Liberal Arts College Racial Equity Leadership Alliance (LACRELA)
Cabrini University is a member of a prestigious coalition of colleges and universities across the country, formed to examine race and equity on college campuses. The Liberal Arts College Racial Equity Leadership Alliance (LACRELA) fosters greater understanding in combating these issues.
Developed by Shaun Harper, PhD, Founder and Executive Director, University of Southern California (USC) Race and Equity Center, LACRELA seeks to help professionals at colleges develop and achieve equity goals, better understand and correct problems, avoid and recover from racial incidents, and foster sustainable cultures of inclusion.
This program addresses different topics and strategies designed to increase knowledge on issues around diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. It seeks to provide an opportunity for institutional leaders to convene and share ideas, knowledge, and resources that will bring positive and lasting change to the students, faculty, staff, and the greater communities they serve.
Alliance members’ administration, faculty and staff have access to a range of campus surveys, resources and monthly learning sessions about antiracism, diversity and equity, provided by the USC center.
Colleges in the alliance will also be able to send any eight employees - from the presidents themselves to campus facility staff members - to monthly virtual seminars featuring experts on race and higher education from the USC center and elsewhere. Recent sessions in the community college alliance have focused on topics such as fostering inclusive classrooms and addressing implicit bias.
The three year membership will also give the college's employees access to a portal with “hundreds” of materials on racial equity, such as case studies, research and conversation scripts.
All of the alliance colleges will also participate in the center’s National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates survey, which, each year, will ask students, faculty and staff members on each member campus for their input on the state of diversity and inclusion efforts and offer colleges recommendations to improve campus climate.
Presidents of alliance member colleges will meet quarterly to share strategies, seek advice, and identify ways to leverage the Alliance for collective impact on racial equity in higher education. In addition, presidents will occasionally come together to craft rapid responses to urgent racial issues confronting the nation.
2022 LACRELA Monthly eConvening Series Topics/Schedule
Board Strategies to Achieve Racial Equity
Tuesday, February 22, 2022 | 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm EST
Centering Racial Equity in Your Student Success Agenda
Tuesday, March 22, 2022 | 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm EST
Chief Diversity Officer’s Role in Advancing Racial Equity
Tuesday, April 19, 2022 | 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm EST
Classroom Incivility and Productive Conversations About Race
Tuesday, May 24, 2022| 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm EST
Reducing Implicit Bias in The Search and Hiring Process
Friday, June 10, 2022 | 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm EST
Race Conscious Enrollment Management
Tuesday, July 12, 2022 | 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm EST
Communicating Institutional Progress on Racial Equity Goals
Tuesday, August 16, 2022 | 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm EST
Dismantling Persistent Racial Equity Problems in Stem
Friday, September 16, 2022 | 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm EST
Making Racial Equity Data Transparent
Friday, October 21, 2022 | 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm
Understanding Campus Unrest and Responding to Student Protest
Tuesday, November 15, 2022 | 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm EST
Using Assessment and Evaluation to Improve Campus Racial Climates
Tuesday, December 6, 2022 | 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm
Managing and Resolving Racial Tensions in the Workplace
Tuesday, January 24, 2023 | 9am-12pm PST/12pm-3pm EST
Click here to see list of 2021 LACRELA Monthly eConvening Series Topics
Click here to view previously recorded session resources and materials
NOTE: Registration is limited for this eConvening series. If you are interested in attending a future session, please contact the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging (DEIB) to be added to a waitlist.