The interdisciplinary institute, which runs through the month of June, is held for high-achieving black students who are entering their junior year. In addition to developing abstracts of research projects, the students, who have varied majors in the humanities, mathematics and sciences, attend classes/discussions on topics ranging from "Afrocentric Reconstruction of Western Religions" to "Environmental Justice."
Byrd explained the importance of such an experience to students who are planning for a graduate career. "While strengthening their research skills and providing them with experience as teachers, the institute initiates young scholars in the culture of the academy." In fact, several sessions focus specifically upon academic life and the ever-changing role of the African American scholar. Assistant Professor of history Leroy Davis will discuss the need for multicultural perspectives and experiences in graduate education and some of the sources and themes currently being explored by Afri-can Ameri-can history scholars. A conversation with the institute faculty will center upon the dynamics and politics of university life. During this open session, special attention will be given to matters such as the politics of race and gender, the stages of promotion and tenure, and the importance of mentoring.
The class meetings are conducted by a teaching staff of nine Emory faculty and Shirely Lewis, president of Paine College; Dan Durett, director of Environmental Education Programs for the UNCF; Veta D. Goler, assistant professor of dance, Spelman College; and J. Ernest Wilkins Jr., professor of applied mathematics and mathematical physics at Clark-Atlanta University. Byrd noted that the institute "creates an opportunity for faculty at Emory and faculty at UNCF member institutions to address collectively a vital issue in American higher education: the decreasing number of African Americans in the professorate."
Professor of Urban Studies Dana White will lead a session on "The Spirit of Black Atlanta," which will include a screening of selected episodes and segments from the award-winning, eight-part television series "The Making of Atlanta," followed by discussions of documentary film-making as a means to understanding a city's development. White also will lead the group on a tour of Atlanta's east and west sides in order to build on discussions of how communities form and shift.
Byrd stressed that "perhaps the overarching value of the institute is that in providing rising juniors with exposure to the most recent developments in various disciplines and fields that it not only prepares them for graduate school, but it also deepens their already expressed commitment to teaching and to scholarship."
Other Emory faculty serving as institute instructors include Dwight Andrews, associate professor of music; Jacqueline Brown, assistant professor of anthropology and African American Studies; Noel Erskine, professor of theology and ethics; Trudier Harris, professor of American literature; and Thee Smith, associate professor of religion.
Approximately 100 rising juniors from UNCF member institutions applied for admission to the institute. A selection committee made up of five scholars including Byrd was directed by William R. Scott, director of African American Studies and director of UNCF/Mellon Programs. Also supporting the program are five Emory graduate students and one undergraduate who serve as student assistants.
--Matt Montgomery