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TIE Podcast Fall Semester: Dr. Davarian L. Baldwin on How Universities Exacerbate Inequities in Urban Living
Recorded on 09/16/2022
Posted in TIE Podcasts
In the first episode of TIE’s fall semester series, Dr. Davarian L. Baldwin, Trinity College’s Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies, reveals how universities practice aggressive real estate, low-wage employment, and campus policing tactics that result in gentrification, higher taxes, and inequitable healthcare and other amenities for residents—especially communities of color. Joined by Toward Inclusive Excellence editor-in-chief Alexia Hudson-Ward, Davarian defines terms from his recent title, In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities, such as “UniverCities” and “bright flight,” explaining their relationship to university and city leaders’ joint efforts to keep educated, white collar professionals in urban areas. Finally, Davarian highlights actionable solutions like affordable housing mandates, food donations, and community benefit agreements in addition to his ongoing advocacy work. In this conversation, Davarian underscores how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies on campus must go beyond diversifying faculty or curricula to account for how universities themselves play a role in destructive practices against communities of color.
About the guest:
Davarian L. Baldwin is a leading urbanist, historian, and cultural critic. He currently serves as the Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies and founding director of the Smart Cities Lab at Trinity College (CT). Baldwin is the author of several books, most recently In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities (Bold Type Books). He also serves as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Studies, on the executive committee of Scholars for Social Justice, and on the national council of the American Association of University Professors. His opinions and commentaries have been featured in numerous outlets from NBC News, PBS, and The History Channel to USAToday, the Washington Post, and TIME.
Episode theme music: Black is the Night by Jeris (c) copyright 2014 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. Ft: DJ Vadim (djvadim), NiGiD
Learn more about Toward Inclusive Excellence:
The ongoing TIE Podcast series will feature provocative, in-depth conversations with important figures in the higher education community to help administrators and academic leaders understand racism from new perspectives and to promote racial justice on their campuses.
Check out the Toward Inclusive Excellence blog, which covers issues related to racial and social justice and provides actionable resources for those in higher education and beyond.
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