Loyola University Chicago to Launch Race and Ethnicity Minor

CHICAGO – May 12, 2023

Loyola University Chicago will launch an Interdisciplinary Race and Ethnicity minor in fall 2023 through a partnership between the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and the Institute for Racial Justice (IRJ). 

Through the minor, students will develop a strong theoretical and analytical foundation for studying ethnic and racial issues using a variety of perspectives from the social sciences and the humanities. Students will develop skills that can be applied to a variety of professional contexts including the public and private sectors, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions. 

“The interdisciplinary collaboration to create this academic initiative is critical to providing students with access to experiential learning and impactful research opportunities that go beyond classroom walls,” said Peter J. Schraeder, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “We are grateful for the partnership between CAS and the IRJ to create this innovative program and support Loyola’s mission of social justice.” 

The minor will be housed in CAS with a curriculum including two required courses and four elective courses totaling 18 credit hours. The capstone course taught by Heather Price, associate director of research at IRJ, will provide students access to innovative justice and anti-racist oriented experiential learning and research opportunities in Chicago. 

“This minor is a response to the students at Loyola who are called to dismantle all forms of racism,” said Malik S. Henfield, founding dean of the IRJ. “We are proud to engage students in this interdisciplinary learning experience that promises to deepen our relationship with CAS and prepare students to meet urgent needs through hands-on learning that centers race and anti-racist ideas.” 

Cristian Paredes, associate professor in the Department of Sociology, has been named the inaugural director of the Interdisciplinary Race and Ethnicity minor program. “Students will gain comprehensive awareness of cultural, historical, and contemporary ethno-racial peoples, bringing us closer to contributing as conscientious citizens,” Price said. “Unlike race and ethnic studies of yesteryear, this unique minor embraces applying the lens of race and ethnicity when contemplating historical and contemporary social topics. It aims for difficult and complex discussions about how our societies are built and sustained, and how we can work toward a more equitable future for all peoples while maintaining identity, integrity, and pride.” 

Enrollment for the minor is now open to Loyola students via LOCUS. For more detailed information on the minor and course requirements, please visit the CAS website. For any further questions, please email Cristian Paredes.    

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About Loyola University Chicago
Founded in 1870, Loyola University Chicago is one of the nation’s largest Jesuit, Catholic universities, with nearly 17,500 students. The University has four campuses: three in the greater Chicago area and one in Rome, Italy, as well as course locations in Vernon Hills, Illinois (Cuneo Mansion and Gardens), and a Retreat and Ecology Campus in Woodstock, Illinois. The University features 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. Ranked a top national university by U.S. News & World Report, Loyola is also among a select group of universities recognized for community service and engagement by prestigious national organizations including AmeriCorps and the Carnegie Foundation. To learn more about Loyola, visit LUC.edu or follow us on Twitter via @LoyolaChicago. 

About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest of Loyola University Chicago’s 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. More than 150 years since its founding, the College is home to 20 academic departments and 33 interdisciplinary programs and centers, more than 450 full-time faculty, and nearly 8,000 students. The 2,000+ classes that we offer each semester span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our campus in Rome, Italy, as well as at dozens of University-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the University’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.” For further information about the College of Arts and Sciences, please visit our website.