In the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s most recent accreditation review, the UNC Hussman School didn’t meet some of its diversity standards. The school’s accreditation was then temporarily downgraded.
Reporter Charlotte Zhao checked in with school leaders about what they’re doing to change that.
The ACEJMC downgraded the Hussmann school’s accreditation status to provisional citing internal and external diversity issues in its report, especially “the controversy surrounding the decision by Nikole Hannah-Jones to turn down a tenured, endowed chair at the school exposed long-standing problems.”
Dean Raul Reis shared in an email that the school ratified a new diversity and inclusion plan of action to address the agency’s concerns and fulfill the school’s commitment to building a welcoming, inclusive, and diverse school culture, he said.
The Hussman School’s diversity, equity and inclusion chair Trevy McDonald said faculty, staff and administrators worked deliberately and collaboratively to make sure this plan incorporates multiple voices and perspectives. She also pointed out the DEI Plan is “not the responsibility just of faculty of color or staff of color or students of color but it’s everyone’s responsibility.”
Distinguished alumna and journalist Karen Parker is no stranger to these issues. It’s saddening she says, as the first African American woman to enroll and graduate at Carolina, that they continue to happen. “I’m disappointed considering that,” Parker says. “UNC was little ahead of itself when I was in school. Instead of completely going forward, it is going backwards and that disappoints me for my alma mater. I want to be proud of it.”
The new plan includes hosting events to foster first-year students’ sense of cohort and belonging, holding listening sessions with students, and establishing the dean’s student advisory council to serve as a direct communication channel between the dean and diverse student groups. The council will review the school’s progress again in 2024.