UB Leaders Discuss 'Divided Baltimore' Class at National Conference
January 22, 2016
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
Leaders from the University of Baltimore delivered a presentation on the University's course, "Divided Baltimore: How Did We Get Here, Where Do We Go?," at the national conference of the Association of American Colleges & Universities, held Jan. 20-23 in Washington, D.C. The group, including UB's former Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Joseph Wood, Darien Ripple, manager of the Experiential Learning Program in the Office of Academic Innovation, and Sonce Reese, graduate student in the College of Public Affairs and coordinator for the course, discussed the impact of the course. It was offered last fall to undergraduate and graduate students as well as to the public.
The semester-long course—taught by veteran UB faculty members and guest lecturers in both physical and online environments—focus on a broad-based, multi-disciplinary approach to address the city's long-standing issues regarding segregation, economic and racial inequalities, and untapped potential. The overarching goal of the course was to explore the city’s problems and prospects from a variety of perspectives, and to begin the process of positive change.
"It is great designing a learning model that is being recognized at the national level by an organization like the AAC&U, which promotes best practices in teaching and learning," Ripple said.
UB professors, administrators and local experts were planning "Divided Baltimore" more than a year ago, but they intensified their efforts in the wake of the city's civil unrest last April. From the beginning, their goal was to go deeper than a historical examination of the city—to consider how some of its seemingly intransigent problems, e.g., education, employment, crime and justice, access to health care, proper nutrition, etc., could be addressed: What are the root causes of these issues? What successes and failures has the city experienced in recent years? What are other cities doing to address their own problems, and could some of those approaches work in Baltimore?
On Monday nights over the course of the fall semester, "Divided Baltimore" hosted dozens of guest lecturers and UB professors, each of whom brought their expertise and ideas to an often-packed lecture hall as well as to students taking the class online. Conversations ranged from the causes of multi-generation poverty to the effects of gentrification on a neighborhood, from micro-aggressions in daily life to the problem of violence that has spiked since last spring's unrest.
University officials said the community’s response to the course was highly positive, and they now are considering how to continue academic offerings that are focused on heightening awareness and understanding of city issues. UB’s mix of colleges and schools—the Merrick School of Business, the College of Public Affairs, the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Law—lends itself to this kind of wide-ranging conversation about urban problems and solutions.
Learn more about the "Divided Baltimore" course.
With 1,300 member institutions, the Association of American Colleges & Universities is "the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education."
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.