What started as a pilot program for student staff in the residence halls, Conversations about Race and Ethnicity (C.A.R.E.) is now a staple Student Affairs program that has engaged more than 1,000 campus community members in important and critical dialogue.
With the successful implementation of for-credit dialogue circle classes occurring at Syracuse University, the Division of Student Affairs, Office of Academic Affairs and Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism collaborated to institute a co-curricular option.
“Through previous collaborations with Academic Affairs, Student Affairs was focused on producing educational outcomes within our co-curricular programs. With that philosophical approach in mind, it made sense to me and my colleagues to have a co-curricular dialogue option to offer students,” says Barry L. Wells who served as senior vice president and dean of student affairs when the program was initiated and currently serves as a special assistant to Chancellor Kent Syverud. “With existing diversity education already happening with our staff throughout the division, expanding our programming to include C.A.R.E. helped to educate our students about diversity issues where they lived.”
Read the original article at SU News.