To: All Faculty & All Academic Professionals & All Civil Service Staff
           <everybody@illinois.edu> 
    From: "Chancellor Nancy Cantor" <chancellor@uiuc.edu>

Reply-To: chancellor@uiuc.edu
 Subject: MASSMAIL - Brown v. Board of Education Commemoration and RFP

Dear Colleagues,

Several years ago the Campus Committee on Diversity made several important 
recommendations to the campus leadership.  Among those recommendations was 
that the campus make a special effort to commemorate the 50th anniversary 
of the U.S. Supreme Court's monumental decision in Brown v. Board of 
Education.  On May 17, 1954, the Court handed down its decision finding de 
jure segregation to be unconstitutional. 

I was particularly struck by the Diversity Committee's recommendation 
regarding Brown.  The Brown decision was one of the great defining 
landmarks of the twentieth century.  It seems fitting for our institution 
and community to devote the 2003-2004 academic year to events and 
activities that both celebrate the great strides that have flowed from the 
Brown decision and the unfinished work that remains before us. 

Last year I asked Dean Susan Fowler of the College of Education and 
Professor Thomas Ulen of the College of Law to co-chair a committee to 
coordinate the campus and community events commemorating Brown in the 2003-
2004 academic year.  They have assembled a Steering Committee -- Reg 
Alston, Kathryn Anthony, Rene Bowser, Vernon Burton, Walt Harrington, 
Masumi Iriye, Sarah Mangelsdorf, Larry Parker, and Kathy Perkins.  The 
Committee has already made great progress in planning events for the 
coming academic year.  Committee representatives have met with leaders of 
every campus college and most administrative units to discuss and 
coordinate ways in which the entire campus can be involved in this 
initiative.  You will be hearing from the Committee periodically about 
their activities, and you will be able to check on the Brown Jubilee 
Commemoration after December 16 at the following website: 
http://www.admin.uiuc.edu/brown_jubilee. 

As this semester draws to a close, I want to alert you to one of the first 
campus-wide activities of the Committee -- a Request for Proposals for 
scholarly and creative projects.  The Committee is soliciting proposals 
from faculty, students and staff for projects that address scholarly 
aspects of the Brown v. Board of Education decision broadly defined to 
include not only educational access, but also other aspects of democracy 
and social justice in this country and globally. Grants ranging from 
$5,000 to $20,000 will be made available on a competitive basis to fund 
research projects, lecture or seminar series, creative arts exhibits, 
works or performances, workshops, panel discussions, or other 
scholarly/creative works. 

If you would like further information on the RFP or on the work of the 
Brown Jubilee Commemoration Committee, please contact Rose Ann Miron at
ramiron@uiuc.edu. 

After December 16 you may download the RFP from the Brown Jubilee 
Commemoration website(http://www.admin.uiuc.edu/brown_jubilee)in pdf 
format. As you will see, the proposals must be delivered to Ellen Foran in 
the  Office of the Chancellor by 5:00 pm on Friday, February 14.  A 
special committee will evaluate the proposals and announce its decisions 
by March 15, 2003. 


Nancy Cantor
Chancellor

This mailing approved by:
The Office of the Chancellor

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