While more than two decades have passed since the Women of Color in the Academy Project was created at the University of Michigan, the need to reduce feelings of isolation, stigmatization and to foster an inclusive community continues to be a priority.

This emerged as a theme in the U-M Faculty Campus Climate Survey on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that was conducted in 2016.

While 74 percent of U-M faculty said they are satisfied with the campus climate, underrepresented faculty, particularly women of color, continue to experience the campus climate as unsupportive and unwelcoming.

Providing a deeper understanding of the survey findings are WOCAP members’ responses to an inquiry at the group’s 2019 dinner celebration: “What does it mean to be a Women of Color faculty, lecturer, research scientist, research fellow, or postdoctorate?”

• “It means working longer and harder to be seen, heard, and taken seriously.”
• “To constantly struggle to be visible and included.”
• “The power of being powerful in the midst of being invalidated; never forgetting I have a purpose and I will not be dissuaded.”

The Women of Color in the Academy Project has a rich grassroots history that began in the summer of 1994 with conversations among a group of diverse and passionate faculty, staff and administrators across U-M schools, colleges and units.

These conversations focused on the structural barriers facing women of color in the academy and solutions to enhance their success that ultimately led to a joint proposal submitted to the Office of Academic and Multicultural Affairs by the Center for the Education of Women and the U-M Women’s Studies Program.

The proposal was approved with co-funding from OAMA and the Office of the Vice President for Research to develop WOCAP, currently housed and supported by CEW+ and the Office of the Provost.

Adapting to change has been a part of WOCAP’s history, but its core values have remained unchanged as a campuswide network that supports scholarship focused on understanding the experiences of women of color in the academy, and advocacy to address the challenges and issues they uniquely face.

In its 27th year — 25th-anniversary events were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic — WOCAP has grown exponentially from a handful of members meeting in their individual homes over potlucks to more than 300 members across a variety of schools and departments, and more than 100 faculty and administrators having served as Steering Committee members.

Anniversary events

In fall 2021, WOCAP hosted “Connecting the Past to the Present: Honoring the Experiences of Women of Color in the Academy,” as part of U-M’s annual DEI Summit and offered a virtual viewing of the WOCAP-curated 1999 film “Through my Lens.”

Details about the film, speakers featured and a YouTube link to the film will be made available in May on the WOCAP website. The final anniversary event will be a WOCAP Town Hall scheduled for early May, at which findings from the COVID in Color project will be shared.

The research project gathered data on how the COVID pandemic impacts the experiences of women of color faculty at U-M. This project is led by the current faculty Steering Committee and WOCAP member Angela Ebreo, associate director of the Diversity Research & Policy Program and associate research scientist in the School of Education.

Shirley Verrett Award

It is also the 10th anniversary of the Shirley Verrett Award, which recognizes Verrett’s life and contributions by honoring a faculty member whose work — teaching, performance, and scholarship or service — supports the success of female students or faculty in the arts who come from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds.

The award was established by Lester Monts, former senior vice provost, to recognize the life and contributions of Verrett, James Earl Jones Distinguished University Professor of Voice at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance and an internationally acclaimed opera singer.

She was a pioneering leader in the generation of Black opera singers, and her legacy continues to pave the way for female artists from diverse backgrounds. In addition, Verrett was a founding member of WOCAP and is the featured opening speaker in “Through My Lens.”

All tenured or tenure-track faculty, lecturers and clinical faculty at U-M’s Ann Arbor campus are eligible for the Shirley Verrett Award, which carries a $5,000 prize.

For this special year, two awardees will be selected. The nomination deadline is March 25, and the annual Shirley Verrett Award celebration will be May 31.

Tags:

• Shirley Verrett Award
• Women of Color in the Academy Project