Yale, the prestigious private ivy-league university, has taken a step towards more significant change as it recently announced a new program in collaboration with the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Pennington Fellowship stemmed from the input and recommendations of the President’s Committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Yale. It was created in collaboration with four HBCUs across the country.
Kimberly Goff-Crews, secretary and vice president of University Life at Yale, shared on the university’s website that the “most helpful” recent conversations between the University and HBCU leaders have been about future academic partnerships and faculty relationships. The Yale and Slavery Working Group was formed in the Fall 2020 semester and examined the university’s historical roles in and associations with slavery, the slave trade, and abolition. The new Pennington Fellowship stems from this initiative, and other Ivey League schools like Harvard are following suit.
Jailon Henry, the president of the Black Student Alliance at Yale, suggested that the university provide institutional financial support to an HBCU to increase intellectual diversity at Yale. He shared how Yale is taking steps in the right direction after their fall football game against Howard University bridged the gap between schools.
The Pennington Fellowship is currently established with Hampton University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, and Spelman College. Yale will continue to add to the number of eligible institutions as more partnerships are established.
