Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies - Ford Foundation

Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies in the United States 175
ological fusion of African Studies and African American Studies—two related
disciplinary areas that have separate institutional identities at many
schools. This arrangement brings with it a number of advantages. Conceptually,
it enables the inevitable and necessary links joining Black cultures in
the African Diaspora to be smoothly and logically maintained without
crossing departmental or programmatic boundaries. In terms of curriculum,
it encourages a comparative approach to Black Studies. And practically
speaking, it allows for centralized support of Black Studies on the
campus. For instance, ASRC has received Ford Foundation grants designed
to target initiatives both African American Studies and African Studies
units as well as Title VI 6 funding. Finally, that ASRC controls its own FTE
(full-time equivalent) allocations means that it can hire and promote faculty
according to its own needs and maintain a relatively stable curriculum.
As in the case of other similarly structured programs (the Department
of African American Studies at UC Berkeley comes to mind), ASRC’s
very independence has come at a price. There is some concern regarding
the administration’s willingness to provide the new faculty resources that
ASRC would need should it start a doctoral program. And while the possibility
of making joint appointments might provide a means of justifying
such requests by pointing up the multiple units that would benefit from
such lures, a joint faculty appointment with another interdisciplinary unit
has already proven problematic.
Other challenges confronting ASRC have little directly to do with its
particular institutional character and, in fact, are evident at a number of
universities and colleges across the country. First, there is the impending
generational shift in leadership. Like some other Black Studies units, ASRC
has had relatively few directors over its three decades of existence. With inevitable
faculty retirements, a new leader will have to emerge administratively
within such departments, centers, and programs. Second, some
faculty at Cornell also commented on the changes in the Black student
population at the university. Not only do Latino students now constitute a
larger presence on campus than do Black students, but there appears to be
less diversity among the Black students themselves (especially in terms of
class) than in previous years. Third, as is occurring at other schools, an increasing
emphasis at Cornell is being placed on development. It is clear that