November 5, 1987
Equity Institute report published in the Sophian
In response to the hate speech painted on the steps to Lilly Hall in October of 1986, President Dunn contacted the Equity Institute from Amherst and requested that they do a needs assessment of Smith College in regards to multiculturalism. With help from Smith’s Committee on Community Policy, the Equity Institute conducted their assessment during April and May of 1987, reviewing the College’s diversity-focused written documents, interviewing 29 Smith community members, and finally mailing out a survey to all 4064 members of Smith College. Their report, prepared in September, was published in the Sophian on November 5th. The Equity Institute’s report was done in tandem with other efforts, such as a weekly two-hour course on “Multicultural Organizational Development.” The Institute’s involvement at Smith was championed by President Dunn, but drew criticism from some who claimed that an outside organization would not be able to solve Smith’s racial issues.
The Equity Institute report can be found here (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).
President Dunn’s response to the report can be found here (1, 7).
[Last updated on October 31, 2018]