JORDANNA GARLAND
Managing Arts and Culture Editor
On Feb. 29, Professor Emerald Christopher announced to her WOMS 260 class that she would be resigning from the university effective March 1, the day an email obtained by The Review detailing such was sent. Christopher explained that although her resignation may appear sudden, given the experiences she has had at the university, her decision to resign was carefully thought through.
Christopher previously was the director of the University of Delaware Anti-Racism Initiative (UDARI), an initiative founded by professors and students in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. She expressed that while the university praised the efforts of UDARI, by the end of the 2022-2023 academic year, the budget of the initiative was left unconfirmed for months. When it was eventually approved, the funding was significantly reduced and only sustainable for one year.
When UDARI submitted its initial budget request, the team requested a three-year agreement. Christopher claims that UDARI received partial funding for only one year without a firm commitment to the cause of anti-racist work from the university.
“The initial request was for a three-year term, so that we could build up to be independently funded,” Christopher said. “But when we did finally get a budget, when it came in late, it was also only for one year, so at the end of this academic year, UDARI is going to be back in the same position as it was last academic year.”
According to Christopher, this lack of financial support from the university left UDARI in a situation where the team could not effectively communicate future event programming to their over 400 members due to uncertainty regarding the funding.
“Since its founding and launch in 2020, UDARI has established a legacy of examining systemic racism at the national level through thoughtful and impactful research, teaching, service and broad scholarship enterprise by faculty, staff and students at the University of Delaware,” the university said in a statement provided to The Review. “We are confident that this will continue now and into the future.”
Since the departure of Christopher, leadership of UDARI has transitioned to Alison Parker, the chair of the history department and one of the co-founders of the initiative. Providing administrative support are Vice Provost for Equity Michael Vaughan and former UDARI co-chair Lynnette Overby.
Christopher also stated that, as the director of UDARI, a large portion of her job was dedicated to conducting research, and this funding insecurity added to the juggling of responsibilities. During the summer, while dealing with the uncertainty of the funding and also trying to plan for her upcoming courses, she asked for more time to conduct research for UDARI. Ultimately, she was not granted that extra time.
“If the messaging that has been said from the university is that ‘We want to work on efforts of diversity, equity and inclusion,’ it would seem to me part of that priority would be to ensure that this grassroot initiative that has been highlighted across UD leadership would be closer to having a more secure budget to continue to operate,” Christopher said.
As an alum of the university who majored in women and gender studies, Christopher recalled that when she graduated in 2004, she hoped there would be change from the university in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion as time progressed. However, she finds that the university is having similar, if not the exact same, conversations as when she was an undergraduate.
Having had the chance to look at issues of DEI on the faculty level, she finds it odd that there is communication to the Board of Trustees about the “great work UDARI is doing” when financial support is not being given to sustain the work.
“What I have found in my time as a faculty member is the propensity for the institution to conduct study after study after study about climate and environment to get the data, but then nothing is really done,” Christopher stated. “It seems to be essentially a bandaid on larger systemic issues in terms of climate, for marginalized people, and so forth.”
The university declined to comment on Christopher’s resignation due to “longstanding human resources practices.”
Though it may appear that Christopher’s concerns of not feeling supported by the university arose at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year, Christopher expressed feeling unsupported by the university during and after the coronavirus pandemic.
Between 2016 and early 2020, Christopher was considered a visiting professor by the university. She accepted an offer before quarantine to become a full-time employee as a women and gender studies professor. Before quarantine, Christopher was evaluated by the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) on both her teaching and research endeavors. Once full-time – in the midst of “turnover in the [CAS]” – she was only evaluated on her teaching.
“I was really in a position where I was being recognized on the outside for my teaching, my research and my efforts, but internally, when it came to my job and my portfolio for promotion and consideration, I was only being evaluated on my teaching and my service,” Christopher said. “I didn’t want to push back too much because I didn’t want to be unemployed.”
When the founding faculty members of UDARI first met in 2020, Christopher expressed that there was a larger sense of urgency from the university for UDARI efforts. Though Christopher mentioned that many universities have been sued for having DEI initiatives, according to Christopher, that could have also been a factor in the decision to decrease funding for UDARI.
Under new management, UDARI is working on an operational and leadership model to maintain its stability and sustainability, the university stated. The initiative’s operational and leadership model will build on its “grassroots” foundation by engaging with faculty, staff and students. The model will also aim to “seek diverse input and oversight, ensuring continuity in the initiative’s purpose and impact.”
Christopher described the university as being reactive versus proactive in its commitment and approach to diversity, equity and inclusion. Because conversations of inequity are not as “in our faces” as they were in 2020, she said there was not as much of a push for support or to provide funding.
“The people who are involved with UDARI have been doing the work, are committed to the work and [were] hoping that they would have more support for the work that falls within the initiative,” Christopher said. “Equity is everyone’s job. It shouldn’t just be the faculty or the staff that are most marginalized having to … put their identities on the line.”
Additionally, after suffering the loss of both her mother and father within months of each other in 2023, Christopher placed her faith in working to improve equity for students through “supporting individuals holistically.”
“I didn’t take the leave,” Christopher said. “I was still teaching my classes, but it was still the expectation that I still participated in that rat race to the bottom. And that’s what I’m talking about in terms of the university and losing sight of humanity and personhood of faculties and of students.”
Compared to 2004 when the university had support to ensure the success of marginalized students, like the Student Support Services Program (which is still operating currently), Christopher said that there is not much infrastructure in place to support the needs of marginalized university students today.
This lack of support goes the same for faculty as well. Christopher explained how outside of human resources, there is not another space that faculty members can go to to express their concerns. According to Christopher, while the university says it is committed to inclusion, the experiences of many faculty members go unnoticed because of the lack of resources and support.
“At the institution, they not only need to say the word but they need to … listen to the experiences,” Christopher said. “Listen to ‘Hey, I have no recourse if there’s an issue with my Chair,’ ‘I have no recourse if I am a non-tenured faculty member and I have this other tenured faculty person who is saying these things or making these demands.’ It’s not isolated to the Department of Women and Gender Studies.”
In discussing the lack of support for faculty, Christopher stated how this could be an issue when looking at how the university has recently attempted “cluster hiring” their faculty members, specifically faculty who are aiming to improve DEI. According to Christopher, though there is a large influx of diverse faculty, the retention of that faculty seems to be an issue.
While she feels sadness and frustration surrounding her departure, Christopher wants the university to know that words must have action and that action is not exactly going to generate the kind of “glitz and glamor” press the university may want. However, the insufficient message that the university has been promoting about diversity and inclusion is not enough for the faculty who are hurting and not being recognized.
“We need more than just the statements of ‘We’re sorry this happened or this should have never happened,’ Christopher said. “Well, it did, and it continues to happen. If the institution actually looked at the data and took the time to actually listen, perhaps these feelings of feeling either undervalued or underappreciated might change.”