Montclair State University
Montclair State University is a public institution that was founded in 1908. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 16,988, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 486 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. The enrolled student population at Montclair State University is 44% White, 25% Hispanic/Latino, 11% Black, 9% Race Unknown, 5% Asian, 3% Multiracial, and 2% International. There are about 63% identified female and 37% identified male students. 95% of students are from New Jersey.
Engagement Summary
Montclair already had resources on its campus such as the Office of Social Justice and Diversity, a Women’s Center, the Faith and Spirituality Center, the Multicultural Center, and the LGBTQ Center. Montclair also had the Counseling and Psychological Services Outreach and Community Programs, and they ran an “Agents of Change Empowerment Certificate Program” for student leaders. Cultural programs were provided in Montclair, and some of these were Connecting Across Cultures, Mosaic Women, Culturally Based Student Organizations Outreach, and Sister to Sister.
The Student Government Association allocated a significant budget to Student of Color Organizations, and the Academic Affairs Division launched a new program on campus called Hispanic Serving Initiatives. Montclair State University established a Bias Education Response Task Force, which served to respond to bigotry regarding race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, and national origin. With the addition of multiple positions dedicated to aiding students from marginalized groups, the diversity of staff, faculty, and students increased.
Affinity groups on campus provided a sense of community for faculty and staff of color, and there was programming available on campus for open discussion on national and international events/issues. Montclair State University was already developing a healthy and inclusive environment for their student body. To further improve upon this environment, it was recommended that recruitment efforts with the Admission Office were to be reviewed and discussed to ensure their message reflected experiences of students of color.
Another recommendation was for collaboration with other offices on campus to establish multicultural and unconscious bias training to faculty.
The final recommendation was for technology to be used more effectively in promoting events and services on campus, as well as for connecting students of color.
Midterm Evaluation Progress-to-Goal Snapshot
Montclair State University had a goal to provide a Spanish translation for the Counseling and Psychological Center website, to present the EMHF recommendation to the upper administration that is responsible for budget distribution, and to discuss with New Jersey University and College Alliance of Prevention of Suicide (NJUCAPS) members to learn what programs and initiatives they have for mental health of students of color at their 45 institutions.
Highlights include:
- The vice president of Student Affairs, Karen Pennington, provided staffing resources, approved the change in the D and I position, and increased the staff to support students of color.
- Sudha, the Coordinator of DEI initiatives, developed and worked with the Office of Social Diversity and was able to see students of color for therapy.
