Ibram X. Kendi, Photo: Boston University Center for Antiracist Research website
Boston University (BU) has begun an inquiry into the management culture and grant practices at the University’s Center for Antiracist Research, led by prominent antiracist scholar Ibram Kendi.
Recent layoffs at the center have sparked complaints and concerns regarding Kendi’s leadership and the center’s functionality. There have been allegations of exploitative working conditions, project management practices, and the squandering of millions of dollars in grant money, Axios reported.
Kendi (born Henry Rogers) was included in Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
From 2008 to 2012, he was an assistant professor of history in the department of Africana and Latino Studies within the Department of History at State University of New York at Oneonta. From 2012 to 2015, Kendi was an assistant professor of Africana Studies in the department of Africana Studies as well as the department of History at the University at Albany, SUNY. He then went to the University of Florida history department’s African American Studies program as an assistant professor, from 2015 to 2017. Following this, he moved to the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and School of International Service (SIS) at American University in Washington, DC, where he became a professor of History and International Relations in 2017. It was here, in September 2017, that he founded the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University, serving as its executive director. In June 2020, he joined Boston University as a professor of History and moved the Antiracist Research and Policy Center to Boston University.
“This is the calling of my life,” Kendi said when he was hired at BU.
When Kendi was hired by BU, an influx of donations flooded in to support the center and Kendi’s work, including a $1.5 million, three-year gift from the biotech company Vertex and a $10 million donation from Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. But many of the Center’s projects have yet to materialize, including Racial Data Tracker, which would monitor nationwide racial disparities, The Daily Mail reported.
The layoffs at the Center for Antiracist Research, amounting to 19 staff members, have triggered public concerns regarding the management and direction under Kendi’s leadership. Current and former employees have voiced their reservations, highlighting difficulties in meeting organizational goals and an alleged lack of adequate management.
In response to the criticism, Kendi, the center’s founding director, did admit there was a need for restructuring. He proposed transitioning the center to a fellowship model rather than one reliant on research grants. However, this transition led to the layoffs.
And, he announced the layoffs as part of the restructuring–19 staff people were laid off, leaving a staff at the center of 15 to 17 people moving forward.
“We recognize the importance of Dr. Kendi’s work and the significant impact it has had on antiracist thinking and policy,” a statement from the University says. “Boston University and Dr. Kendi believe strongly in the Center’s mission, and while he takes strong exception to the allegations made in recent complaints and media reports, we look forward to working with him as we conduct our assessment.”
BU had begun examining grant management practices at the Center and will now also look at “the Center’s management culture and the faculty and staff’s experience with it,” the statement says.
Kenneth Freeman, BU president ad interim, shared with BU Today what led to the decision to initiate an examination into the Center for Antiracist Research (CAR).
“I’m very cognizant of two things. First, the importance of antiracist scholarship and teaching and Dr. Kendi’s pioneering leadership in that space. Second, the need to respond to a number of complaints from faculty and staff in the wake of layoffs at CAR this month. These are not mutually exclusive, and I have asked Provost Ken Lutchen to examine the complaints and the Center’s practices that have been criticized,” he said.
When asked what was next for the center, Freeman answered, “Dr. Kendi came forward earlier this summer with a new vision. He wants to evolve the Center to a fellowship model rather than one that solicits grants for research. He recognized the significant impact the change would have on the people who would lose their jobs as a result, but he felt strongly that a fellowship model was the most sustainable option over the long term and likely to have the most impact on the Center’s ability to support and promote antiracist scholars, students, and policymakers.”
He added, “We continue to have confidence in Dr. Kendi’s vision, and we support it. Of course, we will look for lessons learned coming out of the provost’s examination and work with Dr. Kendi to apply them in the reorganized center.”
Ibram X. Kendi, Photo: Boston University Center for Antiracist Research website, https://www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/profile/ibram-x-kendi/
