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Who’s training the next generation of movement leaders? A small private college in Pasadena this month launched undergraduate and graduate programs in social justice and advocacy for students who wish to turn their passion for human rights into a possible career.
Pacific Oaks College, with 1,100 students, joins a growing list of colleges and universities in the US, as well as in Canada and Europe, offering degrees in the area of social justice at a time when many Americans are seeking avenues for change in their communities.
With an emphasis on grassroots level community organization, the program applies lessons from past movements and students’ own experiences to the complex social issues of our time.
Founded in 1945, Pacific Oaks has an anti-bias curriculum and features a unique approach to teaching and learning, where everyone in the classroom is both student and teacher. We asked its associate dean for the School of Human Development, Donald Grant, to tell us more about the new degree program.
Lornet Turnbull: Why did you think it was important for Pacific Oaks to offer degrees in this area and why now?
Donald Grant: Today more than ever, we see individuals with passion to be authentic agents of change. But many of them lack the credentials to be invited to the table to create that change. We wanted to fill that gap.
People are increasingly suffering from the risk factors associated with trauma and disproportionality and need professionals to mediate them. The time is right because the ills of our world are manifesting themselves in ways they have never before and we wanted to influence the professional landscape to address them through a strength-based, community-centered lens.
Such a program seems a natural fit for Pacific Oaks, given your unique tradition and history. Tell us about that.
In the wake of World War II, six local families in Pasadena, California, opened Pacific Oaks Children’s School with the belief that everyone has an…