is why these discussions must continue,” Patterson said.
The Lumina Foundation is a foundation that works with organizations to help college become available to more people. They fund initiatives to help colleges achieve improved environments.
“SAU’s commitment to equity is clear. We are proud to support you in your work and hold it up as an example for others,” Haley Glover, Lumina Foundation Strategy Director, said.
The plans for the grant money are underway and have already funded a guest speaker at an employee in-service session.
Students like sophomore nursing major Kelly Quintiana have voiced support for the grant’s plans.
“The reason this grant is going to be so impactful is that it gives students the perfect opportunity to use their voice to express their thoughts and ideas. There are practical and unique tools out there for us to use, so that we can tell our story,” Quintiana said.
To find out more about SOAR, visit www.southern.edu/soar.