Evaluating the Department
An important inclusion in Hogan’s testimony was the 1982 Program Review of the Black Studies Department by three members of UNO and an outside evaluator from the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center at Indiana University who also served as the executive director of the National Council for Black Studies.
The report begins with a sharp critique of UNO, stating that the Black Studies department’s “contribution and potential in the academic areas of teaching, research, and services go virtually unnoticed by a faculty majority who simply pass the program off, at best, as a nontraditional discipline belonging to them – Black people.”[1]
The committee evaluated the program in 4 main areas: Program Quality; Centrality of the Program to UNO’s mission; Student Demand; and Cost-effectiveness. In all areas the department received high praise. The committee noted that “UNO offers the only Black Studies program in the state and it is unthinkable by today’s standards, that any reputable college or university would deny its students the option of learning about the culture life and history of America’s largest ethnic minority – Black Americans.”
In the area of student demand and enrollment, the evaluators note three problems facing the department. First, “Black Studies courses, unlike other academic units, are not required by any of its collegial or departmental neighbors. Second, we were advised that some campus units would not accept Black Studies courses in satisfying student distributional requirements in the humanities and/or social sciences. Third, students reported and some faculty concurred that is not unusual for the student inquirer to be discouraged by a campus/ departmental representative from enrolling in Black Studies courses. The typical response is a question – What can you do with Black Studies?”[2]
The committee had 5 recommendations:
- Seek university-wide assistance in encouraging white students to enroll in Black Studies to give legitimacy to their liberal arts education
- “Sponsor” workshops for counselors with a view toward improving the support base for Black Studies.
- Increase secretarial support in light of the department’s heavy demand for community involvements and role as “academic home” for all Black Students
- Increase budgetary support for departmental participation in professional organizations, conference, and especially in-state lecturing opportunities.
- Request assistance in obtaining external funding for library acquisitions, visiting lecturers, and cultural awareness programming.[3]
Read the full Black Studies Department University of Nebraska at Omaha Program Review Team’s Report (February 1982) in our Digitial Collections.