Commitment To Diversity
Over the past seven years, the College has expanded staffing, programs and funding in support of diversity. We have also worked to incorporate issues of diversity and equity more deeply and systematically into our academic program.
Connecticut College is committed to the twin values of diversity and equity, as well as to providing access to private liberal arts education. As part of our mission, "the College strives to be a community in which all members feel comfortable, respect one another's differences, and seek common ground." Our commitments in this area are also grounded in numerous social scientific studies demonstrating that diverse environments foster greater learning for all students.
We work hard and thoughtfully to make our community increasingly diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation and religion, and we actively seek students, faculty and staff who wish to be part of our efforts.
Admission Initiatives | Student Support | Academic Programs
Admission Initiatives
The College sponsors general outreach programs, including an Explore Weekend in the fall semester each year. During these weekends, we bring talented students from underrepresented groups and others interested in diversity issues to visit our campus and learn about the application process. Additionally, we collaborate with several "partnership schools," both locally and in New York City, to reach students who might not otherwise consider private liberal arts education. Students who are admitted to the College are then invited to a "Spring Preview" in April to achieve greater familiarity with our campus resources as they make their decisions. Recently, the College launched the Science Leaders Program, which offers enhanced financial and academic assistance to women and minority students interested in the sciences, and announced a partnership with The Posse Foundation, an organization that identifies, recruits and trains student leaders from urban public high schools to form multicultural teams called "Posses." Connecticut College welcomed its first Posse of 10 full-scholarship students from Chicago in the fall of 2009. More>
Student Support
We offer excellent support for new and continuing students interested in diversity through popular campus venues such as Unity House Multicultural Center, the LGBTQ Resource Center and a newly opened Women's Center, as well as through a strong and broader network of offices and individuals. Among these are the Offices of the Dean of the College, the Dean of Multicultural Affairs, the Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life, the Dean of Studies and the Dean of Student Life. Peer mentor programs like ALANA Sisters and Brothers work in tandem with deans, faculty, staff and alumni to provide social and academic support to all students and educate the campus community about the joys and rigors of living in a diverse community. More>
Academic Programs
The Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, a faculty-driven think tank on campus, provides a hub for researching and teaching race and ethnicity across the disciplines. The Center sponsors campus programming as well as curricular and faculty support. In 2011, the Center sponsored a day-long conference on The History and Future of Diversity at Connecticut College. In 2008, the Center sponsored a series of events focusing on the relationship between race and the arts. In the same year, it was selected to participate in the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program (MMUF), a program dedicated to increasing the number of minority students and others with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities among those who will pursue a Ph.D. in core fields in the arts and sciences. More>
