PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island School of Design announced Tuesday that is it committing a series of actions to advance social equity at the arts college, including hiring new faculty members, and working with faculty to address systematic discrimination within RISD’s structures.
In a letter to the school community, RISD President Rosanne Somerson said that the college this fall will launch searches for a group of 10 new faculty members to build a network of scholars committed to teaching and researching issues on decoloniality, racism, race and ethnicity in art and design. Hiring at all levels will be focused on the goal of “increasing diversity across the institution,” Somerson said, and all searches at the level of director and above will be conducted through an open-search process moving forward.
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Also, Somerson said RISD Provost Kent Kleinman starting in the fall will launch a multiyear initiative to build a curricular structure that will require coursework for students on social equity and inclusion. RISD Museum will also work regularly to return art pieces with problematic histories to their rightful owners or countries of origin.
Plus, the museum will commit 75% of its annual acquisition budget to help bring in works by underrepresented artists.
“Each action outlined here will lead us on a progressive path forward. Yet, this set of initiatives is just the beginning,” Somerson said. “We must and will take many more steps to fundamentally advance change.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
