On Apr. 7, under the authorization of Gary Armstrong, interim vice president of academic affairs, Student Senate created a Student Academic Freedom Task Force. This task force, composed entirely of students, will propose amendments to the academic freedom section of the Charter of Students’ Rights and Responsibilities. Members of this…
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William Jewell College president Elizabeth MacLeod Walls and lead researcher for the Racial Reconciliation Commission Andrew Pratt respond to claims made by the Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project
Throughout the fall semester of 2022, The Hilltop Monitor reported on the ongoing issue of academic freedom at William Jewell College. Concerns about whether or not the College’s administration – and its investigative council, the Racial Reconciliation Commission (RRC) – was properly living up to the College’s own commitment to…
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An account of Student Senate’s Dec. 5 meeting: Armstrong and McBroom brief students on faculty council’s investigation into academic freedom
On Dec. 5, Gary Armstrong, interim vice president of academic affairs, and Leesa McBroom, chair of faculty council and professor and chair of nursing, met with Student Senate and The Hilltop Monitor to brief students on faculty council’s executive summary of the report on claims made by students and faculty…
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Opinion: Faculty Council’s executive summary of the report on academic freedom should be shared with the student body
On May 9, the faculty of William Jewell College voted to adopt a resolution which tasked members of the Faculty Council committee to investigate claims concerning academic freedom violations raised by members of the Slavery, Memory and Justice Project (SMJP). The SMJP is a group of faculty, alumni and 25…
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An Overview of the Racial Reconciliation Commission’s Nov. 10 Town Hall
On Nov. 10, members of the Racial Reconciliation Commission (RRC) hosted a Town Hall meeting, inviting members of the William Jewell College community “to meet the Commissioners as we provide a detailed update of [the RRC’s] recent activities” and to share their concerns and perspective on the RRC thus far.…
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Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project uncovers details about Dr. William Jewell’s slaveholding past
Since August of 2020, a group of dedicated student researchers, under the guidance of Dr. Christopher Wilkins, associate professor and chair of the department of history at William Jewell College, has been researching the history of slavery in relationship to Jewell. The research group that the students and Wilkins created,…
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New research uncovers ties between Jewell and slavery
Since August of 2020, a group of dedicated student researchers, under the guidance of Dr. Christopher Wilkins, associate professor and chair of the department of history at William Jewell College, has been researching the history of slavery in relationship to Jewell. The research group that the students and Wilkins created,…
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