Dr. Estela Mara Bensimon will argue in this Dean's Diversity Lecture that the term "equity" is much more than a word to be sprinkled into educational discourse as one might do with salt to season a bland meal. To meaningfully and intelligently discuss equity and equity-mindedness, Dr. Bensimon believes society must be clear that it is whiteness—not the achievement gap—that produces and sustains racial inequality in higher education. The authentic exercise of equity and equity-mindedness, she will argue in the lecture, requires explicit attention to structural inequality and institutionalized racism, which demands system-changing responses.
Dr. Bensimon is a professor of higher education at the Rossier School of Education and the director of the Center for Urban Education at the University of Southern California.
Sponsor: College of Education; Office of Community College Research and Leadership; and Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Can’t make this event in person? Listen to it via livestreaming at education.illinois.edu/live.