Metropolitan State University has been awarded the Minnesota State system’s Office of Equity and Inclusion’s Best Practices in Equity and Inclusion Award for the Racial Issues Graduation Requirement (RIGR). This is a very competitive process because of the legacy of quality work that has been carried out on issues of inclusion and equity across the university’s system over the years.
“I want to extend my congratulations to the many colleagues who have worked to put this curricular innovation in place,” says President Virginia Arthur. “Among them are Prof. Paul Spies, chair of the RIGR Task Force, and his former co-chair, Prof. Daniel Abebe; the RIGR review committee; and Prof. Valerie Geaither and Jill Beaulieu Wilkie, co-chairs of the Anti-Racism Leadership Team (ARLT).”
Paul Spies
The selection committee noted that an important factor in Metropolitan State receiving the award is the foundational work of the ARLT leading to implementation of the Racial Issues Graduation Requirement, as well as the ongoing work of the RIGR Task Force.
Metropolitan State’s award will be conferred at an award reception during the upcoming annual conference of the Minnesota State Office of Equity and Inclusion. Representatives from the university’s senior leadership team, the faculty and staff will attend to represent the Metropolitan State.
This is a well-deserved public recognition, in which all the contributors should take great pride. It also serves to elevate simultaneously the campus-wide commitment to equity, inclusion, and the quality and relevance of Metropolitan State’s academic programs. The beneficiaries are students, who will learn from the history, issues and values opened up by these courses.