The Northwestern University Black Alumni Association hosted its annual 5K Race for Diversity at the Lakefill on Saturday to raise money for a scholarship that would go to a black student headed to NU.
About 75 people attended the event, which NUBAA hosted for the seventh time. Veronica Hancock (WCAS ’91), the chief organizer of the 5K, said the event is also meant to be a celebration.
“The main purpose of the 5K is to celebrate diversity within Northwestern University and the general Evanston and Chicagoland areas,” Hancock said.
Hancock said NUBAA is committed to providing the resources for deserving students to attend NU. In addition to the scholarship, NUBAA offered free registration and a tour of the campus to minority high school students.
University Provost Daniel Linzer and Assistant Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Dona Cordero both ran in the 5K, and University President Morton Schapiro spoke following the event. Schapiro told the group he was encouraged by the progress the University has made since many NUBAA members graduated, but he is not satisfied with the state of diversity at NU.
“When you think about your experiences at Northwestern, you probably look back with a certain fondness, but you probably also look back and think about things that could have been improved, and that’s continuing to be our attitude at Northwestern,” Schapiro said. “If you were to come back now, you’d see a place that was more diverse and somewhat more inclusive, but you’d also see a place that has a long way to go to deliver what we really promise. If you take a tour and you read the viewbook and you see this multicultural nirvana, it’s more of a dream than a reality.”
Schapiro said he was encouraged by the number of alumni who brought their kids, stating it was inspiring to see alumni who struggled with diversity at NU wanting their kids to come to the University.
NUBAA president Tanya Woods (WCAS ’89) echoed the message of many current NU students in conversations surrounding diversity, saying recent events are indicative of NU’s issues with diversity and the administration cannot afford not to take decisive action.
“We should be leading the way,” Woods said. “We should not be at the bottom of the list when it comes to diversity. The time is now to put our money where our mouth is and really institute some lasting change.”
Woods pointed to increased staff for administrative branches dealing with diversity as one way the administration could show their commitment to improving campus inclusivity.
Woods’ daughter, McCormick junior Kyra Woods, said the fact that diversity remains an issue at NU is cause for concern.
“The diversity issues that we’re talking about and we find really relevant to our generation are some of the same issues that our parents were dealing with here at Northwestern,” she said. “It’s kind of startling that in 40-plus years, some things haven’t changed.”
