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Journalism School at UNC Chapel Hill Denied Accreditation Due to Lack of Racial Diversity

Journalism School at UNC Chapel Hill Denied Accreditation Due to Lack of Racial Diversity

“Professors at the school are also already required to undergo diversity training. And undergrads are required to take a diversity course to earn a diploma.”

Is this punishment for not hiring Nikole Hannah-Jones? You have to wonder.

The College Fix reports:

UNC-Chapel Hill journalism school denied full accreditation for lacking racial diversity

A national journalism accreditation organization has denied the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill full accreditation because the school has fallen short on measures meant to promote racial diversity.

The accrediting council reviews schools every six years. In a vote taken April 29, the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications instead granted Hussman provisional accreditation, meaning the school would retain its accreditation pursuant to a further examination in two years.

Hussman’s last review took place in October 2021, with the on-site team unanimously recommending re-accreditation despite the school being out of compliance with the council’s diversity recommendations.

But earlier this month the full council voted only to grant provisional accreditation. Hussman Interim Dean Heidi Hennink-Kaminski did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The College Fix to address what changes needed to be made to meet accreditation.

“The council’s site team said the journalism school needs to continue to follow its diversity plan and initiatives in student and faculty retention and recruitment specifically. It also said the school needs to include diversity and inclusion within its curriculum,” the Daily Tar Heel student newspaper reported.

However, faculty listed on the journalism school’s website shows that of the four dozen or so professors in the school, it appears to be a very diverse staff; many are female and professors of color.

Professors at the school are also already required to undergo diversity training. And undergrads are required to take a diversity course to earn a diploma.

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Comments

I’m beginning to wonder if I’m still living in the United States of America

    The Gentle Grizzly in reply to paracelsus. | May 20, 2022 at 10:00 am

    It has not been yours, or my, country since about 1963. Specifically November 23. The country was in very happy condition open till then. Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter help drive it into the ground.

So, kids can’t learn journalism if there aren’t enough minorities in the class? I’m not sure how that effects it.

pablo panadero | May 20, 2022 at 9:54 am

Journalism is an activity, not a profession. This is the nail in the coffin for journalism schools.

Ironically, it’s likely that 95% of the wannabe JOURNALISTS! are lefties.

CapeBuffalo | May 20, 2022 at 12:51 pm

If some of the non-racially diverse students and faculty just identify as a racially diverse person wouldn’t this solve the problem?

henrybowman | May 20, 2022 at 3:30 pm

Journalism is a highly strategic resource in the US.
Mob-think is especially mandatory among professional journalists.
The ACEJMC dare not let even a single crack appear in this dike.
If you don’t think woke, nobody will hire you.

Further emphasizing that modern-day journalists must first be activists.

Create a new accreditation organization. Geez. I’d attend then.

The main reason for accreditation is to be eligible for federal financial aid. Whether or not the journalism program is acrredited does not have real word consequences. However, if the Supreme Court over-rules a series of affirmative action is ok in higher educatoin admission cases such as Bakke, then schools will stop discriminating in admissions.

In many cases, freshman admissions does not depend on what you plan to study, and a student enters his journalism major in his junior year. Because that is largely a voluntary choie, it is difficult to force minority students to study journalism (or Africana Studies) particularly when pre-med or pre-law is more lucrative.